Queries about policy and standards

Get your answer quicker online

• What standards do registrants have to meet?

  Our standards form the foundation for how we regulate, explaining what we expect of our registrants and education and training programmes

  Our standards

• What guidance does HCPC offer for registrants on how to meet the standards

  We provide guidance to help registrants stay up to date and practise safely

  Meeting our standards

• Confidentiality

  HCPC is unable to provide case specific advice on matters relating to confidentiality.
  
  For profession specific advice we recommend speaking to your professional body.
  
  We also recommend speaking to your professional indemnity provider on matters relating to professional practice. We have published general guidance on confidentiality which is intended to serve as a guide for registrants to apply using their professional judgement.

• Consent

  HCPC is unable to provide case specific advice on matters relating to consent.
  
  For profession specific advice we recommend speaking to your professional body.
  
  We also recommend speaking to your professional indemnity provider on matters relating to professional practice.
  
  We have published general guidance on consent which is intended to serve as a guide for registrants to apply using their professional judgement.

• Continuing professional development

  General Requirements
  
  Continuing professional development (CPD) is important for professionals to keep their skills and knowledge up to date so that they can work safely, legally, and effectively.
  
  Our CPD standards say that you should:

  • Maintain a continuous, up to date and accurate record of CPD activities;
  • Demonstrate that your CPD activities are a mixture of learning activities relevant to current or future practice;
  • Seek to ensure that your CPD has contributed to the quality of your practice and service delivery;
  • Seek to ensure that your CPD benefits the service user;
  • Upon request, present a written profile (which must be your own work and supported by evidence) explaining how you have met the standards for CPD.

  More information about CPD is available on our website.

  CPD Content
  
  The HCPC does not accredit post-qualification training or endorse CPD providers.
  
  We have information on our website that can be helpful to support registrants meeting our CPD requirements.
  
  You can send any queries about CPD to our CPD team at: cpd@hcpc-uk.org

• Indemnity insurance

  As part of registration with HCPC, all registrants are required to have a professional indemnity arrangement in place that provides cover appropriate to their full practice, taking into account the nature and extent of its risks.
  
  Indemnity insurance can be obtained through:

  • An employer (such as an NHS Trust);
  • Membership with a professional body or trade union;
  • An independent insurance provider;
  • or a combination of the above.

  The HCPC does not provide indemnity insurance and is unable to provide consumer advice.
  
  More information about our requirements for professional indemnity is available on our website.

• Medicines and prescribing rights

  The medicines and prescribing rights of registrants are determined by Government and are set out in law. They are not determined by HCPC.
  
  As a health and care professional, you must keep within your scope of practice at all times, this includes when prescribing.
  
  We have more information about our professions' medicines and prescribing rights which indicate which professions can sell, supply, administer and prescribe medicines.
  
  HCPC has adopted ‘A Competency Framework for all Prescribers’ (the Framework) as its standards for all prescribers, see: Prescribing Competency Framework | RPS (rpharms.com)
  
  The Framework is published and maintained by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. The competencies detailed in the Framework set out the knowledge, understanding and skills that a registrant must have when they complete their prescribing training, which they must continue to meet once in practice.

• Printed copies of HCPC documents

  We are no longer providing printed booklets or resources.
  
  As part of our commitment to offering a high-quality service that ensures value for money, we are investing in digital resources to reduce our printing carbon footprint and improve our support for students, registrants, employers, and our other stakeholders.
  
  You can find up-to-date versions of all our publications, including standards and guidance, on our website at: https://www.hcpc-uk.org/resources/
  
  We will continue to provide guidance in alternative formats on request for those with accessibility requirements. Please email communications@hcpc-uk.org to inquire further.

• Providing online services to UK service users from outside the UK

  HCPC only registers and regulates professionals who use one of our protected titles and wish to practise in the UK. This means that unless someone is intending to practise in the UK, they do not need to be registered with us.
  
  Any non-UK registered health and care professional providing tele-healthcare from outside the UK must make clear to their UK clients based in the UK that they are not registered with the HCPC. They should also ensure that they are meeting any regulatory requirements of the country/state in which they are working.
  
  We have guidance about providing services online, on our website.

• Record-keeping

  Our Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics outline a registrant’s broad obligations in relation to record-keeping.
  
  Our standards state that registrants must:

  • 10.1 Keep full, clear, and accurate records for everyone you care for, treat, or provide other services to.
  • 10.3 Keep records secure by protecting them from loss, damage, or inappropriate access.

