HPC In Focus. CPD guide have you got yours?

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1 HPC In Focus Health Professions Council Newsletter, Issue 6, August 2006 INSIDE PAGE Note from the Editor 1 Show people you re registered! CPD guide have you got yours? Four ways to check 2 HPC needs to be a strong voice A fond farewell 3 Registrants have their say! Upcoming Listening Events Review of the SoPs 4 Review of the SCPEs 5 Medicines and prescribing 6 Fitness to practise hearings 8 Foster and Donaldson HPC responds 9 HPC has had a very busy two months since the publication of our last In Focus. As promised, a range of guidance on CPD has been made available including sample profiles and more detailed information on the audit process. Staff have been out and about again, hosting Listening Events and exhibiting at this year s TSI conference (page 7). Another advertising campaign was launched, in a continued effort to raise awareness of HPC and registered health professionals, and we ask for your comments on a range of our standards (pages 4/5). We recently welcomed our new President, Dr Anna van der Gaag (page 7) and said a fond farewell to her predecessor, Professor Norma Brook (page 8). A range of other topical items feature in this edition of the newsletter including a snapshot of HPC s response to the Foster and Donaldson reports (page 9). I do hope you continue to find HPC In Focus useful, and we look forward to receiving further valuable feedback. Philippa Richardson, Editor This newsletter and previous issues can be downloaded from the website at: To have it sent straight to your inbox, please newsletter@hpc-uk.org Show people you re registered! The HPC Communications team recently launched another initiative to help increase public awareness of the organisation and raise the profile of registered health professionals. A new advert e-kit that enables registrants to download a special hpcheck logo (pictured right) and use it to advertise their registration is now available online. The hpcheck logo can be used on publicity material from websites to stationery. Its usage will not only help communicate to the public who we are and what we do, but also encourage people to check that their health professionals are registered. Communications Manager, Victoria Nash explains: By displaying the logo, you, as registered health professionals, are playing an active role in protecting the public from those who are not registered and therefore do not meet our standards. And as awareness of HPC continues to rise, more people are likely to choose genuine, registered health professionals over rogue practitioners. You can raise your profile as a registered health professional by downloading our special logo, along with advert templates and other publicity material, from: CPD guide have you got yours? By now all registrants should have received a copy of Your guide to our standards for continuing professional development along with a special mini edition of this newsletter. Last month it became compulsory for all registrants to start recording their CPD activities. A summary or profile drawn from this record will then need to be submitted to HPC by those individuals selected for audit (from 2008). Copies of the short guide were sent direct to every registrant in June and sample profiles are now available on the HPC website as well as the longer CPD guide Continuing professional development and your registration. (This is a more detailed document, specifically designed for those who are selected for audit, or those who want further information.) For the short guide to CPD click here: For the longer guide to CPD click here: For sample profiles click here: If for any reason you have not received a copy of the short brochure, Your guide to our standards for continuing professional development, and you would like us to send you one, please publications@hpc-uk.org. Please also make sure your contact details are up to date by calling

2 2 Health Professions Council Newsletter, Issue 6, August 2006 Spreading the word CPD mail-out to professional bodies A copy of Your guide to our standards for continuing professional development was also recently sent to all professional bodies to let them know what registrants are expected to undertake in order to register/stay registered with HPC. If you have any questions regarding CPD, please do not hesitate to contact us (see details listed opposite). CPD Health Professionals Council Park House 184 Kennington Park Road London SE11 4BU registration@hpc-uk.org Phone: +44 (020) You can also see the HPC website for more information on CPD at: Four ways to check The HPC Communications team have produced a new public information flyer, which has been distributed to GP surgeries and Citizens Advice Bureaux all across the UK. The leaflet promotes the four ways people can check to see if a health professional is registered with HPC online, by phone, by checking their certificate or by checking their ID card (see right). All thirteen professions currently regulated by HPC are also listed on the front of the new brochure (see left). If you would like copies of the leaflet to display at work, please publications@hpc-uk.org RENEWAL REMINDER! Current registration cycles will finish on the dates listed below. Registrants will be lapsed on these dates if we have not received their completed renewal forms and payment. Please ensure you return your renewal form and payment for the next 2-year cycle well in advance of these dates. If you are lapsed your name will no longer appear on the HPC Register. Profession Operating department practitioners Cut off / lapsing date 30 November To check your registration status, please see the online Register via our website: HPC needs to be a strong voice According to Dr Anna Van der Gaag (pictured left), who was announced as the organisation s new President on 11 July. Anna, who is a registrant speech and language therapist, as well as a chair of the Communications Committee and a member of the Education and Training Committee, replaces Professor Norma Brook who stepped down after a five-year term. As HPC s new President, Anna will lead the work of the Council through active collaboration and engagement, strengthening cooperation between Council members and the Executive. She expressed pride at being part of the regulatory reform process and asserted her commitment to seeing HPC play a key role in future debates: The HPC needs to be a strong voice in the debate, a voice that is rooted in clearly articulated values, and judgements based on careful analysis. I know that I have the necessary commitment and strength of purpose to lead the HPC into the future, making it more effective and more meaningful to the public, patients and professions alike.

