Dr John Hillery, president of the Medical Council and chairman Designate of the IAMRA, the world association of national medical regulatory bodies.
I look forward to the new Medical Practitioners Bill. It should be a major step forward for doctors and patients.
The draft Bill was promising. The final Bill is to be published this month and should promote an informed productive debate on regulation of the health services in general.
I hope the Act becomes law before the next general election.
While the new Act is one of the advances crucial to ensuring that the healthcare environment supports modern patient needs, it is also essential that the activities laid out in the Act are adequately resourced.
If they are not, then the legislation will simply increase stress for doctors without bringing the hoped for positive changes.
It is also vital that other changes take place in the regulation of the health services.
Therefore, I've two more hopes for 2007.
Firstly that the structures and activities required by the new Medical Practitioners Bill will be appropriately resourced, especially for the proposed competence assurance programme.
Secondly, that the related legislation and resources supporting the national clinical audit and licensing of hospitals and other health service delivery sites are developed and implemented.
In conversation with Slyvia Thompson