No transfer to the Care Quality Commission
Published: 26 February 2013
The RCN welcomes the announcement that the functions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority will not be transferred to the Care Quality Commission
The response to the consultation on the future of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has been announced and we are very pleased that the Government has decided that the functions of the HFEA will not be transferred to the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary, Dr Peter Carter, said: “We welcome the announcement by the Department of Health. We saw no evidence or analysis to show that abolishing the HFEA and transferring its functions to the CQC would provide any benefit over the status quo. We believe the HFEA has been crucial in gaining public confidence in a sensitive area and there is merit in retaining a specialist regulator so that patients have a single, trusted point of contact.”
The RCN opposed this when it was first proposed before the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) was established and we will continue to support the same position which is for the two bodies to continue as independent organisations.
For more detailed information on the consultation response, read The Royal College of Nursing’s response to the Department of Health consultation on proposals to transfer functions from the Human Fertilisation and Embrylogy Authority (PDF 133.8)
Read the Government response to the consultation on fertility and human tissue regulators on the Department of Health website
However the response included the fact that there will be a review to consider whether the HFEA and HTA should be merged. This is underway and will be concluded in April. The RCN will be contributing to this review.