Health, disability and becoming a health and care professional · Health, disability and becoming a...

A guide for disabled people about becoming a health and careprofessional regulated by the HCPC – includes information foreducation providers

Health, disabilityand becoming ahealth and careprofessional

Contents

Who is this document for? 1

About the structure of this document 1

Language 2

Health conditions 2

Examples and case studies 2

Section 1: Introduction 3

About us 3

Other professions 3

How we are run 3

Approving education programmes 4

Our Register 4

The Equality Act 2010 4

Disability Discrimination Act for Northern Ireland 5

Registration process 5

Meeting our standards 6

Scope of practice 6

Registration and employment 6

Section 2: Information for disabled people 8

Becoming a health and care professional 8

The process of becoming a health and care professional 9

Applying to an approved programme 10

Disclosing information about your disability to an education provider 10

Skills and knowledge 11

Other options 12

Unfair treatment 12

During your programme 12

Continue to disclose your disability to your education provider 13

Practice placements 13

Applying for registration 14

The health declaration 14

Looking for work 15

Occupational health assessment 16

Section 3: Information for education providers 17

Responsibilities of education providers 17

Considering applications 17

Making reasonable adjustments 17

Delivering the standards of proficiency 18

Individual assessment 20

Early and continued communication 20

Practice placements 21

Staff in education providers 21

Staff in practice-placement providers 23

Keeping a record 23

Section 4: More information 24

Glossary 25

Contents

Health, disability and becoming a health and care professional1

– a disabled person who is consideringbecoming a health and careprofessional;

– a disabled student who is training tobecome a health and care professional;

– a careers advisor who is giving advice todisabled people;

– working in education and training andmaking decisions about disabledstudents applying to an approvedprogramme;

– teaching, supervising or supportingdisabled students on approvedprogrammes or practice placements; or

– an occupational health professionalmaking assessments about disabledstudents.

This is not a full list of people who may beinterested in this guide. However, it should helpto give you an idea of whether this documentwill help you.

About the structure of thisdocument

To help you get the information you need, wehave divided this document into four sections.There are different sections for disabled peopleand education providers, though theinformation in each section might also beuseful to both these groups and to others.

– Section 1, Introduction, containsinformation about us, our standards andwhat we do. This section is for everyone.

– Section 2, Information for disabledpeople, is aimed at disabled peoplewho are interested in becoming healthand care professionals. It may also beuseful for the people who advise andsupport them, such as teachers, parentsand careers advisors. In this section,‘you’ refers to a disabled person whowants to become a health and careprofessional.

– Section 3, Information for educationproviders, is aimed at people involvedin educating and training health and careprofessionals, for example, admissionsstaff, people working in disability supportroles, academic staff and practiceplacement educators. It containsinformation about the responsibilities ofeducation providers, both to peopleapplying for places on approvedprogrammes and also to us. In thissection, ‘you’ refers to educationproviders making decisions aboutadmissions and those supporting andteaching disabled students.

– Section 4, More information, explainshow to find more information about thistopic. This section also contains aglossary of terms used in this document.

Who is this document for?

We are the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). We have written this document to give you more information about disabled people joining the professions that we regulate.

In this guidance, we refer to someone working in one of the 15 health, psychological or care professions we regulate as a ‘health and care professional’. There is a full list of the professions we currently regulate on page 3.

You may find this document useful if you are:

Health, disability and becoming a health and care professional 2

Language

We understand that language about disabilitycan be a sensitive topic.

We have used the terms ‘disabled person’ and‘disabled people’ throughout this document.These terms have been informed by the socialmodel of disability which considers thatbarriers caused by attitudes in society, as wellas environmental and organisational barriers,disable people. In the social model, disabilitycan be prevented by removing the barriersaffecting people with health conditions.

However, we are aware that there is muchdebate about the use of this language, andthat some people may prefer the phrase‘people with a disability’. We have included thelegal definition of a disability from the EqualityAct 2010 on page 4.

Health conditions

In this guidance we sometimes talk about aperson having ‘a disability or health condition’.This is where we are referring to ourresponsibilities to everyone who wants toregister, or who has already registered, with us(or to their responsibilities to us), and not justto disabled people. This language is also usefulbecause some people may not considerthemselves to be disabled or they may have ahealth condition which does not fall within thedefinition of a disability under the law.

Where we are referring to the specific legalprotection disabled people have by law, forexample when we are talking about educationproviders making reasonable adjustments, weuse the words ‘disabled’ and ‘disability’.

Examples and case studies

This document includes a number of shortexamples and case studies. These areintended to provide an indication of how theinformation in this document might be used inpractice.

The case studies are real-life examplesdeveloped by adapting case studies that werecreated through interviews with disabledstudents and staff involved in education andtraining who took part in some research whichwas carried out for us.

The full case studies in audio and video formatare available on our website. Case studieshave been published with the permission ofthe people involved.

Who is this document for?


About us

We are the Health and Care ProfessionsCouncil (HCPC). We are a regulator and wewere set up to protect the public. To do this,we keep a register of professionals who meetour standards for their training, professionalskills, behaviour and health.

Professionals on our Register are called‘registrants’. We currently regulate 16professions.

– Arts therapists

– Biomedical scientists

– Chiropodists / podiatrists

– Clinical scientists

– Dietitians

– Hearing aid dispensers

– Occupational therapists

– Operating department practitioners

– Orthoptists

– Paramedics

– Physiotherapists

– Practitioner psychologists

– Prosthetists / orthotists

– Radiographers

– Speech and language therapists

We may regulate other professions in thefuture. For an up-to-date list of the professionswe regulate, please see our websitewww.hcpc-uk.org

Each of these professions has at least one‘protected title’ (protected titles include titlessuch as ‘paramedic’ and ‘dramatherapist’).Anyone who uses one of these titles must beon our Register. Anyone who uses a protectedtitle who is not registered with us is breakingthe law and could be prosecuted.

You can see our Register on our website. Anyone can search it, so they can check that a professional is registered.

Another important part of our role is to consider any complaints we receive about professionals registered with us. We look at every complaint we receive to decide whether we need to take action or not. We may hold a hearing to get all the information we need to decide whether someone is ‘fit to practise’.

Other professionsOther organisations regulate a number of different health and care professions, such as doctors, nurses, dentists and others. If you are interested in training in any of these professions, this document may still include some helpful guidance. However, you may also want to contact the organisation responsible for regulating the profession you are interested in. We have provided contact details for all the health and care regulators in the UK on our website.

