Professional Standards Authority Annual Report and Accounts 2022/23

Foreword from the Chair and Chief Executive

We are pleased to introduce this annual report for 2022/23. This year we have made further improvements to our performance reviews for the statutory regulators in health and social care and to our Accredited Registers programme. We have continued our commitment to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and to supporting the reform of professional regulation. We also published our Safer care for all report in September 2022 and consulted on our Strategic Plan 2023-26 during quarter four of 2022/23.

 We oversee the work of 10 statutory bodies that regulate health and social care professionals in the UK. In undertaking our oversight role, we strive to strike a proper balance between scrutiny on the one hand, and advice and support on the other. During 2022/23 we implemented changes to our performance review processes to ensure they continue to be proportionate and that they contribute to improvements in professional regulation. Regulators and other stakeholders provided very positive feedback about the changes and all reports were published within three months of the end of the performance review period.

In our scrutiny reviews of regulators’ performance over the year, we have found that they have generally performed well against the standards we set. Across all the regulators an average of 92% of the standards were met and four of the regulators met all the standards. Six of the regulators did not meet Standard 15 of the Standards of Good Regulation. This is a fitness to practise standard and the primary reason for it not being met is that it is taking too long to complete cases. This is not good for regulators, registrants, and patients and service users. We will be monitoring this situation very closely in 2023/24.

In reviewing regulators’ decisions about whether individuals on their registers are fit to practise, we find that the bulk of cases are managed to a high standard, with findings and sanctions that protect the public appropriately. However, every decision counts and there is room for further improvement. During 2022/23, 13 appeals under our Section 29 powers were completed. All but one of these appeals were either upheld or settled. One case could not be heard on the basis of jurisdiction – the court decided that Section 29 did not apply to the particular circumstances of the case.
 

The Accredited Registers programme has an important part to play now and in future, providing assurance for the public in relation to unregulated health and social care sectors. The programme now covers approximately 104,000 practitioners across 25 registers. During 2022/23 our reviews of the registers included the ‘public interest’ test as part of a risk-based assessment cycle. In the second half of 2022/23 we consulted on safeguarding checks for those on Accredited Registers and also on the introduction of a new standard for EDI for the registers. We will be introducing an EDI standard for the registers in 2023/24 and reviewing the position on safeguarding checks in the light of the government review of the disclosure and barring regime.
 

The Professional Standards Authority has been very clear that we wish to see more proportionate, effective and efficient regulatory arrangements and we have been a strong advocate of reform of professional regulation. In January 2023, we welcomed the government response to the 2021 consultation on reform and the publication of a consultation on the draft Section 60 Order relating to the regulation of Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates. We will be responding to the consultation early in 2023/24. We will continue to work with the government and others to support regulatory reform.
 

In September 2022, we published Safer care for all, a report that highlighted the key challenges for patient safety in the UK and the role of professional regulation in addressing these challenges. The report highlights four main issues for patient safety: the impact of inequalities in regulation and health and care on patients, service users and professionals, and on public confidence more widely; the challenges facing regulators in adapting to new disruptive factors in how health and care professionals deliver care, such as financial conflicts of interest, new business models and technological changes; the current workforce crisis and how professional regulation may need to evolve to better support the workforce needs across the UK; and how to make learning cultures and individual accountability work for both patient and service user safety. In 2023/24 we will work with regulators, Accredited Registers, stakeholders in health and social care, patients, service users and governments to take forward the recommendations in the report to improve the safety and quality of care for all.
 

In December 2022, Antony Townsend and Renata Drinkwater stepped down from the Board following the completion of two four-year terms. Antony and Renata made significant contributions to the work of the Professional Standards Authority and will be much missed. We are delighted that Juliet Oliver and Nick Simkins have joined our Board in quarter four of 2022/23.
 

In March 2023, we relocated to a new office in Blackfriars, London. The new office provides a better working environment at a lower cost than our previous office in Victoria, London.

 To conclude, it has been a successful and productive year for the Professional Standards Authority. As we look forward to 2023/24 and beyond, we remain as committed as ever to improving regulation and registration to protect the public.
 

 Caroline Corby (Chair)   |    Alan Clamp (Chief Executive)