Dear members,
Please see the letter below regarding a consultation on potential changes to statutory regulation for healthcare scientists.
Please send your feedback to the Chairman by Wednesday 16th February.
8th February 2022
Dear Jason Watson,
Re: Healthcare regulation: deciding when statutory regulation is appropriate
I am writing to make you aware of the upcoming government consultancy deadline of 31st March 2022 regarding criteria for a profession being subject to statutory regulation and to request your feedback in our campaign for statutory regulation.
Background
Under the Health and Care Bill, the government is seeking additional legislative powers to ensure that the regulation of health and social care professionals is proportionate and best protects the public from harm.
The Department of Health and Social Care’s briefing states:
“this consultation considers how the powers to introduce and remove professions from [statutory] regulation might be used in the future. It seeks views on the criteria that should be considered in assessing which professions should be regulated. These criteria will form the basis of assessing whether professions should be brought into, or taken out of, statutory regulation”.
“This consultation is part of a broader programme of reform of the regulation of health and, in England, social care professionals. The government, on behalf of the 4 countries, has consulted on detailed proposals for reforming the legislation that underpins how the healthcare professional regulators operate in order to deliver better public protection through a simpler, more consistent and flexible system”.
AHCS/RCCP Response
There are a large number of clinical physiologists and scientists in the NHS and private practises representing many different roles, many with patient-facing roles, undertaking complex technical tasks, including administering treatment.
However, only a small fraction of physiologists and scientists are signed up to the voluntary professional register and even fewer in statutory registers. The remainder are not subject to their rigorous requirements, including annual compliance checks continued professional development and an independent Fitness to Practise process.
As the acting Chief Executive and Registrar for AHCS and RCCP, a professional organisation that represents Clinical Physiologists and scientists playing these key roles in delivering our
healthcare, I am in collaboration with other Health Care professions in the sector that continue to voice concerns about the effectiveness of the current voluntary system of registration for
ensuring patient safety. We are keen to stand together as one voice and strongly request for the introduction of a statutory regime.
Requesting your Help
I would be extremely grateful for your thoughts and comments in light of this consultation. We will be submitting a response from AHCS/RCCP and would like to include your feedback.
Once finalised, we will circulate our final response and will encourage individual professional bodies, physiologists and scientists to also submit their own responses. We are aware that the number of requests submitted, as well as providing a comprehensive response, is important to ensure the government understands the need for change. We would advise however avoiding simple responses such as “profession x should have a statutory register”. Rather consider the overarching principles and ideas in the consultation document itself.
Yours Sincerely,
Janet Monkman