How we are run

We were created by the Health Professions Order 2001. This sets out the things that we must do and gives us legal powers. We have a council which is made up of health and care professionals and members of the public. The Council sets our strategy and policy and makes sure that we are meeting the duties we have by law.

Health and care professionals must register with us before they can use a protected title for their profession. This means that, for example, even if you have completed a programme in operating department practice, you will still not be able to call yourself an ‘operating department practitioner’ unless you are registered with us.

Section 1: Introduction



Approving education programmes

Part of our role includes approving educationprogrammes. Health and care professionalsmust complete these programmes to becomeregistered with us. However, completing anapproved programme does not guarantee thatsomeone will be able to register with us.Sometimes a student who has completed aneducation programme declares very seriousinformation which may mean that we rejecttheir application for registration. This happensonly very rarely.

Our Register

Being on our Register shows that aprofessional meets our standards for theirprofession.

We have a Register to show the public thathealth and care professionals are fit topractise, and that they are entitled to use theprotected title for their profession. It showsthat the people on our Register are part of aprofession with nationally recognisedstandards set by law.

When we say that someone is ‘fit to practise’,we mean that they have the skills, knowledge,character and health to do their job safely andeffectively.

The Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 (‘the Act’) is legislationthat applies in England, Wales and Scotland. It protects people from discrimination,harassment or victimisation. It does this byspecifying a number of ‘protectedcharacteristics’. It is against the law todiscriminate against anyone because of:

– age;

– being or becoming a transsexual person;

– being married or being in a civilpartnership;

– being pregnant or having a child;

– disability;

– race, including colour, nationality, ethnicor national origin;

– religion, belief, or lack of religion or belief;

– sex; or

– sexual orientation.

Disability is defined in the Act as a physical ormental impairment that has a substantial orlong-term negative effect on a person’s abilityto do normal daily activities. In the Act,substantial is defined as more than minor ortrivial and long term is defined as 12 months ormore.

This means that people with a range of healthconditions are included in this definition. TheAct does not provide a list of health conditionsthat are considered to be disabilities. It isimportant to note that people who may notusually describe themselves as disabled maybe protected by the Act if the effects of theirhealth condition on normal day-to-dayactivities are negative, long term andsubstantial. It is also possible that other peoplemay consider themselves to be disabled, butmight not fall within the definition of the Act.

The Act places emphasis on the effect of ahealth condition – whether a person’s healthcondition has a negative, long-term andsubstantial effect on their ability to do normalday-to-day activities. So it is important thatorganisations do not make judgements basedon assumptions or stereotypes.

There are several parts to the Act, which placedifferent responsibilities on different kinds oforganisations in relation to the protectedcharacteristics.



– Education providers have responsibilitiesto their students and applicants to makesure that they are treated fairly. Thisincludes making reasonable adjustmentsfor disabled people. Like all publicbodies, the ‘public sector duty’ appliesto them. This means they are alsorequired to take steps to activelypromote equal opportunities anddevelop good relations with people whohave a protected characteristic andpeople who do not.

– Organisations who provide placementsin practices also have a responsibility tomake sure that they do not discriminateand to put in place reasonableadjustments for disabled students onplacements.

– Under the Act, we fall into the categoryof a ‘qualifications body’. This is becausewe award registration which allowspeople to practise the professions thatwe regulate. This means that we alsohave duties to make sure that ourprocesses are fair and do notdiscriminate against disabled people.Like education providers, the ‘publicsector duty’ also applies to us.

– Employers have a responsibility to treattheir employees and applicants fairly, andmust put in place reasonableadjustments for disabled employees.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission isresponsible for promoting and enforcingequality and non-discrimination laws inEngland, Scotland and Wales. You can findmore information about the responsibilities ofdifferent organisations under the Equality Act2010 on its website.

Disability Discrimination Act forNorthern Ireland

The Equality Act 2010 does not apply inNorthern Ireland. The Disability DiscriminationAct 1995 continues to apply, as modified bythe Disability Discrimination (Northern Ireland)Order 2006. This is supplemented by otherorders, including the Special Education Needsand Disability Order (Northern Ireland) 2005,which relates to education. Most of theinformation set out above relating to disabilityis very similar under the law in NorthernIreland, including the definition of disability andthe duties of different organisations.

The Equality Commission for Northern Irelandis responsible for promoting and enforcingequality and anti-discrimination laws inNorthern Ireland. You can find moreinformation about the law in Northern Irelandand the duties it places on differentorganisations by visiting the EqualityCommission’s website.

Registration process

We ask people to fill in a health declaration togive us information about their health whenthey apply to go on our Register. Thedeclaration states that the person’s healthdoes not affect their ability to practise safelyand effectively. We do not need informationabout any health condition or disability unless itaffects a person’s fitness to practise.

If a person is not sure whether their healthcondition or disability affects their ability topractise safely and effectively, it is importantthat they provide us with information so thatwe can decide whether to include them on ourRegister. However, it is very rare that anyinformation we do receive about a person’shealth affects their registration with us.

There is more information about applying forregistration and filling in the health declarationin section 2.



Meeting our standards

The standards of proficiency are theprofessional standards which people mustmeet to become registered with us. Approvededucation providers must make sure thatstudents completing their programmes meetthese professional standards.

When a student tells an education providerabout a disability, admissions staff will need todecide whether the student will be able tomeet the standards of proficiency for therelevant profession. As there is often more thanone way in which each professional standardcan be met, this will include consideringreasonable adjustments that would make itpossible for the student to meet thesestandards.

We do not set a list of approved ways ofmeeting our standards because we are notconcerned with the way that people meet thestandards, only that they meet them. We alsobelieve that people know most about whatthey can and cannot do and it is best forpeople to negotiate with their choseneducation provider about the way in whichthey may meet the standards. This will makesure that decisions education providers makeabout accepting people onto approvedprogrammes are based on each person’sability to meet our standards.

Scope of practice

Once someone has met our standards andbeen registered with us, we expect them topractise safely and effectively within theirscope of practice.

A professional’s scope of practice is the areaor areas of their profession in which they havethe knowledge, skills and experience topractise safely and effectively in a way thatmeets our standards and does not present anydanger to themselves or to the public.

We recognise that a professional’s scope ofpractice will change over time. This may meanthat they are unable to show that they meet all

of the standards that apply to the whole oftheir profession. This may be because of:

– a decision to specialise in their job;

– a move into management, education orresearch;

– a health condition or a disability; or

– another reason that affects their fitnessto practise in certain areas.