  We also have further detailed information on record-keeping on our website.
  
  However, we cannot provide specific guidance about how registrants should keep/store clinical records or the types of electronic programmes that should be used. This is because what is appropriate will depend upon the particular profession and area of practice that a registrant is working in.
  
  You should use your professional judgment, the relevant law and best practice of your profession when making a decision about record-taking, record-keeping or recording storage.
  
  Additionally, we support the role of professional bodies in providing tailored advice on this issue, which is nuanced for the practice and operating modes of the professions we regulate.
  
  NB: When making decisions about record retention, you may also wish to consider the requirement for registrants to be able to evidence their continuous learning and development (CPD). If any of your records relate to CPD activities you may want a copy of these for your records, to produce if audited in the future.
  
  Further resources on record-keeping are available on our website.

• Regulating new professions

  Regulating new professions is a power held by the UK government, and requires changes to legislation.

  Regulation of further professions

• Registering with qualifications gained outside the UK

  We have a comprehensive range of information about registering with the HCPC if you:

  • qualified in the UK
  • qualified outside the UK

  Read our Statement on English language proficiency requirements for internationally trained health and care professionals.
  
  For queries about International applications and registration, the Swiss Mutual Recognition scheme (SMR), refugee status applications, verification, appeals and fees, email international@hcpc-uk.org
  
  For queries about UK applications and registration, including qualifications, renewals, CPD, fees and online accounts, email registration@hcpc-uk.org
  
  More information about the contacting the registration team is available on our website.

• Safeguarding

  HCPC is unable to provide case specific advice on matters relating to safeguarding.
  
  For profession specific advice we recommend speaking to your professional body.
  
  We have a range of materials to support registrants with safeguarding and confidentiality:

  • Our YouTube Channel has a video about the relevant standard (7 - reporting concerns about safety) #MyHCPCStandards webinar series: Standard 7 - reporting concerns about safety - YouTube
  • Our webinars, covering: the duty of candour; reporting concerns about safety; being open about when things go wrong; and being honest and trustworthy.
• Scope of practice

  HCPC’s overarching expectations around our registrants' scope of practice are set out in our standards.
  
  We recognise that a registrant’s scope will change over the course of their career, and so we do not define our registrants’ scope of practice. This means there isn’t a set list of tasks that our professions can and cannot perform and what those on our register can do will vary from registrant to registrant.
  
  When you first join the Register, the Standards of proficiency will be your guide. These set clear expectations of our registrants’ knowledge and abilities when they start practising.
  
  As you progress in your career, you may enter into more specialist practice roles where you are no longer meeting all the Standards of proficiency. Your scope of practice will develop with you and may become narrower in scope.
  
  Determining what is and is not part of your scope of practice will be for you to decide using your professional judgement. Find out more about what to consider when identifying your scope of practice.
  
  We have also produced a webinar about working within the scope of your knowledge and skills which you may find helpful.
  
  Lastly, we recommend registrants speak to their professional body who will be able to offer profession specific advice.

• Supervision

  HCPC does not specify the amount of supervision registrants should receive, as this will vary depending on the supervisee’s individual needs and other factors such as their working pattern and environment.
  
  In deciding what amount is most suitable for a registrant we would expect them to use their professional judgement, and where relevant, to follow any policies set by their employer or contracting body.
  
  We have information about supervision available on our website.
  
  Professional bodies can also provide profession specific information and advice.

• Use of HCPC logo and registration logo

  
  HCPC logo

  The HCPC logo should only be used by the Council and for HCPC business, this means that no-one outside the HCPC can use the logo.

  The only exception is for education providers, who can display the logo to promote their HCPC-approved programmes.

  Contact education@hcpc-uk.org to request official use of the HCPC logo
  
  
  

  HCPC registered logo

  Using the 'HCPC registered' logo is the easiest and most impactful way of indicating your registered status. It is only available for use by HCPC registered professionals, and must be requested.

  The logo may only be used:

  • in connection with the name of an individual registrant and not in respect of a company, firm or other business.
  • on stationery, marketing materials, websites and signage controlled by a registrant.

  Further information, including on how to request a useable version of the logo is available on our website:

  Ways to promote your registration

• Volunteering

  HCPC registrants volunteering in health and care roles are expected to continue to meet our Standards, irrespective of whether the role they are carrying out has a different or lesser scope of practice than their own registered titles.
  
  More information about our Standards is available on our website