HPC consultation on post registration qualifications

HPC consultation on post registration qualifications

Title: Health Professions Council consultation on proposals for post-registration qualifications

Date: February 2011

Summary: The HPC consulted on two proposals: the criteria on whether a post-registration qualification should be annotated on the register; and whether neuropsychology and podiatric surgery would be suitable candidates for annotation.

Post registration qualifications are those that professionals undertake after they are registered, sometimes allowing them to extend their scope of practice. An annotation enables members of the public to check that a professional has the necessary qualification.

We consider that the criteria proposed by the HPC are proportionate, risk focused and clear. They state that an annotation should only be used when a risk to patients has been identified that an annotation can mitigate. However, we consider that the examples of neuropsychology and podiatric surgery do not yet meet this criteria, as the consultation paper does not carry any evidence or statistics of the risk to the public posed by these professionals. We recommend that the HPC quantifies this risk before embarking on a process to annotate the registers in these areas.
 
Read the original consultation

Read our response