As long as a professional makes sure that theyare practising safely and effectively within theirscope of practice and does not practise inareas where they do not have the necessaryknowledge and skills, this will not be aproblem. All health and care professionals, notjust disabled people, have to restrict or adapttheir practice where something may affect theirfitness to practise.

Registration and employment

There is a major difference between beingregistered as a health and care professionaland being employed as one.

We register people, and we do not deal withmatters that are related to employment. In thesame way that someone completing anapproved programme does not guarantee thatwe will register them, it is important thatregistration is never seen as a guarantee thatany professional on our Register will gainemployment.

Guaranteeing that someone is ‘fit to practise’,which is part of our role as the regulator, does

Example

The health of an occupational therapist withmultiple sclerosis deteriorates. He realisesthat he is unable to continue to performcertain aspects of practice safely andeffectively without help. He discusses hiscondition with his employer to agree variouschanges to the way he works, includinghaving an assistant to perform any manualhandling.



not guarantee that they will have theopportunity to practise. It is also not the sameas fitness to work, which is decided at a locallevel between a registrant and an employer.

Example

A paramedic develops pneumonia. She is onsick leave for several weeks while sherecovers. Although she is not fit enough towork, she is still on the Register, because herillness does not affect her ‘fitness to practise’.

Example

A prosthetist with back pain negotiatesadjustments to his working environment withhis employer, including rest periods and aspecially designed chair. Thesearrangements have no effect on hisregistration, but are negotiated directlybetween him and his employer.


Section 2: Information for disabled people

Becoming a health and careprofessional

We are aware that some people may assumethat disabled people cannot become healthand care professionals. However, manydisabled people complete approved educationand training successfully, register with us andgo on to practise safely and effectively with orwithout adjustments to support them.

While we are only responsible for theregistration part of the process for becoming ahealth and care professional, we want toencourage people with the desire and potentialto become health and care professionals toconsider education and training and a career ina profession which we regulate. We believethat disabled people have an importantcontribution to make to the professions weregulate, and have unique experiences whichwould be of benefit to service users andcarers. We hope that the information in thissection will help disabled people who areconsidering becoming a health and careprofessional to make decisions about theirfuture career.

This section will not be able to give you adefinite answer as to whether you are able tobecome a health and care professional aseach case will need to be consideredindividually. However, it will provide you withinformation about the process of becoming ahealth and care professional, what decisionsyou and others will have to make throughoutthis process and how you can find out moreinformation.

If you want to work in one of the professionswe regulate, you will first need to complete anapproved programme and then register withus. Once you are registered you will be able toapply for employment in your chosenprofession. These stages are shown in theflowchart on page 9, which shows that thepath to becoming a health and careprofessional has many stages, involving anumber of different organisations.



This may include anoccupational health

assessment.

This may include anoccupational health

assessment.

This will includefilling in a healthdeclaration.

You may beginlooking for, and beoffered, a job before applying forregistration.However, you mustbe registered beforeyou can beginpractising.

Find out more information about the profession you are interested in,for example from education providers of approved programmes, careers advisorsand teachers, the professional body for the relevant profession and employers of

health and care professionals.

Register with us.

Gain employment.

Accept the offer of a job and begin practising in your chosen profession.

Like any other registrant, make sure that you continue to be able to practisesafely and effectively.

Apply to a programme. Considerdisclosing your disability to the

education provider.

The education provider willassess applications and consider

their responsibilities, includingreasonable adjustments if necessary.

If offered a place, accept and beginstudying on your chosen programme.

Complete programme.

This will involvecompleting practice

placements.

Apply for registration by filling inan application form.

Become registered and beginlooking for work.

Apply for jobs and considerdisclosing your disability to

employers.

Employers will consider theirresponsibilities, including

reasonable adjustments ifnecessary, and may offer you a job.

The process of becoming a health and care professional

If you tell the educationprovider about yourdisability, they will

contact you to discussyour needs.

Continue to tell theeducation provider

about any changes toyour disability.


Applying to an approvedprogramme

Before you can practise in one of theprofessions we regulate, you will need tocomplete a programme which we haveapproved. A full list of the programmes weapprove is available on our website. You canfind more information about admissionsrequirements for particular programmes byvisiting the education provider’s website or bycontacting them direct.

Disclosing information about yourdisability to an education provider

When applying to an education programme,you will have the opportunity to tell the providerabout your disability. Education providers havea responsibility to give you variousopportunities to tell them this information in asafe and confidential way, but it is yourdecision whether you do so. We stronglyrecommend that you do.

An education provider can only act on theinformation they know about. If you do not tellthem that you have a disability, they will beunable to make an informed decision aboutyour ability to complete the programme andmay not be able to provide you with thesupport and adjustments you may need.Telling the education provider about yourdisability will also mean that they will be able toconsider whether they need to make anyadjustments to the selection process for the programme.

When telling an education provider about yourdisability, you can choose whether or not to givethem permission to tell anyone else – this isknown as ‘permission to disclose’. If you dogive them this permission, they will be able toshare information about your needs with peopleyou name, for example, staff on practiceplacements. This will make sure that you get thesupport you need at all stages of yourprogramme. This is important because,sometimes, putting the most effectiveadjustments in place, for example at practice

placements, can take some time, so beingopen about your disability at an early stage canhelp make sure that plans can be made to putthese adjustments in place as soon as possible.

Some people may not want to disclose theirdisability because they are worried aboutpossible discrimination. However, educationproviders have specific legal responsibilities notto discriminate against disabled applicants.

If you would like more information about youreducation provider’s duties, you can ask to seetheir disability or equality and diversity policyand speak to their disability service (if theyhave one).

Student case study

“I chose to disclose that I have chronic fatiguesyndrome during the admissions processbecause, like with anything else, help is onlyavailable if you ask for it. Based on mydisclosure and subsequent meetings with thedisability support tutor, I have received helpfuland supportive advice and strategies forcoping. Ultimately, help can’t be provided ifpeople don’t know that it’s needed. It’s up toyou to decide who you want to tell, and I havefound that the best thing to do is get to knowpeople so you can determine who you want totell so that they can support you. It’s importantthat you’re not afraid to admit that you mayneed help, because it’s there for a reason.”

A full version of this case study is available onour website.



