Scope of practice and the standards

To meet the standards, registrants must be practising safely, lawfully and effectively within their current scope of practice, and not practising in areas where they are not proficient to do so. However, the HCPC does not define our registrants’ individual scope of practice. 

Scope of practice consists of a registrant’s individual scope of practice and that of their profession. The two are inter-related and both evolve over time.

Determining what is and is not part of your scope of practice will be for you to decide using your professional judgement based on the needs of your service users.

As an autonomous professional, you need to make informed, reasoned decisions about your practice to ensure that you meet the standards that apply to you. This includes seeking advice and support from education providers, employers, colleagues, professional bodies, unions and others to ensure that the wellbeing of service users is safeguarded at all times.  

The HCPC standards apply to all of our registrants and are complemented by information and guidance issued by other organisations, such as your professional body or your employer. We recognise the valuable role played by professional bodies in providing guidance and advice about best practice to support you to meet your regulatory standards. 

Standards of conduct, performance and ethics

You must only practise in the areas where you have the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience to meet the needs of a service user safely and effectively. (3.1)

You must undertake additional training to update your knowledge, skills and experience if you wish to widen your scope of practice. (3.2)

You must refer a service user to an appropriate practitioner if the care, treatment or other services they need are beyond your scope of practice. This person must hold the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience to meet the needs of the service user safely and effectively. (3.3)

(Standards of conduct, performance and ethics)

Standards of proficiency

Practise safely and effectively within their scope of practice (1)

(Standards of proficiency)

It is important that you meet these standards and are able to practise lawfully, safely and effectively. HCPC standards are focused on outcomes rather than being prescriptive. There is normally more than one way in which each standard can be met and the way in which you meet the standards might change over time because of improvements in technology or changes in your practice. As an autonomous professional, you must use your professional judgement to determine how best to meet the standards in a particular context or situation.