Professional Standards Authority Application

I am delighted to be able to announce that the Register of Clinical Technologists has received accreditation from the Professional Standards Authority with effect from 7^th September 2015.

Accreditation means that the RCT has met the Authority’s demanding standards in the following areas: governance, setting standards, education and training, managing the register, providing information and complaints handling.

It also means that you, as an RCT registrant, can use the quality mark to show that you meet the far reaching standards of our register – see below for more guidance on this.

Harry Cayton, Chief Executive of the Professional Standards Authority has said:

“We are very pleased to accredit the Register of Clinical Technologists. Bringing these practitioners into a broad framework of assurance is good for patients, service users and the public and is the best way to promote quality. The programme offers a new layer of protection for people receiving health services, and gives Clinical Technologists the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to good practice.”

Accreditation does not of course imply that the Authority has assessed the merits of individuals on the register: this remains the responsibility of the RCT. Accredited Registers require their registrants to meet standards of personal behaviour, technical competence and, where applicable, business practice.

I would like to encourage all registrants to let their employer, their colleagues and their patients know that they are a practitioner on an Accredited Register. The Management Panel has approved a new leaflet aimed at patients and service users, which explains what the Register is and how it protects them – we will be adding the PSA’s quality mark to this leaflet, and will let you know when it is available, so that you can order some for your department.

My thanks go to all members of the Management Panel, and the team in the IPEM office, for all the hard work that went into the very demanding assessment process leading to accreditation. I hope that you, as Registrants, will feel new pride in your place on an Accredited Register.

Guidance for Registrants on an Accredited Register from the PSA:

Do:

·       Highlight to your service users, commissioners or employers that you are a member of a register that is accredited by the Authority.

·       Use the phrase ‘I am on a register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority’.

·       Tell your audiences that the accredited registers programme was set up by the Government to improve standards and safety for the benefit of the public.

·       Emphasise that being on an accredited register demonstrates your commitment to high professional standards, to enhancing safety and delivering a better service.

·       When you have been notified by the organisation with which you are registered, display the accreditation mark where appropriate – in your premises, on your masthead, in your email signature and on your website. You should follow guidance provided by your organisation (see below).

Don’t:

·       Mislead anyone about what accreditation means.

·       Claim that you are accredited by the Authority. The register is accredited. You are on an Accredited Register.

·       Claim that any treatment or service you provide is endorsed by the Authority or by the government.

·       Display the accreditation mark before you have been notified by the organisation with which you are registered. The RCT will advise on how you should use it (see below).

·       Continue to use the accreditation mark if you cease to be on an Accredited Register.

Below is the Accredited Register quality mark for you to use on your email signature or website etc. If you would like to use this in an alternative format, please contact us, as the PSA places restrictions on its usage:

The RCT Registrar

Many of you will know that we submitted an application to the PSA to gain accredited voluntary register status. The management team have been involved in a number of site visits and interviews over the last couple of months. The report and final decision are expected in August. As soon as the details become available we will provide a further update.

We are pleased to welcome two new IPEM members to the RCT Management panel.

Paul Blackett is an Engineering Operations Manager at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, a moderator on the IPEM Technologist Training Scheme, as well as sitting on various bodies and Special Interest Groups.

Paula Todd is a Chief Clinical Technologist at the Royal Victoria Hospital and is also a Moderator for the IPEM Technologist Training Scheme.

Both Paul and Paula have been RCT Registrants for a number of years and are excellent additions to the panel.

The RCT Equivalence Route is designed to enable technologists to achieve registration by demonstrating that their levels of knowledge and skills are at least equivalent to those offered by the relevant Scope of Practice and The RCT Equivalence Standards – Engineering or Physics. We are very pleased to report that after extensive piloting, the engineering route has now been launched. Full details of how to apply via this route are outlined on the RCT website. The Engineering Scopes of Practice cover the following:

Ø  Medical Engineering

Ø  Radiation Engineering

Ø  Rehabilitation Engineering

Ø  Renal Technology

The physics route is currently under development and we hope to be able to launch this shortly.

