Reforming accreditation for specialist medical training sites

Health ministers in Australia asked the National Health Practitioner Ombudsman to review the process for accrediting specialist medical college training sites. Learn more about the resulting reform that’s in progress.

About the reform

In 2018 Professor Michael Woods completed a review of accreditation systems in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme. He recommended that the National Health Practitioner Ombudsman review some of the processes of accreditation organisations.

The National Health Practitioner Ombudsman reviewed accreditation processes for transparency and fairness, including complaint and appeal processes. The review found that the complex process has led to gaps in accountability related to accreditation of specialist medical training sites. Learn more about their review and its outcomes.

The Health Workforce Taskforce is working with the Australian Medical Council and medical colleges on implementing the National Health Practitioner Ombudsman’s recommendations. The taskforce will evaluate the implementation and report to the Health Ministers’ Meeting in November 2024.

Why it is important

Medical colleges play a critical role in making sure doctors are appropriately trained, so patients can access the care they need in a safe environment. Making sure that Australia’s specialist medical training sites are properly accredited is key to ensuring this.

It is also important that our specialist medical training sites can respond to both current and future workforce needs.

Implementation update

On 16 August 2024, Health Ministers met with representatives of all sixteen specialist medical colleges and from:

  • Australian Medical Council (AMC)
  • Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra)
  • Medical Board of Australia (MBA)
  • National Health Practitioner Ombudsman (NHPO) 

Health Ministers’ Meeting (HMM) Communiques 

Communication protocol: accreditation of specialist medical training sites/posts in Australian public hospitals and health facilities

There was a ministerial policy direction issued on 1 September 2023, to develop a communication protocol. The aim was to define roles and responsibilities of all parties in the training and supply of medical workforce and the distribution of that workforce. 

The AMC, along with health departments and colleges, developed the Communication Protocol - Accreditation of specialist medical training sites/posts in Australian public hospitals and health facilities. The protocol required that colleges, health departments and accredited training sites establish generic contact points.

The Health Workforce Taskforce (HWT) completed a six-month post implementation review of the Communication Protocol.  They did this with a survey to colleges, health departments and accredited training sites. The Taskforce will work with the AMC, health departments, colleges and training sites to address issues raised in the review. They will develop strategies to support its ongoing implementation in 2025. 

Implementation of the National Health Practitioner Ombudsman (NHPO) report

The NHPO 2023 report includes 23 recommendations to improve the process of specialist medical training site accreditation. 

Processes for progress - Part one: A roadmap for greater transparency and accountability in specialist medical training site accreditation

An Implementation plan was developed by the Taskforce and the AMC and a project governance group was established to oversee it. See below for an update on projects.

Recommendation 2:

The AMC should work with colleges to ensure specialist medical training site accreditation standards are outcome-centric and evidence-informed with measurable and achievable attributes.

A deliverable of recommendation 2 is development of model standards for accreditation of medical training sites that will be used by all medical colleges. 

The AMC in consultation with colleges has developed draft model standards for accreditation of medical training sites, and model accreditation procedures. These are available now for public consultation until 11 November 2024.

Recommendation 13:

The AMC should work with colleges and other relevant stakeholders to develop a framework for managing concerns about accredited specialist medical training sites.

The AMC and HWT jointly convened the Consult, cooperate and coordinate: Managing concerns and complaints about accredited specialist training sites forum on Thursday 15 August 2024 at the Pullman Hyde Park in Sydney.   

The forum was about developing a framework to manage concerns and complaints on accredited specialist medical training sites. This was identified in Recommendation 13 of the Processes for Progress - Part one report. 

Over 150 stakeholders attended the forum, including trainees and representatives from:

  • health departments 
  • health services 
  • specialist colleges
  • regulators
  • accreditation authorities
  • industrial organisations and professional associations

Forum participants considered issues raised and provided feedback on the following: 

  • barriers to achieving effective consultation between colleges, health services and health departments, and how these can be overcome 
  • how stakeholders can effectively cooperate with each other to support the accreditation process 
  • how to manage grievances and complaints

Outcomes from this session were collated and key themes were identified to inform the development of the framework. 

The AMC will develop a draft framework for further consultation with all stakeholders including trainees, and representatives from health departments, health services and colleges. Further timelines will be announced as available by AMC and HWT.

Contact

Health Workforce Taskforce secretariat

Contact us for more information about the Health Workforce Taskforce.
Date last updated:

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