Health Committee backs HCPC ‘negative register’ of care workers

In its first report on the work of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), the Commons Health Committee has backed the HCPC’s proposals for a ‘negative register’ of care workers.

The Committee said it favoured this approach to regulation rather than the idea of a voluntary register, which has previously been suggested by the Department of Health.

The negative register would be used as a barring process for those found to be unfit to practise.

David Tredinnick MP (pictured), current acting Chair of the Health Committee, said:”The Committee concluded that the HCPC operates as an effective regulator of the sixteen professions for which it has responsibility. Our most significant findings are on issues for which the HCPC does not yet have regulatory responsibility.

“Continuing concerns about regulation of the social care workforce need to be addressed, and we support the HCPC’s proposal of a negative register as the most effective first step in providing protection for the public.

“We also call on the Government to act swiftly to make the HCPC the regulator for other groups where that is considered necessary for protection of the public.

“We were surprised that the Government does not intend to make progress with the Law Commission Bill on regulation of health and care professionals. For that reason we think it is important for the Government to set out as soon as possible what changes it intends to implement to the procedures of regulators such as the HCPC, GMC and NMC to make sure that they are as effective as possible”.