3 3 Health Professions Council Newsletter, Issue 6, August 2006 Anna has been engaged in clinical work, university teaching, management and research across the UK. At a national level she has been involved in Department of Health (DH) funded evaluations of professional competence and the role of support workers in the NHS; this has led to further work on professional standards, clinical audit, organisational review, measuring the effectiveness of interventions and patient and public involvement (PPI). Anna has also served on profession-specific and multi-disciplinary committees, including the DH Therapy Professions Research Group, the National Centre for Clinical Audit, Kings Fund Clinical Effectiveness Group and research and education committees of both European and International professions associations. A fond farewell HPC said a fond farewell to Professor Norma Brook last month, whose five years as President of the organisation finally came to an end. Norma gave her last speech as President at the Council s Annual Meeting on Friday 7 July the day before her term came to a close. She expressed a degree of sadness in the knowledge that she would no longer be leading the HPC at a time of such exciting change and growth and went on to address some of our key challenges. We wait with bated breath for the outcome of the Foster and Donaldson reviews but it is already clear that the Council must restructure in order to accommodate the number of professions set to join HPC, whilst ensuring that the organisation continues to be run in an effective and responsive way and meet the requirements for good corporate governance. Norma went on to express feelings of confidence at leaving the organisation in the safe hands of a committed Council, a dedicated Executive team and an enthusiastic group of staff who work hard to ensure the continuing success of HPC in achieving its primary aim ensuring the health and wellbeing of those who use the services of our registrants. On a more personal note, Norma expressed her sincere thanks to everyone for all their friendliness and support over the last five years. She will be greatly missed and we wish her the very best for the future. Registrants have their say! Health professionals from Northern Ireland and Scotland voiced their opinions on HPC and a range of regulation issues during our most recent Listening Events. Meetings were held in Bangor and Ayr on Tuesday 13 and Thursday 15 June respectively. Registrants got the chance to put questions and comments to Council members and the Chief Executive of the HPC. Always a hot topic, CPD was discussed at length, whilst other familiar subjects such as potential regulation of healthcare scientists and FTP confidentiality issues were also raised by registrants. Concerns were expressed about the provision of substandard services by unregulated practitioners, and misconceptions were clarified surrounding acupuncture and dual registration: health professionals are currently NOT required to register with any body/organisation in order to practise this discipline. Transcripts from the four events, detailing a full account of the Q&A sessions, can be found at: Upcoming Listening Events 2006 The Health Professions Council will be coming to Newcastle and Burnley this September to hear your views on healthcare regulation and on HPC itself. We want to know what you think about the way we regulate and how you think we can improve. Meetings will be held at 2pm and again at 6pm on Tuesday 5 and Thursday 7 respectively. Listening Events provide an ideal opportunity for you to ask the questions you want answered, so to book your place, please events@hpc-uk.org, or give us a call on And for further information, see the events section of our website at:

