A law that will introduce registration exemptions on some medical and nursing agencies was given backing in the House of Keys on Tuesday.

MHKs granted a second reading to the Regulation of Care (Amendment) Bill, which means they have approved its principle.

The Bill aims to correct an anomaly created by the Regulation of Care Act 2013, which makes it an offence to run an independent medical agency or nursing agency unless they are registered with the Department of Health and Social Care.

Health Minister David Ashford told MHKs that under current definitions, that included agencies ’introducing or supplying doctors, nurses and midwives to work solely for the department’.

He added: ’It was never intended to capture those agencies and that it did so was unearthed quite recently as a consequence of legal advice received by the department from the Attorney General’s chambers.

’This Bill has been drafted to correct that anomaly to ensure independent medical agencies and nurses’ agencies supplying or introducing doctors, nurses or midwives to work solely for the department, are exempt from the requirement to register.’

He said it was important to make the change as, if those agencies were required to register, it was ’more than likely preclude’ them from supplying essential staff in the island.

The exemption would not extend to agency staff employed directly by GPs, rather than the DHSC, Mr Ashford confirmed. They would still need to be supplied by an agency registered in the island.