Regulators’ update
This section is still mainly focused on providing links through to the regulators’ Covid-19 website hubs which are frequently updated.
Joint statement recognising challenging circumstances
The third wave of the pandemic has hit hard, especially on those involved in health and care - the professional regulators issued a joint statement in early January recognising the highly challenging circumstances in which their registrants are working to provide care for their patients and people using their services. We responded to this with a statement of our own expressing our support for the regulators and all the health and care professionals on their registers.
General Chiropractic Council
The GCC’s website hub includes advice for students and patients, changes to how the GCC will hold conduct committee hearings, rapid response as well as regular updates and news.
General Dental Council
Covid-19 and dentistry
The GDC has published an independent report on the impact that Covid-19 has had on the public’s choices about their oral health during the first lockdown. The research has been produced by Community Research. The GDC has also published a further report looking at the impact of Covid-19 on dental professionals
You can find both reports on the GDC’s website.
The GDC’s Covid-19 website hub includes guidance for the public and its registrants, GDC updates as well as useful links to Covid-19 information from other organisations.
General Medical Council
The GMC’s website has all its Covid-19 related information including advice for doctors and patients, medical students and trainees and information about temporary registration.
Developing professional standards for PAs and AAs
As part of its planning for bringing physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs) into regulation, the GMC ran a survey focused on the development of professional standards in June 2020.
The GMC received almost 1,150 responses to the survey and has been running focus groups with those who completed the survey, and others, to explore the results. To find out more, you can download the survey results or visit the GMC's website.
Black and minority ethnic (BME) doctors are less likely than their white counterparts to report improvements in workplace teamwork during the coronavirus pandemic
The GMC published The state of medical education and practice report in November. It discussed that most UK doctors, BME and white, say that, despite the pandemic’s huge impact on healthcare, there have been positive impacts, such as teamwork and knowledge and information-sharing. However, these positive experiences are not shared equally by BME doctors compared to white colleagues, backing calls for all doctors to receive better support in the workplace.
It found that, despite the pressures caused by Covid-19, 89% of doctors experienced at least one positive change during the pandemic. But BME doctors were less likely to share the positive experiences reported by many of their white counterparts. Find out more in the report available from the GMC’s website.
General Optical Council
The GOC’s Covid-19 hub includes advice for its registrants and the public.
General Osteopathic Council
The GOsC has a Covid-19 area on its website. It includes guidance for registrants and the public, advice from government, useful links and updates.
Fitness to practise annual report
The GOsC has published its Fitness to Practise Annual Report 2019-2020. The report provides details of the decisions and any sanctions applied from the substantive hearings of the GOsC’s Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) concluded during the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020.
You can find out more or read the full report from the GOsC’s website.
General Pharmaceutical Council
The GPhC’s Coronavirus website hub includes latest updates and advice, including Q&As.
New standards for the initial education and training of pharmacists introduced
The GPhC has introduced a new set of standards for initial education and training of pharmacists. The standards set out the knowledge, skills, understanding and professional behaviours a student/trainee pharmacist must demonstrate to pass their initial education and training and to join the professional register. The standards also set out the requirements for organisations providing initial education and training. You can find out more from the GPhC’s website.
Health and Care Professions Council
The HCPC’s Covid-19 website hub includes FAQs and advice for registrants, temporary registrants, members of the public, students and education providers.
Consultation on revised threshold level of qualification for entry to the Register for Operating Department Practitioners
The consultation will run from 25 January 2021 to 26 April 2021. For more information, visit the consultation page on the HCPC’s website or email consultation@hcpc-uk.org.
Consultation on changes to guidance on health and character
The HCPC has launched a consultation on revisions to its Guidance on Health and Character. The guidance was first developed in 2005 and last updated in 2017. It provides HCPC registrants and applicants with information about making a health and character declaration, something they are required to complete when renewing their registration or joining the Register. You can find out more from the HCPC’s consultation page. The deadline for responding is 12 April 2021.
Nursing and Midwifery Council
The NMC’s website includes information for their registrants, students, overseas candidates, employers, as well as patients. It also includes FAQs and information about how to raise a concern about someone on their Covid-19 temporary register.
NMC publishes Workforce Race Quality Standard and ethnicity pay gap report
The NMC published in late November findings from its first ever Workforce Race Quality Standard (WRES) submission and ethnicity pay gap report. The reports were presented to the NMC’s governing Council on 2 December 2020, alongside the disability and gender pay gap reports and an update on commitments to tackle inequality and discrimination, made in July 2020, in response to Black Lives Matter.
Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland
The PSNI’s website includes FAQs, advice and guidance as well as the latest Covid-19 updates.
Social Work England
SWE’s website includes information for registrants, the public, students, education providers and employers.
Social Work in England: First Reflections
Social Work England has published a report Social Work in England: First Reflections. The report gives a snapshot of the social work profession which includes over 100,000 people in England and has an impact on millions of lives every day. You can find out more from Social Work England’s website.