4 4 Health Professions Council Newsletter, Issue 6, August 2006 Review of the standards of conduct, performance and ethics At its meeting on 6 July 2006, our Council agreed to review the standards of conduct, performance and ethics (SCPEs). Background Our standards of conduct, performance and ethics describe what we expect of our registrants in terms of their professional behaviour. For example, we say that registrants should act in the best interest of their patients, clients and users and should get informed consent to give treatment. You can access a copy of the standards on our website at: We use the standards in making decisions about Fitness to Practise cases. We also take the standards into account when we make decisions about health and character issues on application for registration. Our review We published the standards in 2003 after consulting widely with our stakeholders. Now the standards have been in place for over three years we think it s important to review them to make sure that they are working. In particular, we want to make sure that the standards continue to be relevant to our registrants and conform to public expectations of health professionals. The review will be led by our Conduct and Committee and will consider evidence from a variety of different sources including: the standards and codes of practice of other organisations; any changes in legislation since the original standards were produced; and a review of the Fitness to Practise cases heard to date. We are also holding meetings with professional bodies, and with organisations who have a patient or public focus, to ask for their feedback about the standards. We plan to consult on the standards (if necessary) early next year. We will then publish the new standards. Your comments To start our review, we would welcome your comments on what you think about the existing standards. In particular you might want to answer the following questions: Do you think the introduction clearly explains the role and purpose of the standards? Do you think the standards are appropriate and relevant to all registrants? Do you think there are any standards that need further clarification or that might usefully be reworded? Do you think there are other standards that should be added? Please your comments to policy@hpc-uk.org by Wednesday 6 September We will let you know the progress of the review in further editions of HPC In Focus. Guidance on the standards In the last newsletter we explained that we are currently looking at whether to produce guidance on the standards in a small number of specific areas. We have identified that it might be useful to produce guidance on the following: Confidentiality Consent Record keeping Drugs administration Please policy@hpc-uk.org with your ideas on which topics you think we should produce guidance on. We are very grateful to all those who have already responded with their feedback.

5 5 Health Professions Council Newsletter, Issue 6, August 2006 Review of the standards of proficiency We have recently been reviewing our standards of proficiency (SoPs). Background The standards of proficiency are the threshold standards we consider necessary for the safe and effective practise of professionals we register. We have set generic standards, which are the same for every profession, as well as profession-specific standards. We approve education programmes to make sure that they allow students to meet these standards when they graduate. We assess against these standards applications from people who have trained overseas, as well as some of our grandparenting applications. If an applicant meets these standards they are eligible to be registered. If a registrant s competence is called into question we will look at these standards in deciding whether we need to take any action. Every time a health professional registered with us renews their registration, we ask them to sign a declaration to confirm that they continue to meet the standards of proficiency which apply to them. Our review In October last year we started to review the standards of proficiency to make sure that they were working, and that they continued to reflect current practice as experienced by registrants, employers, educators and others. We established a professional liaison group (PLG) which included registrant and lay Council members and representatives from professional bodies. The group met five times and considered a variety of evidence about how the standards were working. The group s recommendations were considered by our Council on 6 July 2006 and we will soon be consulting on the new proposed standards. Where we have made changes to the standards, we have done so to: reflect standard, safe and effective practice, or changes in the scope of practice of a profession; reflect the standard content of pre-registration education programmes; clarify the intention of the existing standards; reflect changes in the use of terminology; and correct any errors or omissions. Example This is an example of a proposed change to the generic standards. This incorporates standard 1a.5 in the existing standards. The new standards are shown in bold. Although standard 1a is headed professional autonomy and accountability we felt that we needed to emphasise that registrants should be able to work as autonomous professionals who are personally responsible for their decisions. 1a.6: be able to practise as an autonomous professional, exercising their own professional judgement - be able to assess a situation, determine the nature and severity of the problem and call upon the required knowledge and experience to deal with the problem - be able to initiate resolution of problems and be able to exercise personal initiative - know the limits of their practice and when to seek advice or refer to another professional - recognise that they are personally responsible for and must be able to justify their decisions Your comments We will shortly consult on the proposed new standards for a period of three months and would welcome your comments. We will send a copy of the consultation document to everybody on our consultation list. The document will also be available on our website and in hard copy on request. Please see future editions of HPC In Focus for more information about the consultation. If you have any questions, please Michael Guthrie at: michael.guthrie@hpc-uk.org

