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REGULATION OF HEALTH CARE SUPPORT STAFF AND SOCIAL CARE SUPPORT STAFF IN SCOTLAND

ANNEX A: REGULATION OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SUPPORT STAFF

1. The Scottish Executive is committed to providing an effective system for the regulation of all health and social care staff whose work has a direct impact on patients and service users . "Direct impact" on patient clinical care implies face-to-face provision of prevention, treatment and care involving the application of clinical judgement and risk assessment, and may also cover provision of technical analysis and scientific support involving patients’ body samples.
2. The Scottish Executive considers that the public would benefit from some form of regulation for the following groups of staff:

• Health care assistants and assistant practitioners and those undertaking similar roles across a wide range of care settings
• AHP Therapy assistants
• All sectors of the Healthcare Scientist workforce apart from the aspirant professions in paragraph 9
• Social care support staff
• Pathology assistant practitioners

Below is a series of questions on which we would like your views. In the light of your responses the Scottish Executive and the UK Government can decide what type of regulation should be developed, how the regulation should be achieved and how good inter-professional working can be facilitated.

Questions on which we are seeking your views:

Q1 Should regulatory arrangements be extended to the assistants and support staff identified in paragraph 15? If not, which staff should be included and on what criteria?

Q2 Should assistants and support staff be accountable for their own practice?

Q3 Should assistants and support staff set their own standards OR should those with overall responsibility for the work of these staff share in, or take the lead, in setting these standards?

Q4 How can multi-disciplinary issues best be addressed? Should the regulators set common standards and/or recognise each other’s so that workers can move between different health and social care settings without the need for multiple registration? OR Could all assistants and support staff be regulated as a single group within a single framework including some shared standards and some discipline-specific standards?

Q5 Is statutory regulation appropriate or should other approaches be taken?

Q6 Should Scotland follow any decision that might be taken in England in order to ensure both transferability of staff and public protection by ensuring one system for the UK?

Q7 Should the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and the Health Professions Council (HPC) regulate those groups of assistants and support staff that work with the professions they regulate? Are other options preferable?

Q8 Should the Scottish Social Services Council be the regulatory body for all healthcare support staff or should they only be responsible for social care support staff?

Q9 If the HPC is the most appropriate body, should regulation be by way of statutory committee of the Health Professions Council or would other options be preferable?

Q10 Would regulation of assistants and support staff by the bodies responsible for regulating those whom they support lead to other problems such as "second class" workers?

Q11 Are there other options for the structure of statutory self regulation we should consider?

3. Your views on these questions should be sent by 27 August 2004 to Laurie Whyte, Directorate of Nursing, SEHD, GE-19, St Andrew’s House,Regent Road,Edinburgh,EH1 1DG E-mail: Laurie.Whyte@scotland.gov.gsi.uk

4. We would be grateful if you would clearly indicate in your response if you are responding as an individual or on behalf of any organisation. If you are responding as an individual it would be helpful if you could indicate whether you are a member of support staff, an employer, an assistant or member of support staff currently unregulated or an existing regulated professional. If you wish to access this consultation online, go to http://www.scotland.gov.uk/view/views.asp. You can telephone Freephone 0800 77 1234 to find out where your nearest public internet access point is, if you prefer to submit your response by e-mail.

5. We will make all responses available to the public in the Scottish Executive Library unless confidentiality is requested. All responses not marked confidential will be checked for any potentially defamatory material before being logged In the Library or placed on the website

HEALTH CARE SUPPORT WORKERS CONSULTATION

DISTRIBUTION LIST

ADSW (Association of Directors of Social Work)
Allied Health Professions Forum Scotland
Allied Health Profession Education Forum
Allied Health Profession Advisory Committee
Amicus
Association of Drama Therapists
British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists
British Dental Association
British Medical Association
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
Chief Executive of COSLA
Chief Executive of NHS Education for Scotland
Chief Executives — NHS Boards
Chief Executives of Independent Healthcare Providers
Chief Executives of Local Authorities
Chief Executive of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland
Chief Executives of Operative Divisions
Chief Social Work Officers
Committee of Scottish Vice Principals of Higher Education
Department of Health England, HRD
Directors of Human Resources — NHS Boards
Directors of Human Resources of Operative Divisions
Directors of Nursing of Operative Divisions
Directors of Public Health - NHS Boards
Directors of Social Work - Local Authorities
General Medical Council
Health Professions Council
HR Forum
Independent Hospitals Senior Nurses Group
National Assembly for Wales, Education and Training, Human Resources Division, Irene Allen
National Association for Theatre Nurses
National Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting Advisory Committee
Nurse Agencies (10 copies to the Care Commission)
Nurse Directors - NHS Boards
NMC
Northern Ireland Executive, Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, Janice Smyth
Principals of Further Education Colleges in Scotland
Principals of Higher Education Institutes in Scotland
Professional Advisor for Art Therapists
Professional Managers Group
Public/Patient Groups
Royal College of Midwives
Royal College of Nursing
Royal College of Physicians
Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy
Royal College of Surgeons
Scottish Academic Heads Group
Scottish Arts Therapies Forum
Scottish Association of Health Councils
Scottish Board for Occupational Therapy
Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care
Scottish Consumer Council
Scottish Further Education Funding Council
Scottish Health Visitors Association
Scottish Higher Education Funding Council
Scottish Independent Hospitals Association
Scottish Orthoptics Head of Service Forum
Scottish Partnership Forum
Scottish Social Services Council
Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists
Society of Radiographers
Special Health Boards in Scotland — Chief Executives
The British Dietetics Association
UNISON
Workforce Champions in Scotland

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