Health and Care Professions Council

The Health Professions Council (HPC) is a UK health regulator. It was set up by the UK government through the Health Professions Order 2001. It's stated purpose is to protect the public. It aims to do this by setting and maintaining standards of proficiency and conduct for the professions it regulates. It currently regulates fifthteen professions, and if legislation is passed, may regulate other professions in the future.It has been the subject of some controversy since 2007 over its role in the government plan to regulate counselling and psychotherapy as 'health professions' across the UK. Some practitioners are openly opposing HPC as the regulator, and are highly critical of its methods and 'positivist' model, which they believe to be inherently unsuitable for their field.(e.g. House, in Edwards, House, Musgrave, Parker, Postle, Rogers, "Compliance? Ambivalence? Rejection?" WLR, London 2009). An Alliance for Counselling and Psychotherapy (www.allianceforcanp.org)has emerged with support from a number of key figures within the profession. However there are many that support regulation, Integrity (Integrating Social responsibility into psychological Therapieshttp http://www.isrpt.org/) is a newly formed group that supports statutory regulation under the Health Professions Council. The charity MIND is also in support of statutory regulation for psychotherapists and counsellors as well as other stakeholders.

The new coalition government has planned to close down the HPC. Information from "psychotherapy" in wikipedia: "Over the last decade the British labour governments have tried to state regulate and control the profession through the Health Professions Council - an independent regulator for health professionals in the UK. Such a proposal has caused a lot of disappointment and most professionals and professional bodies have protested against the proposed legislation. Many points have been pointed out against the regulation through the HPC and many reports have been issued. One of them commissioned by the National Council of Psychotherapists has emphasized the risks of the unlikely approval of the proposed legislation which is considered to be partly against EU law and human rights in many of its parts (Amicarelli's Report - Is HPC legal?). Dr Amicarelli respectfully suggested the British government to take a few steps back (page 72) also highlighting that the HPC, Health Professions Council should be closed down immediately (page 64). It seems the new government have accepted such suggestions elaborated by Dr Amicarelli; in fact a new initiative to discuss the HPC abolition has been launched by the Coalition Government very recently (Abolish The HPC)."

According to the Health Professions Council website www.hpc-uk.org ,HPC in its role as protector of the public:

• sets standards for health professionals
• approves courses and education
• keeps a register of health professionals
• takes action when health professionals do not meet its standards, which may include striking them off

Professions regulated by the HPC

• Arts therapists
• Biomedical scientists
• Chiropodists/Podiatrists
• Clinical scientists
• Dietitians
• Hearing aid dispensers
• Occupational therapists
• Operating department practitioners
• Orthoptists
• Paramedics
• Physiotherapists
• Practitioner psychologists (e.g. Clinical psychologists)
• Prosthetists and orthotists
• Radiographers
• Speech and language therapists

See also

• Occupational therapy in the United Kingdom

External links

• Health Professions Council
• hpcheck.org (Check your health professional is registered)