The new Office of the Health Professions Adjudicator (OHPA) today announced the appointment of Professor Dame Janet Finch, DBE as their third non-executive director.
The OHPA is a new independent body which from 2011 will adjudicate on fitness to practice cases brought before it by the General Medical Council (GMC) and subsequently the General Optical Council (GOC).
Dame Janet will assist Chairman Walter Merricks, along with the other two non-executive directors Andrew Colquhoun and Pamela Charlwood.
The GMC and GOC will continue in their current roles regarding doctors, optometrists and dispensing opticians, which involve setting standards of practice, conduct and performance, and investigating complaints.
Once OHPA is established, the GMC and GOC will transfer their fitness to practise hearings to an OHPA panel for a hearing. This separation will further demonstrate that decisions are fair and effective, separate from the regulators, the professions and Government.
Walter Merricks said: “I am pleased to welcome Dame Janet as a fellow director of OHPA. She has a distinguished career history and has held a number of non executive public roles which will enable her to bring relevant experience to the board.”
Dame Janet has been appointed by the Appointments Commission on behalf of the Privy Council, following fair and open competition.