IPEM’s Public Engagement Panel (PEP) is a new network of volunteers who are not part of the health-related physics, engineering or technologist professions, and not members of IPEM. The aim is to bring a wider perspective to the work of the Institute. At the initial meeting members will be invited to join the RCT Management Panel. For further information on the panel, please visit the IPEM website.

A random percentage of RCT Registrants were selected for audit this year. The audit has now taken place and has highlighted to the management panel that further support for registrants is required. We will, over the summer, develop additional content to support you in recording your development activities and provide regular updates.

As part of our ongoing commitment to ensure that entry to the Register is robust we are seeking interest from those who wish to become assessors for the equivalence route. Those expressing an interest will be invited to undertake training at a planned workshop in September 2015.

There are two Registrant Panel Member posts available from September.   All RCT Registrants are eligible to apply. The criteria and the role description will be sent to all registrants and where there are more applications than posts a ballot will be held.   Please email enquiries@therct.org.uk for further details.

The management panel have put together a document as a helpful, informal resource for registrants to explain who the bodies are which are responsible for the education and registration of technologists in the UK. Click here to view.

It is with great sadness that I have to advise you that Alistair Mitchell, an RCT Management Panel member, has passed away.  Alistair was an active member of the clinical technologists training scheme and CPD Audit panel.   His valued contribution will be greatly missed.

Andy Mosson, the RCT Registrar, recently met Professor Sue Hill, Chief Scientific Officer, and Chris Harris from the Department of Health, who is responsible for non-registered groups, along with two representatives from the Registration Council for Clinical Physiologists, on behalf of the Alliance for Patient Safety, to press the case for statutory registration. RCCP presented some case studies of failures in the voluntary registration system which were very similar in nature to those prepared by RCT for the HCPC.

Andy reported: ‘It is very apparent that the DH view is not changing and accredited voluntary registration is still the DH preferred option. This is controlled by government policy and, although the officials can present opinions to the policy makers, they cannot make this policy themselves. They agreed to take the evidence on board but, particularly with an election looming, we should not expect any change soon. ’In the meeting, Professor Hill expressed disappointment that RCT had not come to an agreement with AHCS over registration and was surprised to hear the RCT’s view of events – that the offer from the Academy of a cluster register was unacceptable as it would have involved the majority of RCT registrants having to re-apply for registration through an expensive equivalence route.

Andy said: ‘I explained that, after our initial meeting with them, AHCS had not returned to us with any specific proposals and had left RCT with the understanding that AHCS did not want to combine the existing register with their own. Professor Hill was very surprised by this and will go back to AHCS to see if channels of communication could be re-opened. This also helped her understand why RCT felt pursuing accreditation independently was our only option.’

We are now in the final stages of our application to the PSA to become an Accredited Voluntary Register, with just a few more queries to answer before our application is considered by the PSA’s panel.

Further to the Registrar’s Update in September 2014; it has been decided to issue all Registrants with a one off certificate stating their year of registration, with instructions for interested parties to refer to the online register to check if the registration is still current. These will be forwarded in the next few weeks. Please keep your certificate safe as annual certificates are no longer issued. 

Following recent updates on the need for CPD, the audit is planned to start at the end of March.  Registrants will be selected at random and asked to submit details of their activities.  For those auditees who have been selected and need support there is help at hand.  A small number of assessors have kindly agreed to provide support this year and can be contacted through the RCT office.  Please read the Types of CPD activity and examples by clicking here.

The Equivalence Route pilot was discussed at the recent RCT Management Panel and has been successful in gaining agreement for the following Scopes of Practice:-

• Medical Engineering Technologist
• Radiation Engineering Technologist
• Rehabilitation Engineering Technologist

Further development work is ongoing in the areas of:-

• Renal Technologists
• Nuclear Medicine Technologist
• Radiation Physics Technologist
• Radiotherapy Physics Technologist

As soon as further information is available, details will be made available via the website.

The RCT Registrar

2015 is going to be a particularly exciting year for the RCT – it is the year in which we aim to become an Accredited Voluntary Register; we conduct our first audit of registrants’ CPD; and we open our equivalence routes through which new colleagues can join the Register. For more on these items, please see below. Meanwhile, may we wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year.