Skills and knowledge

It is up to education providers to make surethat their programme is managed anddelivered in a way that means studentscompleting it meet our standards ofproficiency. These are the professionalstandards of entry to a profession thatstudents completing an approved programmemust be able to meet. As mentioned in theintroduction, there is often more than one wayto meet the standards of proficiency, and thismay include education providers and practiceplacement providers making certainadjustments.

When applying to an approved programme, aspart of assessing your application theeducation provider will decide whether any ofthe standards are likely to cause you difficultiesand consider whether they can deliver theprogramme in a way that helps you meet thesestandards. This will include considering anyreasonable adjustments that can be made. Atthis stage, education providers are likely tocontact you for more information about yourdisability. This may involve inviting you to takean occupational health assessment (see page16 for more information about occupationalhealth assessments).

We are aware that people sometimes havemisconceptions about certain disabilities inrelation to particular professions. However, wedo not publish a list of disabilities that willrestrict your entry to the professions weregulate. We want to make sure that anydecisions you and education providers makeare about your ability to meet our standardsand not based on assumptions aboutdisabilities. Education providers should onlyturn down applications that would otherwisereceive an offer if they are unable to putadjustments in place that would allow adisabled applicant to meet our standards ofproficiency.

Student case study

“I have spina bifida which means that I usecrutches, have restricted physical ability andcatheterise. My journey to becoming a speechand language therapist began in sixth formwhere I spoke to form tutors and careersadvisors about what kind of professions wouldbe open to me. They were very helpful andencouraging and provided me with lots ofinformation. I also took time to do research ofmy own about the different professions inrelation to my interests and abilities. I alsocontacted course administrators at universitiesto learn more about the programmes and theirenvironments. I made sure I was honest withpeople about my abilities and the support Iwould need to make sure it was going to workfor me and be accessible. This meant that bythe time I was offered a place at the university Iwas excited and ready to go.”


Example

A person who uses a wheelchair is interestedin becoming a radiographer. Her friends havetold her that she may be unable to do sobecause she would not be able to get up thestairs to different wards. However, being ableto get up and down stairs is not one of thestandards of proficiency for radiographers.While this person may need reasonableadjustments in a study or work environment,being unable to use stairs would not preventher from meeting the professional standardsfor entry into radiography.



Other options

Sometimes, a person’s disability may preventthem from training in the profession they wantto work in. If this is the case for you, this will bebecause there are no reasonable adjustmentsan education provider could put in place thatwould make it possible for you to meet thestandards of proficiency for the relevantprofession.

However, it is important to remember that,while you may not be able to meet thestandards of proficiency for one particularprofession, you may still be able to meet thosefor another. For example, restricted mobilitymay prevent you from entering a professionthat involves a lot of physical activity, but it isunlikely to prevent you from entering aprofession which does not. You may also beable to work in a related role in health and carethat we do not regulate, for example, as ahealth or social care support worker.

Unfair treatment

When you apply to an education and trainingprogramme, you are entitled to have yourapplication assessed fairly and in a way thatmeets relevant laws.

If you think that you have been unfairly denieda place because of your disability, you can takeaction. First you should contact the educationprovider and follow their internal complaintsprocess.

To take further action, you can contact theEquality and Human Rights Commission or theEquality Commission for Northern Ireland whoare responsible for enforcing equality and non-discrimination laws and will be able to tell youabout your options. The contact details forthese organisations, and a number of otheruseful organisations, are provided on ourwebsite.

During your programme

If you gain a place on an approved programmeand you decide to tell your education providerabout your disability, you will be entitled to arange of support. This may include reasonableadjustments to allow you to fully take part inthe programme, such as accessible resources,extra time and someone to take notes for you.It may also include financial support to helpyou cover any extra costs that are directlyassociated with your disability.

For more information about the types ofreasonable adjustments that educationproviders may be able to put in place, pleasesee page 18.

To find out more about the help and supportthat is available to you in the place of studyyou are applying to, contact their disabilityservices. A range of other organisations andcharities may also be able to provide you withinformation about other help and support thatis available for your health condition ordisability. An up-to-date list of contact detailsfor a number of relevant bodies is available onour website.

Example

A physiotherapy student with rheumatoid arthritis had difficulty taking notes and carrying out some physiotherapy treatment techniques. Disability services at her university were able to provide her with someone to take notes for her and a grant to buy an adapted laptop. Her lecturers were able to provide her with alternative treatment techniques to replace those that caused her discomfort.

Example

A podiatry student with dyslexia has adjustments to allow her to see lecture notes in advance, type written exams or use a scribe, and is given extra time to carry out any reading work.



Student case study

“I am profoundly deaf with a visual impairmentand I was anxious about being able to keep upwith the teaching programmes at university.After an assessment to determine my needs Iwas allocated a package of resources to helpme. This meant that I could utilise acommunication support worker who took notesfor me and used sign language to conveyanything I could not hear. I also was able toaccess a radio aid system which provedinvaluable as I could control the volume of otherpeople’s voices. With this support I was able tograduate with a first class degree. I am veryproud of what I have managed to achieve andlooking forward to gaining employment.”


Continue to disclose yourdisability to your educationprovider

During your programme, it is important thatyou have a realistic understanding of whetheryou can do tasks safely and effectively. Yourability to do certain tasks or the level ofsupport you might need to carry them out maychange over time.

We strongly recommend that you continue totell the relevant staff any important informationabout your disability throughout yourprogramme. This will make sure that anyadjustments you have in place can continue toprovide you with the most effective support.

If you develop a disability during yourprogramme, we would encourage you to tellthe appropriate staff. This will make sure thatyou receive any support or adjustments youmay need to help you manage your conditionand take part fully in your programme.

Practice placements

All programmes we approve must includepractice placements. These are an opportunityfor students to gain workplace experience intheir intended profession.

Telling practice placement staff about yourdisability can allow them to arrange anysupport or adjustments that you need topractise safely and effectively in the workplace.This can help make sure that staff are able toaccurately assess your ability and whether youhave met our standards. It will also make surethat you are not put in situations which mightput you or your service user at risk.

To make sure that you get the appropriatesupport and adjustments, it is important thatyou discuss your needs with your practiceplacement provider before you begin yourplacement. This will make sure that they areable to put the necessary support in placebefore you start. There are some examples ofadjustments that providers can make topractice placements in the section foreducation providers on page 23.

