We recently revised the standards of conduct, performance and ethics (‘the standards’), which all HCPC-registered professionals need to meet.
The standards provide an ethical framework for the behaviour and practice of registrants, and they help to ensure safe, effective and ethical practice across the 15 professions we regulate.
Ahead of the revised standards coming into effect on 1 September 2024, HCPC Policy Lead Rosemary Flowers-Wanjie and Policy Officer Maheshi De Silva outline the key areas that employers, managers and leaders of registrants may wish to focus on.
How to support your staff to meet the revised standards
Background
The standards set expectations for the actions and behaviours of registrants across all of our professions. They are the ethical framework within which registrants must practice.
We published revisions to the standards in October 2023. This came after a review, public consultation on our proposals and extensive stakeholder engagement. We would like to thank everyone who responded to the consultation and took part in the engagement sessions.
Standard 1. Promote and protect the interests of service users and carers
Standard 1 sets out registrants’ responsibilities when working with service users, carers and others.
Some important changes within standard 1 relate to maintaining appropriate professional boundaries. These are standards 1.8-1.12, updates that replace the previous standard 1.7:
1.8 You must consider the potential impact that the position of power and trust you hold as a health and care professional may have on individuals when in social or personal settings.
1.9 You must take action to set and maintain appropriate professional boundaries with service users and/or carers and colleagues.
1.10 You must use appropriate methods of communication to provide care and other services related to your practice.
1.11 You must ensure that existing personal relationships do not impact professional decisions.
1.12 You must not abuse your position as a health and care practitioner to pursue personal, sexual, emotional or financial relationships with service users and/or carers, or colleagues.
The revisions to these standards clarify the power imbalance that exists between healthcare professionals and others, and state more clearly that this position of power should not be abused by registrants.
The revised standards also contain changes to standard 1.3. The language here has been strengthened and now requires registrants to ‘empower and enable’ service users to play a part in maintaining their own health and well-being (as opposed to ‘encouraging and helping’ them, as in the previous standard 1.3):
1.3 You must empower and enable service users, where appropriate, to play a part in maintaining their own health and well-being and support them so they can make informed decisions.
Another area of change relates to challenging discrimination, set out in standards 1.5-1.7. The language here has been strengthened and framed more actively, and there is also the addition of new text for standard 1.5:
1.5 You must treat people fairly and be aware of the potential impact that your personal values, biases and beliefs may have on the care, treatment or other services that you provide to service users and carers and in your interactions with colleagues.
1.6 You must take action to ensure that your personal values, biases and beliefs do not lead you to discriminate against service users, carers or colleagues. Your personal values, biases and beliefs must not detrimentally impact the care, treatment or other services that you provide.
1.7 You must raise concerns about colleagues if you think that they are treating people unfairly and/or their personal values, biases and beliefs have led them to discriminate against service users, carers and/or colleagues or they have detrimentally impacted the care, treatment or other services that they provide. This should be done following the relevant procedures within your practice and maintain the safety of all involved.
These standards contain explicit requirements for registrants to treat individuals fairly and take action to prevent discrimination.
These standards touch on areas in which registrants may particularly benefit from employer support: becoming more aware of personal biases, understanding one’s position of power and being able to consciously mitigate against detrimental impacts.
Standard 2. Communicate appropriately and effectively
Standard 2 sets out requirements relating to communication with service users, carers, colleagues and the public, plus requirements around the use of social media and networking sites.
In the update to standard 2.4 and the addition of new text for standard 2.5, the language has again been clarified and the need to support service users and carers with their communication needs has been specifically emphasised:
2.4 You must make sure that all practicable steps are taken to meet service users’ and carers’ language and communication needs.
2.5 You must use all forms of communication responsibly when communicating with service users and their carers.
The addition of new text to two standards, 2.8 and 2.9, introduce a stronger requirement to treat colleagues in a professional manner, not only in person but online:
2.8 You must treat your colleagues in a professional manner showing them respect and consideration.
2.9 You must use all forms of communication with colleagues and other health and care professionals responsibly including media sharing networks and social networking sites.
In standards 2.10-2-12, requirements relating to the use of social media and networking sites have been expanded and strengthened:
2.10 You must use media sharing networks and social networking sites responsibly.
2.11 You must make reasonable checks to ensure information you share is accurate, true, does not mislead the public and is in line with your duty to promote public health when sharing information on media sharing networks and social networking sites.
