Note: This article was originally published in the Autumn/Winter 2023 edition of our On Call newsletter and has not been updated.
Proposed Changes to the Registration Regulation
The College consulted with the public and registrants regarding proposed changes to the Registration Regulation at the beginning of 2023. As Council reviewed the feedback received on the proposed Registration Regulation, they decided to amend the proposed regulation and add fetal health surveillance as an entry-to-practise requirement to the draft regulation.
The addition of a new registration requirement to the proposed Registration Regulation was a significant change, which required another 60-day consultation in accordance with the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991. Following Council’s direction, the College launched a second public consultation on the proposed regulation in the spring. The College received a total of 76 comments as part of the public consultation with the majority in favour of adding fetal health surveillance as an entry-to-practise registration requirement.
At the October meeting, Council approved the inclusion of the fetal health surveillance competency requirement for general class registration in the proposed Registration Regulation and directed the College to submit this amendment to the Ministry of Health.
Emergency Class Provisions in Effect
Under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, all health professions were mandated to submit proposed regulations to the Ministry of Health in order to create an emergency class of registration.
Over the summer, we worked with the Ministry of Health to finalize the regulatory language adding an emergency class to the current Registration Regulation. The emergency class came into effect on August 31, 2023.
With these new provisions in effect, the College’s Council or the government could request the College to issue certificates of registration under the emergency class if it is in the public interest to do so.
While it is unlikely that health professions will need to rely on the emergency class in the near future, Council has approved a new policy that would allow the College to operationalize this new class of certificate in an event of an emergency.
The Emergency Class Policy describes the circumstances when the College can issue emergency class certificates, how the emergency will continue to be assessed, and what happens when the emergency is considered to be resolved.
You can read the new Emergency Class Policy on the College’s website.