29 February 2012, AHP Conference

1. 29 February 2012, AHP Conference The role of a regulator in learning and developmentMark Potter - Stakeholder Communications Manager

2. Overview • About the Health Professions Council (HPC) • Developments at the HPC • Setting standards • Consultation and professional involvement • Continuing professional development

3. Health Professions Council • Independent UK statutory regulator of 15 professions • Derives powers from Health Professions Order 2001 • Purpose is “to safeguard the health and well-being of persons using or needing the services of registrants” – Article 3(4) • Separate role from professional bodies and trade unions

4. HPC Register, January 2012 219,000 registrants from 15 professions

5. Developments Regulation of 85,000 social workers in England • Likely start date 1 August 2012 • New name – ‘Health and Care Professions Council’ Regulation of further professions • Herbal medicine and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners • Adult social care workforce in England • Powers to establish voluntary Registers

6. Processes and standards The Register

7. Consultation • Normally consult for 3 months • Information posted online in dedicated ‘consultations’ section of website • Also sent to consultation list of over 300 interested organisations. • Certain consultations (ie: CPD, fees) may go out to all registrants • We may also hold a series of meetings. • Respond to other peoples’ consultations

8. Professional input • 703 ‘Partners’ working across six partner roles • Professionals and lay persons • Provide expertise for good decision-making • Education, registration, fitness to practise • Council and Committees • ETC – each profession represented • Professional Liaison Groups (PLGs)

9. Current programme of work • Consultation on student fitness to practise and registration • Service user involvement in education • Forthcoming changes to the standards of proficiency • Alternative mechanisms to resolve disputes • Professionalism in health and care professionals

10. CPD standards A registrant must: • maintain a continuous, up-to-date and accurate record of their CPD activities; • demonstrate that their CPD activities are a mixture of learning activities relevant to current and future practice; • seek to ensure that their CPD has contributed to the quality of their practice and service delivery; • seek to ensure that their CPD benefits the service user; • upon request, present a written profile (which must be their own work and supported by evidence) explaining how they have met the standards for CPD.

11. Activities and evidence • Work-based learning (eg in-service training, reflective practice) • Professional activity (egmentoring, professional body involvement) • Formal / educational (eg courses, conferences, research) • Self-directed learning (egreading journals and books, internet research) • Other (egvoluntary work, public service)

12. Audit results from May 2008 – January 2012

13. Contribution of CPD to public protection • Ensures that registrants demonstrate a commitment to updating knowledge and skills • Outcome-based audit encourages self-reflection and understanding of own learning needs • Demonstrates that regulator is proactively monitoring • Compliments existing processes – renewal / fitness to practise • Failure to comply = removal from Register

14. Resources and information Sample profiles Audio-visual presentations CPD guides

15. Finding out more and getting in touch www.hpc-uk.org registration@hpc-uk.org 0845 3004472 (lo-call) Find us on www.facebook.com/hcpcuk Follow us on www.twitter.com/HPC_news Follow us on www.linkedin.com Sign up for ourRSS feeds www.hpc-uk.org