Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care

The Health Act 1999 allowed the UK government to more easily change healthcare regulatory arrangements, through orders of the Privy Council.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2000/may/31/guardiansocietysupplement5 |title=Carry on regardless |first=Ray |last=Rowden |work=The Guardian |date= 31 May 2000 |accessdate=28 September 2016}} The Kennedy report into the Bristol heart scandal was published in July 2001 and plans for a body to oversee the regulation of healthcare professionals in the UK quickly followed.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2001/aug/09/NHS1 |title=National body to oversee healthcare professionals |first=Patrick |last=Butler |work=The Guardian |date=9 August 2001 |accessdate=28 September 2016}} The Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence was set up under the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002 and renamed the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) in 2004.{{cite web |url=https://navigator.health.org.uk/theme/national-health-service-reform-and-health-care-professions-act-2002 |title=National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002 |website=The Health Foundation |access-date=31 July 2024 }} The CHRE was succeeded by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care, which was set up under section 222 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.{{cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/7/part/7/crossheading/the-professional-standards-authority-for-health-and-social-care |title=Health and Social Care Act 2012: Part 7: The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care |publisher=UK Government |accessdate=2 August 2014}}

The Authority covers the 10 statutory bodies that regulate health professionals in the UK and social workers in England:{{cite web |url=http://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/regulators/statutory-regulators-directory |title=Regulators: Statutory Regulators Directory |publisher=Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care |accessdate=16 September 2014}}

• General Chiropractic Council
• General Dental Council
• General Medical Council
• General Optical Council
• General Osteopathic Council
• Health and Care Professions Council
• Nursing and Midwifery Council
• Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland
• General Pharmaceutical Council
• Social Work England (became operational in Dec 2019)

The Authority also has a role in encouraging the upkeep of standards in practitioners that are not subject to regulation.{{cite news |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/sci-tech/2014/09/its-unscientific-medical-regulatory-body-give-accreditation-homeopaths |title=It's unscientific for a medical regulatory body to give accreditation to homeopaths |first=Fiona |last=Rutherford |work=New Statesman |date=18 September 2014 |accessdate=20 July 2017}} Accredited registers are a voluntary scheme where the PSA sets out some standards that are applicable to organisations that deal with occupations that are not statutorily regulated.{{cite web |url=http://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/docs/voluntary-registers/standards-for-accreditation.pdf |archive-url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20130514011020mp_/http://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/docs/voluntary%2Dregisters/standards%2Dfor%2Daccreditation.pdf?sfvrsn%3D0 |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 May 2013 |title=Accredited Voluntary Registers: Standards for organisations holding a voluntary register for health and social care occupations |publisher=Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care |accessdate=16 September 2014 }} The PSA accredits organisations that hold voluntary registers, offering a "quality mark" to those that show they have met various standards.{{cite web |url=http://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/voluntary-registers/about-accreditation |title=Voluntary registers: About accreditation |publisher=Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care |accessdate=16 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109103930/http://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/voluntary-registers/about-accreditation |archivedate=9 January 2014 |df=dmy-all }}

In July 2019 there were 25 organisations with voluntary registers that had been given accreditation.{{cite web |url=http://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/voluntary-registers/the-accredited-registers-directory |title=Voluntary registers: The Accredited Registers Directory |publisher=Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care |accessdate=9 July 2019}}

Accreditation of a voluntary register does not mean that the PSA endorses a particular approach or therapy.{{cite web |url=http://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/docs/default-source/voluntary-registers/society-of-homeopaths-avr-press-release.pdf |title=Press release: Independent quality mark for homeopaths |publisher=Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care |date=11 September 2014 |accessdate=16 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304035400/http://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/docs/default-source/voluntary-registers/society-of-homeopaths-avr-press-release.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }} The Authority is not concerned whether any of the methodologies used by societies on this scheme have any scientific validity. It regards the question of scientific veracity as a matter of opinion.{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/health/news/article4207497.ece|title=Outcry as register of homeopaths gets official backing}}

The devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all fund the authority, with contributions in line with the Barnett formula.{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Health/NHS-Workforce/Regulation |title=Health and Social Care: NHS Workforce: Regulation of Healthcare Professionals |publisher=Scottish Government |date=10 September 2014|accessdate=17 November 2015}}{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmhealth/528-i/528i.pdf |title=House of Commons Health Committee. Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care. Oral Evidence |publisher=UK Parliament |page=ev15 |date=9 July 2013 |access-date=13 September 2022}}

The PSA has no powers to investigate individual complaints about the regulators it oversees, nor to compel them to take any specific action. Its website states “We do not investigate individuals’ complaints about regulators or registers and cannot resolve them for you.”{{cite web |url= https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/share-your-experience |title= Share your experience to help protect the public|author=The Professional Standards Authority |accessdate=20 February 2020}}

The PSA's focus is on the regulation of individuals – and not premises – though it oversees both the General Pharmaceutical Council and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, which both have responsibility for premises regulation. Its website states: “We help to protect the public by improving the regulation and registration of people who work in health and care.”{{cite web |url= https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/what-we-do |title= What We Do |author=The Professional Standards Authority |accessdate=20 February 2020}} As such, there is a significant gap in the oversight of pharmacy premises regulation in the UK.

The PSA's Standards of Good Regulation are accordingly focused on the regulation of individuals and not premises. Its website claims untruthfully that “The Standards cover all aspects of the regulators’ work including where the regulator has responsibility for businesses and premises as well as individuals.” The standards contain no specific mention of premises; none of the individual standards are focused on premises; they do not invite separation of results where a regulator has responsibility for regulating both individuals and premises and they make no mention of inspection outcomes. Many of the standards are exclusively focused on individuals; for example, they refer to a “registrant”, which by definition is a person who has registered; a set of premises cannot register itself. It is capable of being registered, but incapable of being a registrant. In addition, references to “fitness to practise” in its standards do not apply to premises, since premises cannot themselves “practise”. Such terms are not used in reference to premises regulation. There are no measures relating to the success of any applicable inspection regime (e.g. outcomes by standards type, premises type or stage of sanction) nor of the systemic/environmental effects of standards in premises on patient safety.{{cite web |url= https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/publications/detail/standards-of-good-regulation-2019 |title= Standards of Good Regulation (revised) 2019 |author=The Professional Standards Authority |accessdate=20 February 2020}}

Its lack of focus on premises regulation can be seen, for example, in its report on the GPhC for 2018/19, which contains very little mention, focus or insight into premises regulation.{{cite web |url= https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/docs/default-source/publications/performance-review---gphc-2018-19.pdf?sfvrsn=78c17720_0 |title= General Pharmaceutical Council – Annual Review of Performance 2018-19 |author=The Professional Standards Authority |accessdate=20 February 2020}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website}}

{{Medical regulation in the United Kingdom}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Health policy in the United Kingdom

Category:Medical regulation in the United Kingdom

Category:Medical and health regulators

Category:Organisations based in the City of Westminster

Category:Organizations established in 2003

Category:Regulators of the United Kingdom

Category:2003 establishments in the United Kingdom