Today, the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) has accredited the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS). The PSA is an independent statutory body, accountable to Parliament.
Under the Accredited Registers programme, practitioners registered with the BOHS will now be able to display the Accredited Registers Quality Mark, a clear sign that the Register meets the PSA’s Standards for Accredited Registers.
Registration with an Accredited Register gives employers and patients, service users and the public confidence that practitioners have signed up to robust professional and ethical codes. All Registers accredited by the Authority must have transparent complaints processes so poor performance can be addressed. Where serious wrongdoing occurs, the practitioner will be removed from the Register.
The BOHS is the leading body for occupational hygiene in the UK and was awarded Royal Chartered status in 2012.
Alan Clamp, Chief Executive of the Professional Standards Authority, said: “We are very pleased to accredit the BOHS. Bringing these practitioners into a broad framework of assurance is good for employers and the public and is the best way to promote quality. The Accredited Registers programme offers a layer of protection for people receiving health services and gives the practitioners on the BOHS Register the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to good practice.”
Background information
Accreditation does not imply that the PSA has assessed the merits of individuals on the register. This remains the responsibility of the BOHS. Accreditation means that the BOHS meets the Professional Standards Authority’s high standards in governance, standard-setting, education and training, management of the register, complaints handling and information.
Accredited Registers encompass a growing range of occupations and organisations and the Professional Standards Authority may accredit more than one register in any particular occupation. Further information about Accredited Registers is available at www.professionalstandards.org.uk/what-we-do/accredited-registers
ENDS
Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care
Email: media@professionalstandards.org.uk
Notes to the Editor
- The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care oversees 10 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 – integrity, transparency, respect, fairness and teamwork – and we strive to ensure that they are at the core of our work.
More information about our work and the approach we take is available at
www.professionalstandards.org.uk