6 6 Health Professions Council Newsletter, Issue 6, August 2006 Medicines and prescribing We are often asked by registrants about who can and cannot prescribe or administer medicines. We have produced this short article to provide some information on the topic. Medicines legislation The Medicines Act 1968 and Prescription Only Medicines (Human Use) Order 1997 are two important pieces of legislation which cover the sale, use and production of medicines. This includes prescribing rights. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for regulating medicines in the UK. This includes ensuring that medicines and medical devices are safe and bringing forward prosecutions when legislation has been broken. Classes of medicines: Prescription only medicines (POMs) can only be sold and/or supplied with a prescription from an appropriate practitioner (eg a doctor, dentist or pharmacist, and in certain circumstances, a nurse prescriber or supplementary prescriber). Pharmacy only medicines can only be sold or supplied at registered pharmacy premises or under the supervision of a pharmacist. Medicines on the General Sales List (GSL) can be sold at a wider range of outlets (such as supermarkets). Prescribing The law says who can and cannot prescribe medicines. It also allows local arrangements to be developed to administer medicines to certain types of patients, in certain circumstances. Types of prescriber: An independent prescriber is someone who is able to prescribe medicines on their own initiative from the British National Formulary (BNF). Examples of independent prescribers are doctors and extended formulary nurse prescribers (subject to certain conditions). A supplementary prescriber is able to prescribe medicines in accordance with a clinical management plan. The plan is agreed between the supplementary prescriber, a doctor and the patient. Medicines can also be given by other professionals on the instruction of an independent prescriber or via local arrangements. A patient specific direction (PSD) is an instruction given by an independent prescriber to another professional to administer a medicine to a specific patient. A patient group direction (PGD) is a written instruction for the supply or administration of medicines to certain groups of patients. The instruction is agreed and signed by a senior doctor and pharmacist and includes the following information: Details of the health professional who can supply or administer the medicine. The condition(s) included. A description of those patients who should not be treated under the direction. A description of circumstances where referral to another professional should be made. The drugs included and method of administration. The legislation allows the following professionals on our Register to administer or supply medicines under a patient group direction: Chiropodists / podiatrists Dietitians Occupational therapists Orthoptists Paramedics Physiotherapists Prosthetists / orthotists Radiographers Speech and language therapists

7 7 Health Professions Council Newsletter, Issue 6, August 2006 Specific entitlements The law allows certain professionals on our Register to administer or supply certain drugs on their own initiative when this would otherwise be restricted to independent prescribers. Paramedics can administer certain named drugs on their own initiative in emergency situations. The legislation is regularly amended to extend or amend the list of drugs which paramedics can administer. Chiropodists / podiatrists who are appropriately qualified can administer local anaesthetic and supply certain prescription-only medicines in the course of their practice. In order to have these entitlements they must have successfully completed training in these areas and have the entitlement marked on our Register. The online Register indicates where a chiropodist or podiatrist can administer local anesthetic or supply prescription only medicines. All preregistration programmes currently on our approved course list include these entitlements. We also approve two postregistration courses which allow chiropodists and podiatrists without these entitlements to gain a local anaesthetic certificate. Supplementary prescribing chiropodists / podiatrists, radiographers and physiotherapists Registered chiropodists / podiatrists, radiographers and physiotherapists can now become supplementary prescribers. We approve post-registration courses which allow registrants from these professions to qualify as a supplementary prescriber. We then annotate the Register to indicate that they are able to practise in this capacity. Our standards As a registered health professional, it is important that you read, understand and meet our standards of conduct, performance and ethics and standards of proficiency. In particular, every professional has an obligation to ensure that they act within the limits of their knowledge and experience and refer to another professional if necessary. As part of meeting our standards, it is important that you keep up to date with any legislation or guidance on best practice which is relevant to the area of areas in which you practise. So if you are involved in prescribing or administering medicines it is important that you keep up to date with any changes to the law or in best practice which might affect how you work. You can find copies of our standards on our website at: Further information The following are suggestions of sources of further information: The website of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) provides information about medicines regulation: The website provides information about patient group directions in the National Health Service (NHS). Relevant legislation is available from the Office for Public Sector Information at: If you have any questions about this article, please policy@hpc-uk.org FTP representatives exhibit at TSI conference Members of HPC s Fitness to Practise (FTP) Department, along with the Communications team, were on hand to answer questions and distribute information at the TSI s 3-day conference and exhibition held at ExCel London from June (see left). Trading Standards: Better regulation Better protection was a key event run by the Trading Standards Institute (TSI) and attracted over 1,500 visitors, including HPC registrants and members of the general public. For more information on upcoming events and conferences, see our website at:

