The Professional Standards Authority (the Authority) has published its annual performance review of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). The HCPC’s register covers almost 370,000 registrants in a variety of health and care professions in the United Kingdom, including paramedics, physiotherapists, dietitians, and social workers (in England).
We assessed the HCPC’s performance against our Standards of Good Regulation. Our Standards are designed to ensure that the regulators are protecting the public and also promoting confidence in health and care professionals and themselves. This year the HCPC has met all the Standards for Guidance and Standards, Education and Training, and Registration. It has met four out of 10 of the Fitness to Practise Standards. The HCPC has not met the remaining six Standards for its previous two performance reviews. However, the HCPC has undertaken significant work to address our concerns, which has taken some time. It implemented new processes in January 2019, outside this performance review period. We will be reviewing its performance in the light of its new processes next year.
During this performance review period the preparations for the transfer of social workers to Social Work England were in their earliest stages, but this has clearly been an important focus for the HCPC in 2019 and we will be looking at that in the next performance review.
You can read the full report or a summary in our two-page snapshot.
ENDS
Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care
Contact:
Christine Braithwaite, Director of Standards and Policy
Email: Christine.Braithwaite@professionalstandards.org.uk
Reception: 020 7389 8030
Email: info@professionalstandards.org.uk
Notes to the Editor
- The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care oversees nine statutory bodies that regulate health and social care professionals in the UK.
- We assess their performance and report to Parliament. We also conduct audits and investigations and can appeal fitness to practise cases to the courts if we consider that sanctions are insufficient to protect the public and it is in the public interest.
- We also set standards for organisations holding voluntary registers for health and social care occupations and accredit those that meet them.
- We share good practice and knowledge, conduct research and introduce new ideas to our sector. We monitor policy developments in the UK and internationally and provide advice on issues relating to professional standards in health and social care.
- We do this to promote the health, safety and wellbeing of users of health and social care services and the public. We are an independent body, accountable to the UK Parliament.
- Our values are at the heart of who we are and what we do. We are committed to being impartial, fair, accessible and consistent in the application of our values.
- The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) regulates the practice in the UK of arts therapists, biomedical scientists, chiropodists/podiatrists, clinical scientists, dieticians, hearing aid dispensers, occupational therapists, operating department practitioners, orthoptists, paramedics, physiotherapists, practitioner psychologists, prosthetists/orthotists, radiographers, speech and language therapists and social workers in England. As at 31 March 2019, the HCPC was responsible for a register of 369,139 practitioners. The annual registration fee is £90.
- More information about our work and the approach we take is available at www.professionalstandards.org.uk