RCT Registrar’s Update March 2016

Thank you to those of you who took part in the ballot to elect two new registrant representatives to the RCT’s Management Panel this year. It was pleasing to note that 30% of registrants voted in the ballot; previously this had been 16%. The Management Panel makes all the important decisions about the running of the register, so it is important that you have your say in who represents you on it.

I am sure you will join me in welcoming to the Management Panel your chosen registrant representatives:-

Elizabeth Crawford, is a Specialist Technologist within the Radiological Physics department of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and is keen to see entry routes into all technologist professions clarified, so that new starters can identify a clear career path and, ultimately, work towards registration as a respected and recognised member of the Healthcare Science community.

David Donohue,  is a Chief Clinical Technologist at South Tyneside Hospital. The Clinical Technologist profession is important to David and he believes a strong professional organisation and regulation is important for growth, development and security.

We were also delighted to welcome Rosemary Anderton and Phil Goddard, our two lay representatives, to their first meeting of the Management Panel in February.

Did you know that you can check your registration details on the RCT register? Click search register and type in your surname or registration number. If you have moved work location and would like this amended, please send an email to enquiries@therct.org.uk.

The former disciplinary procedure has been updated and renamed the Fitness to Practise procedure, to take account of issues which may be reported to the RCT involving either a registrant’s health (which is not a disciplinary issue), or his/her conduct (which may be).  The other main changes that have taken place involve the decision to make hearings routinely open to the public (which is usual practice for statutory registers); changes to the composition of the appeals panel; and clarification of the process for handling potential complaints that come to light via news or social media sources rather than by individual complaints.

The revised Fitness to Practise procedure, which was approved by the RCT Management Panel at its February meeting, can be found on the RCT website.

The Physics Standards for the Equivalence Route have now been finalised and this route is currently being piloted. Once the pilot has been completed, the route will be formally launched and the relevant information will be added to the RCT website. If you think that you may be eligible to apply via the Physics Equivalence route and would like us to contact you once the route is launched, email enquiries@therct.org.uk with your name, email address, telephone number, work location and the Scope of Practice you are working under.

All Registrants are required to keep up to date with their CPD and be able to demonstrate that they are doing so. Further information has been added to the RCT website to help you to maintain your CPD record. This information includes potential CPD activities, together with example submissions from a Rehabilitation Engineer, Radiotherapy Technologist and a Nuclear Medicine Technologist, to help you prepare your own portfolio. This year’s CPD audit takes place in May, and we will be contacting a random sample of registrants in March to ask for a summary of their CPD record.

·      Publicising YOUR register

Don’t forget you can put under your email signature that you are a member of an Accredited Register, plus this logo:

We also have a leaflet available for you to put out in your Department to let patients know about the RCT – which helps to highlight to your employer that you are a registered professional. Email enquiries@therct.org.uk if you would like us to send you some hard copies. If you have already requested copies, and have not yet received them, please be assured that they will be with you as soon as possible.

The equivalence route for registration is an area where we are expecting growth and we are looking to expand the team of assessors to cover future needs. If you believe that you have the skills to assess technical portfolios we would like to hear from you.  We are planning a training day for new and existing assessors in Q2 of 2016.

CPD Assessors required

Would you like to get involved in the Register of Technologists, and do you have an interest in continuing professional development? We are looking to expand the assessor pool this year and it is a great opportunity to expand your own professional development.  Please do get in touch if this is something that you feel would be beneficial.  It is likely that training will take place on 17^th or 18^th May 2016 with the opportunity to include assessment.

A new field has been added to the register to provide the public with further assurance of your registration status and to bring the register in line with other voluntary and statutory registers.   The status fields are:-

–      Registered – this means that the registrant is currently registered with no current finding or cautions

–      Registered finding – this means that the registrant has had been found to have a minor concern within the last 5 years

–      Registered caution – this means that the registrant has had a written reprimand placed on them within the last 5 years

–      Deregistered suspension conduct – this means that the registrant has been temporarily suspended due to a conduct related issue

–      Deregistered suspension health – this means that the registrant has been temporarily suspended due to a health related issue

–      Deregistered – this means that the registrant has been expelled from the Register.

Where there has been a ‘Fitness to Practice’ (previously called ‘disciplinary’) hearing involving a registrant, a summary of the case will appear on the website, in line with best practice of other voluntary and statutory registers, and there will be a link from the register page to this page. This is so that the public can be assured that the individual has been appropriately investigated in order to protect patient safety, and can see why they have been cautioned or deregistered.

The summary minutes of the RCTMP held on 10^th February 2016 are available via the RCT website. This enables Registrants to keep up with the discussions and decisions being made on their behalf.

The career break policy has been developed to enable Registrants to take an extended period of unpaid time away from work in order to balance their career with other commitments, responsibilities and interest.

Registrants who are planning to take a career break are required to notify the Registrar and will be removed upon commencement of their break. If you are taking a career break, please complete the relevant form which is available on the RCT website and forward this to the Registrar at least one month prior to the commencement of your career break. The full policy can be found here.

The RCT Registrar