Your education provider is likely to havesystems in place to help with the move to yourpractice placement, such as a meeting beforethe placement starts, but you may want tocontact your practice placement co-ordinatoror disability services about these.




Student case study

“I have restricted mobility and use crutches, andgiven this was concerned about going onplacement. My university was really supportivein organising my placement and identified andcontacted a potential placement who agreedthat they were likely to be accessible. I thencontacted the practice placement educator todiscuss my mobility needs and how we couldmake it work. I explained that I would be unableto push wheelchair users and the educator saidI would be able to see service users who wereable to walk, or that they would provide me withan assistant to push wheelchair users. Myuniversity was very helpful in liaising with theeducator to ensure that all arrangements werein place before I started placement. I think it’sreally important to know that sometimes theplacement staff are just as nervous as you are,and that being honest and open ensureseveryone understands the situation and knowswhere they are at. My experience on placementwas very good. I found that service usersrelated to me particularly well as someone withfirst-hand experience of reduced mobility.”


Applying for registration

Completing an approved programme does notguarantee that you will become registered withus. But it does show us that you meet ourprofessional standards and so are eligible toapply for registration. So that we can registeryou, we need more information from you.

To apply for registration you need to send uscertain information, which includes:

– a completed application form;

– a passport-sized photo;

– a character reference; and

– proof of your address (such as a recentutility bill).

All of the information that we need from you isto help us make sure that:

– you are who you say you are;

– you meet our standards; and

– we can contact you if we need to.

You can find out more about the applicationprocess and download an application pack onour website.

When you fill in your application we ask you todeclare information about your health andcharacter. We expect you to give us anyinformation about your health and characterthat is relevant to your application. Making afalse declaration by providing inaccurateinformation or failing to provide all relevantinformation can result in you being removedfrom our Register.

The health declaration

When you apply to our Register we ask you tosign a declaration to confirm that you do nothave a health condition or disability that wouldaffect your ability to practise your profession.We call this a self-declaration. You do not needto tell us about any health condition ordisability if it does not affect your ability topractise safely or you know you are able toadapt, limit or stop your practice if it does so.

You only need to declare information about ahealth condition or disability if you believe thatit may affect your ability to practise safely andeffectively. If you tell us you have a healthcondition or disability that may do this, we willuse the information to decide whether youshould be registered.

When we talk about ‘health’ we are not makingjudgements about whether you are ‘healthy’ or‘in good health’. We are also not makingjudgements about disabilities. Having a healthcondition or disability should not be seen as abarrier to becoming a health and careprofessional. You may have a health conditionor a disability which would mean you wouldnot consider yourself to be ‘in good health’.


However, as long as you manage your healthcondition or disability appropriately, and haveinsight into and understanding of yourdisability, this will not prevent you fromregistering with us.

If we accept you on our Register, you will needto renew your registration with us every twoyears. At this point, you will need to sign adeclaration to say that there has been nochange to your health that may affect yourability to practise safely and effectively.

If you are not sure whether your healthcondition or disability affects your fitness topractise, you should tell us anyway and give usas much information as you can, so we canassess this. We have produced furtherguidance called ‘Guidance on health andcharacter’, which contains information abouthow we consider information that you declareabout your health. This guidance is available onour website.

Looking for work

Once you have registered with us, you arelegally able to practise in your chosenprofession. Some students apply for jobs whilethey are still studying and gain a job offerwhich depends on them registering with us.Others wait until they are registered beforelooking for work. As long as you do notpractise using a professional title protected byus before you are registered, it is up to youwhich route to employment you choose.

When you are applying for jobs, employersalso have certain duties under the law not todiscriminate against you and to consider yourapplication fairly. In England, Scotland andWales some employers display the ‘Two ticks’symbol, which means that they will interview alldisabled applicants who meet the minimumcriteria for a job vacancy and consider them ontheir abilities.

Also, employers must make reasonableadjustments in the workplace to make suredisabled employees are not seriouslydisadvantaged when doing their jobs.However, employers can only provide you withappropriate support and adjustments if theyare aware of your disability, so we recommendthat you tell them any relevant information.

We do not make assumptions about how likelyemployers are to make adjustments as this islikely to depend on the cost and effect of theadjustment and the employer’s resources. Weregister people who meet our standards andwould never refuse to register someonebecause they may not gain employment.

You may be eligible for national schemeswhich may provide you with extra financialsupport to help you stay in work, dependingon your circumstances. For more informationabout help and support that may be availablewhen you are looking for work, you shouldcontact the Equality and Human RightsCommission or the Equality Commission inNorthern Ireland.

Example

After successfully completing an approvedprogramme, a dietitian with epilepsy isapplying for registration with us. He has beentaking the same medication for over twoyears and has not had a seizure during thistime. He has made plans for combining workwith his condition, which include telling hiscolleagues and keeping a small supply ofmedication somewhere safe at work. Hisinsight into and understanding andmanagement of his condition means that heis able to sign the declaration to declare thathis health condition would not affect hisfitness to practise, without telling us anyinformation about his condition.




Occupational health assessment

Once you have been offered a job, youremployer may ask you to take part inoccupational health screening, which normallyapplies to all staff.

This may be a form or questionnaireassessment, which you fill in and then send tothe occupational health providers that youremployer uses. Your employer may thencontact you for more information, or ask you togo to a meeting or interview with anoccupational health professional so that theycan assess you. An occupational healthassessment is about finding out what effectyour work might have on your health (and viceversa), including identifying what adjustmentsmight need to be made to support you in theworkplace.

If this happens, it may be helpful for you to dosome preparation beforehand to show howyou practise safely and effectively. This couldinclude describing how adjustments made totasks in your academic work or on practiceplacement have overcome the barriers to yourpractice.

Education providers may sometimes askstudents and people applying for places on atraining course to have an occupational healthassessment to help them identify how they canbest support that person during theirprogrammes (see page 11).


Responsibilities of educationproviders

You have duties by law to make sure thatdisabled students and people who apply toyou for training are treated fairly. This includesmaking reasonable adjustments to providethem with similar opportunities as otherstudents.

You also have a duty as a public body topromote equal opportunity and to developgood relations between disabled people andpeople who are not disabled.

When delivering programmes we approve, youalso have a responsibility to make sure thatstudents who complete the programme meetthe professional standards that we set for theprofession.

This section provides information about theresponsibilities you have, both to students andto us, and covers some of the decisions youwill need to make to meet your responsibilities.This section also provides a number ofexamples and case studies to show how youmight go about making these decisions.