2.12 You must use media sharing networks and social networking sites responsibly, maintaining professional boundaries at all times and protecting service user/carer privacy.
The revisions encourage registrants to focus on the content of their communications, regardless of whether that communication is in person or digital, and are explicitly required to use social media sites responsibly.
The creation or sharing of misinformation on social media has the potential to undermine public confidence in organisations and professions and could impact service user safety. For these reasons, registrants are asked to make reasonable checks to ensure that any information they share on social media and networking sites is accurate, true, does not mislead the public and is in line with their duty to promote public health.
Registrants may benefit from encouragement, reminders or even support such as training on these issues. Take a look at our learning resources on communication and using social media or see our article on supporting your registered professionals.
Standard 6. Manage risk
Standard 6 relates to risk management, including managing health. The updates made around health should provide greater clarity and support in this area.
The revised standards 6.3 and 6.4 provide clearer expectations of registrants’ and employers’ roles with regards to health, as well as support for registrants navigating these issues:
6.3 You must take responsibility for assessing whether changes to your physical and/or mental health will detrimentally impact your ability to practise safely and effectively. If you are unsure about your ability to do so, ask an appropriate health and care professional to make an assessment on your behalf.
6.4 You must adjust your practice if your physical and/or mental health will detrimentally impact your ability to practise safely and effectively. These adjustments must promote safe and effective practice. Where it is not possible to make these adjustments within your scope of practice, you must stop practising.
These updated standards provide information that is in line with previous updates to the standards of proficiency.
Standard 6.3 clarifies that it is the registrant’s responsibility to make judgements on their health, rather than other parties such as employers. However, it recognises that not all registrants will be able to assess the impact of their health on their own practice. It provides the option to ask an appropriate health and care professional to make an assessment on their behalf.
Standard 6.4 provides context for when this would apply: only if ‘your physical and/or mental health will detrimentally impact your ability to practise safely and effectively’. It also states what should happen when a registrant’s ability to practise safely and effectively is detrimentally impacted: either adjustments that promote safe and effective practice, or if that’s not possible, the registrant not practising.
The standards are not prescriptive about what ‘adjustments’ should look like, as there is a wide range that can ensure safe and effective practice. The choice will depend upon a registrant’s profession, role, working environment, and individual health needs.
Registrants will benefit from employers’ support regarding these standards: aside from the emotional impact of a situation like this, adjustments often cannot be made without employer approval. For more information, see our learning resources on Health, safety and wellbeing
Standard 8. Be open when things go wrong
Standard 8 sets out requirements for registrant when things go wrong. This includes registrants’ duty of candour.
There are significant updates to the wording of standard 8.1 and the addition of new text for standard 8.2. Standards 8.3 and 8.4 contain the wording previously in standards 8.2 and 8.3.
The revisions require registrants to be open, honest and candid when things go wrong. They encourage reflection and learning from mistakes and set out a process for registrants to follow in these situations:
8.1 You must be open, honest and candid when something has gone wrong with the care, treatment or other services that you provide by:
- Where applicable, alerting your employer of what has gone wrong and following the relevant internal procedures.
- Informing service users and/or where appropriate, their carer or where you do not have direct access to these individuals, the lead clinician, to inform them that something has gone wrong.
- Providing service users and/or their carer with a detailed explanation of the circumstances in which things have gone wrong and the likely impact.
- Taking action to correct the mistake if possible and detailing this action to the service user and/or where appropriate, their carer.
8.2 You must apologise to a service user and/or their carer when something has gone wrong with the care, treatment or other service that you provide.
Apologising is an important aspect of the duty of candour, but some registrants worry about the consequences of an apology. There are fears that apologies can be seen as an admission of guilt, that they could affect professional indemnity insurance, and that they could negatively impact the individual’s career.
As an employer, you may wish to affirm that this is not the case. A sincere and appropriate apology is a key part of building trust, and does not invalidate professional indemnity insurance. For more support on these topics, you can use our learning resources on Raising concerns, openness and honesty
Being able to reflect on mistakes and turn them into learning is also a vital part of registrants’ practice. This may include identifying what happened, contributing factors, the impact of the incident or introducing corrective measures to prevent future mistakes. You can help your employees reflect on their mistakes effectively by embedding effective reflective practice. For more info see our learning resources on Reflective practice
Information and resources
More detail on the revisions we have made to the standards – and some further context – can be found below.
- Cyhoeddwyd:
- 25/06/2024
- Resources
- Learning material
- Is-gategori:
- Information and support
- Audience
- Employers