3
Introduction
About the HCPC
We are the Health and Care Professions Council. We are a regulator of health and care professionals
and our job is to protect the health and wellbeing of people who use the services of the health and care
professionals registered with us.
To protect the public, we set standards that health and care professionals must meet. Our standards
cover health and care professionals’ e
ducation and training, behaviour, professional skills and their
health. We publish a Register of health and care professionals who meet our standards.
We currently regulate 16 professions:
• Arts therapists
• Biomedical scientists
• Chiropodists / podiatrists
• Clinical scientists
• Dietitians
• Hearing aid dispensers
• Occupational therapists
• Operating department practitioners
• Orthoptists
• Paramedics
• Physiotherapists
• P
ractitioner psychologists
• Prosthetists / orthotists
• Radiographers
• Social workers in England
• Speech and language therapists
How we are run
We are governed by legislation called the Health and Social Work Professions Order 2001. This lays out
our responsibilities and it gives us our legal authority to carry these out. We have a Council which is
made up of registered health and care professionals a
nd members of the public. This Council sets our
strategy and policy and makes sure we are fulfilling our duties under the Health and Social Work
Professions Order.
About registration
Health and care professionals must register with us in order to use the protected title for their
profession. This means that even if you have completed a course in, for example, physiotherapy, you
are still not able to call y
ourself a physiotherapist unless you are registered with us.
Registration shows you meet our standards for your profession. Registration shows the public that
health and care professionals are fit to practise and they are entitled to use the protected title(s) for their
profession. It shows the people on our Register are part of a profession with nationally recognised
standards set by law.
When we s
ay someone is ‘fit to practise’, we mean they have the skills, knowledge, character and
health to practise their profession safely and effectively.
Applying for registration
Completing an approved course does not guarantee someone will become registered. It shows us the
applicant meets our professional standards and is eligible to apply for registration. We need additional
information from them in ord
er to be able to register them.
The information provided by applicants helps us to know that:
• they are who they say they are;
• they meet our standards; and
• we can contact them if we need to.
About the HCPC
We are the Health and Care Professions Council. We are a regulator of health and care professionals
and our job is to protect the health and wellbeing of people who use the services of the health and care
professionals registered with us.
To protect the public, we set standards that health and care professionals must meet. Our standards
cover health and care professionals’ education and training, behaviour, professional skills and their
health. We publish a Register of health and care professionals who meet our standards.
We currently regulate 15 professions:
• Arts therapists
• Biomedical scientists
• Chiropodists / podiatrists
• Clinical scientists
• Dietitians
• Hearing aid dispensers
• Occupational therapists
• Operating department practitioners
• Orthoptists
• Paramedics
• Physiotherapists
• Practitioner psychologists
• Prosthetists / orthotists
• Radiographers
• Speech and language therapists
How we are run
We are governed by legislation called the Health Professions Order 2001. This lays out our
responsibilities and it gives us our legal authority to carry these out. We have a Council which is made
up of registered health and care professionals and members of the public. This Council sets our strategy
and policy and makes sure we are fullling our duties under the Health Professions Order.
About registration
Health and care professionals must register with us in order to use the protected title for their profession.
This means that even if you have completed a course in, for example, physiotherapy, you are still not
able to call yourself a physiotherapist unless you are registered with us.
Registration shows you meet our standards for your profession. Registration shows the public that
health and care professionals are t to practise and they are entitled to use the protected title(s) for
their profession. It shows the people on our Register are part of a profession with nationally recognised
standards set by law.
When we say someone is ‘t to practise’, we mean they have the skills, knowledge, character and health
to practise their profession safely and eectively.
Applying for registration
Completing an approved course does not guarantee someone will become registered. It shows us the
applicant meets our professional standards and is eligible to apply for registration. We need additional
information from them in order to be able to register them.
The information provided by applicants helps us to know that:
• they are who they say they are;
• they meet our standards; and
• we can contact them if we need to.