Information in this section will be relevant to arange of staff involved in education andtraining. This includes information aboutconsidering applications for admissions staffand information about support and reasonableadjustments to support disabled people.

Considering applications

You have certain responsibilities when dealingwith applications to your programme fromdisabled people. These include specific legalduties you have under equality and anti-discrimination laws as an education providerand, because we have approved yourprogramme, a responsibility to make sure thatpeople who complete your programme meetour standards of proficiency.

It is up to each education provider to decidehow they choose to meet these requirements.However, it may be helpful to consider the way

in which we, as the regulator, considerapplications for registration which provideinformation about a health condition ordisability.

When we consider an application forregistration from someone who has told usabout a health condition or disability, weconsider how that condition or disability mayaffect their ability to practise safely andeffectively. We look at each case individuallyand make our decision based on the particularcircumstances of the case. As such, we do nothave a list of health conditions and disabilitiesthat would prevent someone from practising inany of the professions we regulate.

This also means that we cannot provide a listof the health conditions and disabilities whichwould prevent someone from completing anapproved programme. We believe it isimportant that these applications areconsidered individually based on the person’sability to meet the standards.

While your institution is likely to haveprocedures in place when consideringapplications from disabled people, we suggestyou first consider the reasonable adjustmentsthat you could make for the applicant. In mostinstances you are likely to need to contactthem for more information about their abilities.In some cases this may include inviting theapplicant to have an occupational healthassessment.

Making reasonable adjustments

By law, you must make reasonableadjustments to give disabled people access toeducation that is as close as is reasonablypossible to that offered to people who are notdisabled.

This means that you have a duty to find outhow you can adapt your programme to meetthe needs of disabled students.

The law does not say what is ‘reasonable’ andallows flexibility for different sets ofcircumstances, so what is reasonable in one

Section 3: Informationfor education providers


Section 3: Information for education providers

situation may not be reasonable in another.

While it is not possible to say what will or willnot be reasonable in any particular situation,what is reasonable for your institution willdepend on many things, including:

– how effective the adjustment would be inavoiding the disadvantage the disabledstudent would otherwise experience;

– how possible the adjustment is;

– the cost of the adjustment;

– the institution’s size and resources; and

– the availability of any sources of financialsupport.

The idea of ‘reasonable’ adjustments meansthat you will need to consider whether you canmake the adjustment, but you do not have tomake every adjustment that a student may askfor. This does not mean, however, that you canclaim that an adjustment is unreasonable onlybecause it is expensive or inconvenient. Youare likely to find that many adjustments areinexpensive and that there is rarely a situationwhere you are not able to make anyadjustment at all.

Examples of adjustments you may be able tomake include:

– changes to the physical environment toimprove access to and the use offacilities;

– adjustments to teaching and learning,including providing information in avariety of different formats;

– providing extra support, such asmentoring, tutorial support orcounselling; and

– adjustments to examinations andpractical assessments, through extratime, rest breaks or allowing the use ofan assistant, scribe or reader.

When considering reasonable adjustments,you will often find that people applying to your

programme will already have developeddifferent ways of working. They may alreadyhave a good idea of what they would needfrom you to be able to take part fully in yourprogramme, and experience of staff makingthese changes in their school or college, or intheir previous employment. Talking to them asearly as possible about their ideas, concernsand needs will help make sure that youconsider all the relevant factors.

It is also important to speak to all staff involvedin the student’s education, both within yourinstitution and at placements, to make surethat adjustments are possible and can beeffectively put into place.

Delivering the standards ofproficiency

Having considered the adjustments yourinstitution can reasonably make, you may wantto then consider separately whether, withthese adjustments in place, the applicantwould meet our standards of proficiency at theend of the programme.

There is often more than one way to meet thestandards and we do not set a certain way ofdoing so. You will need to make sure that thesupport systems or adjustments you put inplace will make it possible for the student tomeet these standards.

When making decisions about an applicantwith a disability, there are a number of otherthings that you may want to look at. These are:

– how they currently manage theircondition;

– whether they have shown insight into,and understanding of, their condition;and

– what support arrangements they have inplace.

When considering applications it is alsoimportant to realise the things you should nottake into account. You should not make anyassumptions about whether the applicant is


likely to be employed at the end of theprogramme, as this is likely to bediscriminatory. Though you may mean to behelpful, your assessment could be based onassumptions or stereotypes about disabilities.Not offering an applicant a place on anapproved programme based on assumptionsabout their chances of gaining employmentafter graduation would be unlawfully puttingbarriers in the way of a disabled personbecoming a health and care professional.

Making decisions about applicants who tell youabout a disability which involves complex healthconditions can be particularly challenging,especially if that condition doesn’t affect them allthe time. Whether the applicant has a realistic,informed idea of their condition will be importantin your decision. You may have to assess thesafety of the applicant and other people, suchas other students and service users the studentwill be working with, in the education andplacement environment, which might includeusing occupational health services.

When considering all the relevant factors andmaking decisions about applicants, you mayfind it helpful to set up an advisory panel tohelp you. Some admissions staff also find ithelpful to contact practice placementeducators for advice.

Example

An applicant to a podiatry programme tellsthe university that he has eyesight difficulties.

The university realise they need moreinformation about the extent of his disability.They discuss his sight difficulty with him, andget more information from an occupationalhealth assessment. From this, they learn thathis vision is extremely limited and that he cansee very little of objects close to him.

The admissions staff are concerned that hewill not be able to carry out scalpel work,which forms an important part of theprogramme. In particular, they note thatregistered chiropodists and podiatrists mustbe able to ‘carry out surgical procedures forskin and nail conditions’ safely and effectively(Standard 14.11).

They discuss this with the practice-placement co-ordinators, who agree thatsurgical and scalpel work is such animportant part of their work that it isconsidered to be a professional skill, withoutwhich someone is not able to be achiropodist or podiatrist.

They contact the university disability officer todiscuss the possibility of an assistant helpingthe applicant with this part of theprogramme. However, they decide that thisadjustment would not allow him to meet thestandards as it would rely on the assistant’ssurgical skills, knowledge and experience,and not his own.

The university decide not to offer theapplicant a place on this programme. Theycontact him to discuss other programmesthey offer which may be more appropriate.




Individual assessment

The examples we have given show how it isimportant that you treat every case individuallyand avoid stereotypes or judgements.Considering each application individually in theways we have explained means that you arenot making assumptions about disabilities.Instead you will be making an informeddecision about each individual applicant.

