1. Update from the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
Academic Registrars Council – Subjects Allied to Medicine meeting 23 October 2014
Update from the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
Abigail Gorringe, Director of Education

2. Content of presentation
Policy developments
Profession specific updates
Communication and governance updates
Questions

3. Policy developments

4. Policy developments
Service user and carer involvement
Lay visitors
Reviews of existing standards
standards of proficiency
standards of conduct, performance and ethics
standards of education and training
Proposed new standards
podiatric surgery
‘Non medical’ public health specialists
Professional indemnity

5. Service user and carer involvement
SET 3.17: Service users and carers must be involved in the programme
Phased introduction across three academic years
approval visits
approval visits and annual monitoring
approval visits and annual monitoring
Meetings with service user and carers at visits
Seminars, web pages, signposting and on-line video

6. Lay visitors
Appointed and trained 17 lay visitors
Lay visitor on all approval visits from September 2014 onwards
Three visitors panel
Review and assess all standards and all professions

7. Standards of proficiency – rolling review
11 professions republished: orthoptists, dietitians, arts therapists, physiotherapists, radiographers, chiropodists / podiatrists, prosthetists / orthotists, speech and language therapists, operating department practitioners, paramedics & hearing aid dispensers
Education providers to confirm via annual monitoring in and academic years
Biomedical scientists and clinical scientists due for republication on 1 December 2014
Practitioner psychologists due for republication on 1 April 2015

8. Standards of conduct, performance and ethics
Three phases
External and internal research period
Professional Liaison Group
Public consultation
Anticipated new standards published and effective from January 2016
Anticipated review and consultation on ‘guidance on conduct and ethics for students’ between January and September 2016

9. Standards of education and training (SETs) review
Three year review – 2014 to 2017
Anticipated effective date academic year
Three phases
External and internal research period
Professional Liaison Group
Public consultation
Commissioned research
Interprofessional education
Preparation for practice

10. Standards for podiatric surgery
Current consultation open until 16 January 2015
Anticipated standards approved by Education and Training Committee and Council in March 2015
Anticipated publication of standards in June 2015
Anticipated approval visits to programme(s) in academic year
Annotation of the register in 2016

11. ‘Non medical’ public health specialists
Potential 17th profession
Government decision in 2012 to statutorily regulate public health specialists who are not already regulated with the GMC and GDC
Current Department of Health consultation open until 14 November 2014
Outcome of consultation and legislative timetable will determine whether and when the register opens

12. Professional indemnity
New statutory requirement
All registrants (except social workers in England) to have appropriate professional indemnity cover as a condition of registration
Self declaration at point of registration and renewal
Future rule changes to enable appropriate action if no cover in place

13. Profession specific updates

14. Profession specific updates
Social workers in England
Approved mental health professionals (England)
Supplementary and independent prescribing
Paramedics

15. Social workers in England
We have visited 192 programmes at 61 education providers 162 (86%) transferred from the GSCC 26 (14%) were new programmes
95% of programmes were required to meet conditions before approval was granted
2% of programmes were approved without conditions being set
3% of programmes withdrew their request for approval either at or shortly after the visit so no final outcome was made
55 programmes which transferred from the GSCC have closed to future intakes
We have approved 26 new programmes – 25 (89%) at postgraduate level and 3 (11%) at undergraduate level.

16. Social workers in England continued …
1054 conditions were set across 182 programmes. This equates to an average of 5 conditions per programme.
The breakdown of conditions across the broad sections of the standards are as follows - programme management and resources (32%); assessment (27%); admissions (17%); practice placements (16%); curriculum (7%) and level of qualification (0%).
Detailed review report to be published in late autumn 2014
Comprehensive review of all three years in late 2015

17. Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHPS)
Our approval criteria for AMHP programmes in England was published in September 2013
We visited 17 AMHP programmes at 11 education providers in the academic year
Detailed review report to be published in late autumn 2014

18. Supplementary and independent prescribing
Independent prescribing rights extended to chiropodists / podiatrists and physiotherapists in August 2013
Standards for prescribing published in August 2013
Amended documentary approvals process agreed in summer 2013
We approved 86 independent prescribing programmes (including ten conversion programmes and 17 with a supplementary prescribing exit point) in the academic year
Detailed review report to be published in late autumn 2014

19. Paramedics
SET 1 - Threshold level of qualification for entry to the Register - ‘Equivalent to Certificate of Higher Education’
Education and Training Committee discussions in June and September 2014 on reviewing the current level
Any decision to make a change will require a public consultation beforehand

20. Communication and governance updates

21. Communication and governance updates
Internal resources and guidance
External reviews and reports
Council structure and recruitment

22. Education – quality assurance resources
Education annual report
Published in May 2014
You tube video
Education seminars
8 seminars in autumn 2014
6 on service user and carer involvement
2 for social worker and AMHP programmes planning an approval visit
Date
Location
28 October
Newcastle
18 November
Edinburgh
25 November
Reading
2 December
Cardiff

23. Guidance for disabled people wanting to become health and care professionals
Two phase review
External research
Public consultation
Research published on line in August 2014
Current consultation open until 16 January 2015
Anticipated publication of guidance in May 2015

24. External reviews and reports
Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry
Independent reviews on social work education commissioned by the Department of Health and the Department of Education
Law Commission bill
Professional Standards Authority (PSA) performance review 2013/14
Health Select Committee accountability hearing

25. Council
Newly structured Council in January 2014
12 members (6 lay & 6 registrants)
Two statutory committees - Education & Training and Audit
Four new members in January 2015 (3 lay & 1 registrant)
New chair in July 2015

26. Questions?

27. Useful web links for more detailed information:
Tel:
Fax:
Web: