Proposed umbrella legislation regarding the regulation of multiple health professions in Prince Edward Island will ensure safety and consistency in our Island health care system, says Minister of Health and Wellness Doug Currie.
“Umbrella regulation will ensure designated health professions are meeting certain standards and levels of training,” said Minister Currie. “Our main priority in proposing new legislation is ensuring the safety of Islanders throughout the spectrum of health care services that are provided in our province.”
There are currently 16 regulated health professions in Prince Edward Island governed by 14 different statutes and regulations. These professions are self-regulated through a professional college or independent board. Membership in the various health professions range from four to over 600 practitioners, meaning that some health professions do not have the human or financial resources to self-regulate.
In addition, 15 unregulated health professions including, but not limited to, naturopathic doctors, midwives and medical laboratory technologists are seeking to become regulated.
Six Canadian jurisdictions have successfully adopted umbrella health professions legislation which governs multiple professions under one statute with profession-specific regulations.
“The purpose of umbrella health professions legislation is to provide consistency in the core components of professional legislation,” said Minister Currie. “The creation of consistent administrative, complaint, and discipline processes ensures fairness, transparency, and accountability to the public and to the health professions alike.”
Interested stakeholders may review the Consultation Paper at www.gov.pe.ca/regulatedhealthprofessions and provide written feedback no later than October 5, 2012 to:
Department of Health and Wellness
Attn: Nichola M. Hewitt, Legislative Specialist
3rd Floor Sullivan Building
PO Box 2000, Charlottetown PE C1A 7N8
nmhewitt@gov.pe.ca
Please note that the focus of this consultation paper is to seek feedback on the umbrella model of regulating health professions, not on assessing whether individual professions should be regulated.