Sometimes, it might be that an applicant wouldbe able to meet the professional standards in oneprofession but not those in another. If you needto reject an applicant to a particular programmebecause they would not be able to meet theprofessional standards of the profession, it maybe useful to give them information about otherprogrammes which may be more suitable.

Early and continuedcommunication

Early communication with applicants is animportant part of meeting your responsibilitiesto consider all aspects of an applicant’sprogramme before they begin studying.Starting this communication as early aspossible in the application process will avoiddifficulties arising during the programme whichyou could have dealt with or predicted at anearlier stage.

After offering an applicant a place on aprogramme or course, you should contactthem to discuss making preparations. Whilesome adjustments can be made quickly,others (such as making alternativearrangements for practice placements) arelikely to take more time. In all cases, earlycommunication between you and the studentwill help to make sure that things run smoothly.

On many occasions, providing appropriatesupport will require you to communicate withstaff across your institution and with others,such as practice placement providers.However, you need to get a student’spermission before sharing information theyhave given you about their disability. This islikely to involve contacting the student andexplaining the process and benefits of givingyou this permission. You should contact yourdisability service to find out about yourinstitution’s policy and responsibilities.

Example

An applicant to an arts therapy programme has indicated that she has bipolar disorder.

After receiving more information about the way in which the applicant manages her condition and carrying out an occupational health assessment, the education provider is confident that the applicant has insight into and understanding of her condition, meets the admissions conditions, and that there would be no barrier to her meeting the standards of proficiency for arts therapists.

However, informal discussions with colleagues have suggested that once she completes the programme, she may have difficulty gaining employment as employers may be concerned about her contact with children or vulnerable adults given her condition.

It would be unlawful for the education provider not to offer the applicant a place based on how likely she is to gain employment after completing the programme. Such a judgement may be based on assumptions or stereotypes about mental-health conditions.


It is important to recognise that a student’sability to do certain tasks or the level ofsupport they need may change over time. Westrongly recommend that you continue tocommunicate with disabled students andprovide them with the opportunities to giveyou more information about their disabilitythroughout their programme. This will makesure that you can continue to provide themost effective support and adjustmentswhere necessary.

Practice placements

Practice placements are an important part ofapproved programmes as they give studentsthe chance to apply their learning to serviceusers and carers in a practice environment.However, we are aware that there are anumber of further considerations for staffpreparing placements and for those teachingand supporting students on placement.

Staff in education providers

It is important to realise that students do notneed to be able to do all types of practiceplacement to be able to show they meet all ofthe standards of proficiency needed beforethey can register with us. This is because ourstandards of education and training do not setthe types or range of practice placements thatwill allow a student to meet the standards ofproficiency for their profession. Some disabledstudents may not be able to complete certaintypes of practice placement, but there may beother placements in which they would be ableto learn and practise successfully.

You should not make assumptions aboutwhether a student will be able to complete aparticular placement. It is important that youtalk to students individually about their ability toget accurate information about their needs sothat you can choose the most appropriateplacements.

This does not replace your responsibility tomake sure placements are accessible. Youneed to make sure that your practiceplacements are suitable for disabled studentsand that you have a process for dealing withplacements that are not, for example, throughyour working arrangements with practiceplacement providers.

Many students worry about practiceplacements, and this is likely to be worse fordisabled students who may need adjustmentsto help them to practise safely and effectively.As with reasonable adjustments in any setting,forward planning and early communication arevital. Early communication can be particularlyhelpful in situations where it may take sometime to put reasonable adjustments in place.Arranging for a student to visit the practiceplacement provider before the placementstarts so that they can meet the practiceplacement educator to discuss their needs isone useful way of reassuring both the studentand the practice placement educator. It alsomakes sure that any necessary adjustmentsare put in place before the placement begins.

Example

A physiotherapy student with a speechdifficulty discussed her placement needs witha practice placement co-ordinator. Theyestablished that the student’s strategy ofwriting down what she wanted to say whenshe was having particular difficulty would notbe appropriate for a placement where shewould be interacting with adults withcommunication difficulties. They consideredthat this placement was unlikely to besuitable for her or for service users. This wasnot a barrier to the student completing theprogramme as the team agreed that shewould be able to complete other placementswith service users with different needs.




Another example of good practice may be toprovide specific information to your practiceplacement providers about supportingdisabled students. This may include providinginformation about disabled students in thetraining that you give placement providereducators.

The following case studies provide a real-lifeexample of preparation and support for apractice placement. The first is from a practiceplacement co-ordinator and the second is fromthe student they supported before, during andafter their practice placement.

Case study – practice placements (1)Practice placement co-ordinator

“When organising a placement for a studentwith a profound hearing impairment and a visualimpairment, I first arranged a meeting with herto discuss the adjustments she felt she mightneed in a clinical setting. I then located asuitable placement and contacted the practiceplacement educator to arrange a meeting at theplacement venue between myself, the studentand the practice placement educator, todiscuss any areas of concern and possiblesolutions. The pre-placement visit gave both thestudent and educator confidence prior tostarting the placement by pre-empting possibledifficulties. I completed a visit half way throughthe placement and noted that the student wasprogressing well. The educator also describedhow the placement had encouraged staff torethink their communication styles andstrategies. A debriefing session was arrangedafter the placement to ensure that we couldlearn from what worked well and what didn’twork. This process supported the studentthroughout her studies and enabled her to getthe most from her clinical placements.”


Case study – practice placements (2)Student

“I was concerned about going on practiceplacement. However, I received comprehensivesupport from my university’s placement teamprior and throughout each of my placements. Apre-placement visit was arranged with thepractice placement educator, myself and thepractice placement coordinator from myuniversity before each placement to discuss mysituation and any reasonable adjustments. Thisplanning was excellent as I felt I was beinglistened to and my concerns were being takenseriously. In one placement we agreedadjustments to make sure that, as a hearingimpaired student, I would not be asked to use atelephone and that I could use a microphone.We also agreed that I would explain mycondition and microphone system to serviceusers and ask them to repeat themselves whennecessary. All of my placements were positiveexperiences, I learnt a lot and was able toeducate others on placement about deafawareness and lip-reading to help them betterunderstand service users with hearingimpairments.”



Staff in practice placementproviders

By law, organisations which provide practiceplacements have a direct duty not todiscriminate against disabled people, and mustconsider any reasonable adjustments theycould put in place to make sure theirplacement is accessible.