Have you paid yours yet? The final due date for payment is 31^st January, after which your name will be removed from the Register. There are several ways to pay, and you can do so immediately by ringing the IPEM office on 01904 610821. Why not complete a Direct Debit mandate so that payment happens automatically next year, to save the rush?

In November last year, we met with the Chair and Chief Executive of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) to brief them on the work of Registrants and the need for statutory regulation to protect the public. The HCPC has been invited to give evidence to the Commons Health Select Committee (HSC), and wanted input from the RCT to help make the case for extending statutory regulation. A written briefing, put together with the help of Registrants, will go to the HCPC’s Council meeting in February. This explains the complexity of Clinical Technologists’ roles, and the importance of their training and CPD to patient safety. HCPC expects to be invited to speak to the Health Select Committee again after the Election.

We are now part-way through the application process to become an AVR. The PSA is consulting other bodies on our application, and the accreditation team from the PSA is due to come and visit the Management Panel soon. While the goal still remains statutory registration, this is an essential step on the way. We hope to be an AVR by the Summer!

IPEM is currently recruiting members to its Public Engagement Panel, and this Panel will be able to contribute to the work of the RCT as well as to IPEM. We have already consulted some lay people on the new RCT website, and their comments include: ‘Overall the website does what it says on the box and does inform the public adequately about Clinical Technologists’; ‘Clear and concise’; and ‘Could be better separation of the registrants’ bits and the public bits.’ We will continue to improve the site taking account of these comments. We would also welcome your comments on the site. Email office@ipem.ac.uk

A reminder to all Registrants that the first audit of CPD is only a few months away and having the record already prepared will make the process much easier for those who are selected. If your name is randomly selected to participate in this first audit, we will be writing to you to give you plenty of time to brush up your record before submitting it.

Cathy Brown, IPEM’s Membership and Training Manager, who has supported the RCT for many years, has now left the Institute. We wish her well in her new life. IPEM is recruiting a new manager to replace Cathy; meanwhile, Anna Glavocih and Elaine Gears in the office will continue to help and support Registrants and the Management Panel. You can contact them on 01904 610821 or by emailing office@ipem.ac.uk

The RCT Registrar

The application has now been submitted to the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) and we await their response. Even though the RCT have decided to follow the voluntary accreditation pathway, the goal still remains statutory registration which we feel is still the most effective way of regulating Clinical Technologists.

Despite warnings earlier in the year about the inevitable rise in fees, it has been agreed with IPEM that the fee structure will remain unchanged during 2015. We still expect that fees will have to be increased in the future beyond 2015. We are often asked what registrants get in exchange for their payments and there is often the expectation that registrants will receive similar services to those provided by a professional body. It has to be pointed out that the purpose of the register is to set standards of behaviour, education and training for the professions and to provide a mechanism to ensure that they are fulfilled. The fee structure is then solely what is required to support the administration of these functions.

The management panel is still moving forward with the equivalence scheme and already a large number of potential registrants have recorded an interest. A number of trials of the scheme have started in the engineering technologies and it is hoped that trials in the other technologies can start in the New Year. We also expect early in 2015 to invite those on the engineering side who have expressed an interest in going forward, to start the process.

The new website has been launched and well accepted. As well as providing information for registrants, it provides more information aimed at the general public than the previous site did. This helps promote the principle that the whole purpose of maintaining standards is to provide a safe effective service to those who need to use it.Check www.therct.org.uk

This update would be incomplete without the reminder about recording CPD as it is carried out. The first audit of CPD is only a few months away and having the record already prepared will make the process much easier for those who are selected. For the future, assessors will be needed for the equivalence scheme. Readers of this update may be interested in becoming assessors and should keep in mind that it would contribute towards their CPD.

After many years David Gandy has decided to step down from the management panel. He has been involved with the development of the register since the very early days when ART joined IPEM to instigate a register. His input during those years has been invaluable and I would like to take this opportunity to pass on our gratitude for all his work. David is replaced on the panel by Ian Wylde who is Chief Renal Technologist at Manchester Royal Infirmary.

The RCT Registrar