New law to support councils of health professions

A bid to widen the pool of people who can adjudicate in healthcare regulatory matters and speed up administration has taken a step closer to becoming law.

Minister of Health, Environment and Sustainability Katherine Ebanks-Wilks said the proposal to delegate professional council powers to sub-committees was an important step.

She was speaking as the Health Practice (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2026, which passed Parliament on 5 Oct., had its second reading in Parliament on 2 Oct.

She told Parliament that the move would strengthen the “governance, flexibility, and efficiency” of the health regulation framework.

“These amendments are essential to supporting modern regulatory practice and ensuring that our health system remains responsive, efficient and well-governed,” she said

“These provisions modernise the council’s operational capacity.

“They allow for more efficient processing of applications, reviews and regulatory matters while preserving oversight and accountability.”

Critical role of councils

The four councils are the Medical and Dental Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Pharmacy Council and the Council for Professions Allied with Medicine.

Ebanks-Wilks explained that they played a critical role in “safeguarding the quality, safety and integrity of health services in the Cayman Islands.”

She added, “They oversee professional standards, licensing, discipline, compliance and even education.”

But she said sub-committees to act for councils, such as the Nursing Council, were needed to ensure the parent bodies had “the operational flexibility to manage their responsibilities.”

Deleted: she added that sub-committees to act for councils, such as the Nursing Council, were needed to ensure the parent bodies had “the operational flexibility to manage their responsibilities.”Ebanks-Wilks said delegation could be made to sub-committees comprising council members, staff or agents of the Department of Health Regulatory Services, people outside the public sector with relevant experience, as well as others whom individual councils felt would be useful.

Cabinet’s final say

However, Ebanks-Wilks emphasised that approval of sub-committee members from outside the ranks of a council would be held by Cabinet and that the council retained the right to exercise the delegated powers itself.

“This safeguard ensures accountability and maintains the integrity of the council’s statutory responsibilities,” she said.

“By enabling delegation to sub-committees, the bill supports timely decision making and, at the same time, it preserves accountability through Cabinet oversight and statutory safeguards.

“This amendment reflects the government’s commitment to maintaining a high-quality, well-regulated health system that protects patients, supports professionals and upholds public confidence.”

Opposition support

Roy Tatum, the Opposition People’s Progressive Movement MP for Red Bay, said the opposition supported the bill.

He said, “The bill allows a council … to establish subcommittees and to delegate functions and duties to them and we have no difficulty with that principle at all.

“Indeed, there may be very good practical reasons for it. Professional regulation can involve considerable technical work.”

Tatum added, “There may be circumstances where a smaller committee or one drawing upon particular expertise can deal with a matter more efficiently than requiring the entire council to deal with every single issue.”

Public reassurance

Tatum highlighted most people would never need to know the nuts and bolts of how subcommittees were set up.

“What they need to know is that when a doctor, nurse, pharmacist or other regulated health professional is authorised to practice in these Islands, the regulation behind that decision is competent, efficient and accountable,” he said.