Information

The Department of Health introduced a system of statutory registration for health and social care professionals in 2005. This system is to ensure that members of the public are protected and informed so that they can be confident that the professional providing the service is properly qualified, competent and of good standing. The system will also ensure professional conduct and the promotion of high standards of professional education and training among health and social care professionals.

The system of statutory registration currently applies to the following 12 health and social care professions, regardless of whether they work in the public or private sector or are self-employed;

• clinical biochemists
• medical scientists
• psychologists
• chiropodists/podiatrists
• dieticians
• orthoptists
• physiotherapists
• radiographers
• speech and language therapists
• occupational therapists
• social care workers
• social workers.

The main elements of the system of statutory registration are a Health and Social Care Professionals Council for the system overall with a Registration Board for each of the professions to be registered. There will also be a set of common statutory committees relating to the protection of the public - these committees will comprise a Preliminary Proceedings Committee, a Professional Conduct Committee and a Health Committee.

The Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 (pdf) came into effect at the end of 2005. While the system of statutory registration applies initially to 12 health and social care professions, the law allows the Minister for Health to include additional professions in the system.

Fitness to Practice structures

The Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005 also provides for the establishment of a fitness to practice structure to deal with complaints and other disciplinary matters. This complaint structure has not yet been established.

It is intended to have three statutory committees common to all the registered professions within the system:

• A Preliminary Proceedings Committee: following notification of a complaint, this Committee will give an opinion as to whether there is sufficient cause to warrannt further action being taken;
• A Health Committee: will deal with cases where a registered practitioner's ability to practice is impaired by reason of a physical or mental illness, an emotional disturbance or an addiction to alcohol or drugs;
• A Professional Conduct Committee; will investigate complaints against registered practitioners in relation to professional misconduct or poor professional performance.

It is intended that hearings of a professional conduct committee will generally be heard in public. Hearings of a health committee will generally be held in private. During the course of a hearing, a committee of inquiry will be allowed to receive evidence, can enforce the attendance and examination of witnesses and compel the production fo records.

The law also provides that in urgent situations, the Council may apply to the High Court to suspend a practitioner pending completion of an inquiry where it is in the public interest to do so. After an inquiry and following confirmation by the High Court, the Council may apply apply one or more of the following sanctions on a registered practitioner;

• suspension for specified period
• cancellation of registration
• prohibited from applying for a particular period to be restored on the register
• admonishment or censure
• attachment of conditions to registration.