RCT Registrar’s Update December 2014

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