8 8 Health Professions Council Newsletter, Issue 6, August 2006 Fitness to practise hearings: June July 2006 Our Fitness to Practise Department is responsible for handling complaints, known as allegations, about the fitness to practise of professionals we register. When we say that a health professional is fit to practise we mean that he or she has the health and character, as well as the necessary skills and knowledge to do their job safely and effectively. We also mean that we trust them to act legally. Our main responsibility is to protect the public taking action where necessary, to maintain public confidence in the professions and professionals we regulate. We will consider every complaint we receive about a health professional on a case by case basis and take action in light of the individual circumstances. The table below provides a summary of hearings held since the publication of June s edition of HPC In Focus. For further information on these and all other fitness to practise hearings, please click on the following link: Date of hearing Name Registration number Profession Notice of allegation 30 May Geoffrey Hill PO0093 Prosthetist / Conduct and/or orthotist 30 May Fraymond PH5841 Physiotherapist Conduct and/or Mayunga 31 May Mark Wakefield OT31312 Occupational Conduct and/or therapist 06 June Vere Thorpe CH15755 Chiropodist Conduct and/or 09 June Mark Campbell ODP20206 Operating Conduct and/or department practitioner 14 June Russell PO437 Prosthetist / Conduct and/or Headridge orthotist 14 June James CH21667 Chiropodist Conduct and/or MacCabe 16 June Paul Neighbour ODP13281 Operating department practitioner Conduct and/or 16 June Fouad Javed CH14310 Chiropodist Conduct and/or 20 June Jojimon Sam PH72635 Physiotherapist (Investigating Josey Committee) 26 June Paul Gilbert PA11432 Paramedic Conduct and/or 29 June Kudakwashe PH61586 Physiotherapist Conduct and/or Mhundwa 03 July Alan Gazeley PA4418 Paramedic Conduct and/or 10 July David Ryell PA7948 Paramedic Conduct and/or 17 July Fadayomi Alade PH42997 Physiotherapist Conduct and/or Outcome Caution Suspended Struck off Struck off Conditions of practice Suspended Adjourned Struck off Caution No further action Struck off Adjourned Suspended Caution Suspended All hearings begin at 10.30am and are open to the press and public, unless otherwise stated. If you wish to attend a hearing held by the HPC, please contact Victoria Nash on or victoria.nash@hpc-uk.org

9 9 Health Professions Council Newsletter, Issue 6, August 2006 Foster and Donaldson HPC responds On Friday 14 July 2006 the Department of Health published the following documents: Good doctors, safer patients: Proposals to strengthen the system to assure and improve the performance of doctors and to protect the safety of patients (by Sir Liam Donaldson) The regulation of the non-medical healthcare professions: a review by the Department of Health (by Andrew Foster) In response, Marc Seale, Chief Executive and Registrar of the HPC stated: We welcome the publication of the two consultations on the future of healthcare professionals. Marc went on to explain: The Council will be working closely with the Department of Health, the other regulators and the professional bodies to ensure that proposed improvements to public protection are implemented as soon as is practical, and that further change remains on the agenda". A full HPC press release can be found at: Dates for your diary: August October 2006 Council and Committee Meetings HPC Council and Committee meetings are held in public; more information, including minutes and agendas can be found on our website: Tuesday 5 September Tuesday 5 September Thursday 7 September Tuesday 12 September Thursday 14 September Monday 18 September Tuesday 19 September Thursday 28 September Wednesday 4 October Thursday 5 October Approvals Committee Approvals Panel Health Committee COUNCIL MEETING Investigating Committee Finance and Resources Committee Conduct and Committee Education and Training Committee COUNCIL MEETING & away day Council away day PUBLIC INFORMATION LEAFLETS AND POSTERS If you would like any public information leaflets, car stickers (see left) or posters, please us at: publications@hpc-uk.org CONTACT US What do you think of this newsletter? Is there anything you would like to see in future issues? We would like to hear your views, so please newsletter@hpc-uk.org To subscribe or unsubscribe please newsletter@hpc-uk.org Park House 184 Kennington Park Road London SE11 4BU [t] [f] [w]