It is important to have an open mind about theadjustments you could put in place and discussthese with the student, who may have ideas thatyou had not considered. Practice placementeducators may want to consider the informationon reasonable adjustments on page 18 whenthinking about what adjustments they could putin place to support a disabled student.

We have provided some examples of adjustmentsin practice placements to help you think about theadjustments you could put in place.

A number of professional bodies provide moreinformation about supporting disabledstudents in certain professions. When you areconsidering adjustments and support youcould provide, they may be able to give youinformation that is relevant to your profession.

Keeping a record

We recommend that you keep a record of anydecision-making process that you wentthrough in terms of admissions, adjustments orother forms of support, including the peopleyou asked for opinions and advice, and thereasons for any decisions made.

By keeping a record of this information you willbe able to refer to your process and theinformation you received if you are askedabout the decisions you made. Yourorganisation or institution may already haveprocedures in place to do this.

It is important to remember that these recordswill contain information that is confidential andprotected under the Data Protection Act 1998.You should make sure that you store and usethem in line with the Act.

Example

A student hearing aid dispenser with ahearing condition in one ear had the layout ofhis assessment room changed to make surethat service users and carers were able to siton the side from which he could hear best.

Example

A student clinical psychologist (practitionerpsychologist) with sight and hearingdifficulties was provided with extra lightingand amplified telephones, and was allowedto take her guide dog with her to herplacement to meet her needs.

Example

A student orthoptist with an anxiety disorderarranged to complete his practice placementduring shortened days over a longer periodof time to reduce the effect of his conditionand allow him to travel outside rush hour.



You can find out more information about usand our processes on our website (www.hcpc-uk.org). This is where we publishinformation about how we work, including thestandards and guidance we produce and theprogrammes we approve.

Our website also includes a section dedicatedto health and disability, which contains an up-to-date list of contact details of a numberof organisations that you can contact for moreinformation. This section also includes anumber of audio and video recordings ofdisabled students and staff involved ineducation and training, exploring some of thecontent in this document.

You can also contact us at:

The Health and Care Professions CouncilPark House184 Kennington Park RoadLondonSE11 4BU

Phone: 0845 300 4472Fax: 020 7820 9684Email: [email protected]

Section 4: More information


Anxiety disorder

A mental health condition that causes feelings ofunease, worry and fear, as well as physicalsymptoms.

Applicant

Someone who is applying to an approvedprogramme, or someone who has completed anapproved programme and is applying forregistration with us.

Approved programme

An education and training programme that wehave approved. These programmes meet ourstandards for education and training, andstudents who complete them meet thestandards of proficiency for the relevantprofession.

Arts therapist

Arts therapists encourage people to expresstheir feelings and emotions through art, dramaor music.

Biomedical scientist

Biomedical scientists analyse specimens fromservice users to provide information to helpdoctors diagnose and treat disease.

Bipolar disorder

A mental health condition which causes very‘high’ and very ‘low’ moods. Sometimes alsoknown as manic depression.

Careers advisor

A person who provides information, advice andguidance to help people make choices abouttheir education, training and work.

Carer

A person who provides care to a service user.

Chiropodist / podiatrist

Chiropodists and podiatrists diagnose and treatdisorders, diseases and deformities of the feet.

Chronic fatigue syndrome

Extreme tiredness lasting six months or more.

Clinical scientist

Clinical scientists oversee specialist tests fordiagnosing and managing disease, advisedoctors on tests and interpreting data, and carryout research to understand diseases.

Council

The group of 12 appointed health and careprofessionals and members of the public whoset our strategy and policies.

Dietitian

Dietitians use the science of nutrition to deviseeating plans for service users to treat medicalconditions. They also promote good health byhelping people make a positive change in foodchoices.

Disabled person

The Equality Act 2010 defines a disabled personas ‘someone with a physical or mentalimpairment and the impairment has a substantialand long-term adverse effect on their ability tocarry out normal day-to-day activities’. In the Act,substantial is defined as more than minor or trivialand long term is defined as 12 months or more.

Disclose

In the context of this guidance, this refers to adisabled person telling an education provider oremployer about their disability.

Discrimination

Unfairly treating a person or group of peopledifferently from other people or groups of people.This can be a result of direct or indirect actions.

Dyslexia

A common learning difficulty that mainly affectsthe way people read and spell words.

Glossary


Education provider

The term we use for any organisation whichprovides a programme we approve. We use thisterm because not all our approved programmesare provided by universities.

Epilepsy

A condition that affects the brain and causesrepeated seizures, also known as fits.

Fit to practise

When someone has the skills, knowledge,character and health to do their job safely andeffectively.

Harassment

Unwanted behaviour towards a person whichthey find offensive or which makes them feelintimidated or humiliated.

Health Professions Order 2001

The legislation that we, the Health and CareProfessions Council, were set up under andwhich gives us our legal powers.

Health declaration

Part of the application form to join our Register,which requires applicants to sign a declarationto say that their health does not affect theirfitness to practise.

Hearing aid dispenser

Hearing aid dispensers work in private practice toassess, fit and provide aftercare for hearing aids.

Multiple sclerosis

A condition which affects the nerves in the brainand spinal cord and causes a wide range ofsymptoms, including problems with musclemovement, balance and vision.

Occupational health professional

Occupational health professionals aim to find outhow certain work affects someone’s health andhelp to identify any adjustments that might helpthe person in the workplace.

Occupational therapist

Occupational therapists use specific activities tolimit the effects of disability and promoteindependence in all aspects of daily life.

Operating department practitioner

Operating department practitioners help with thecare and assessment of the service user beforeand after surgery and provide individual care.

Orthoptist

Orthoptists diagnose and treat sight problemsinvolving eye movement and alignment.

Paramedic

Paramedics provide specialist care andtreatment to service users who are either acutelyill or injured. They can administer a range ofdrugs and carry out certain surgical techniques.

Physiotherapist

Physiotherapists deal with human function andmovement and help people achieve their fullphysical potential.

Pneumonia

The swelling of the tissue in one or both lungs,usually caused by an infection.

Practice placement

A period of clinical or practical experience thatforms part of an approved programme.

Glossary


Practice placement co-ordinator

A person who arranges practice placements forstudents. They speak with students and practiceplacement providers to identify the most suitableplacements.

Practice placement educator

A person who is responsible for a student’seducation during their period of clinical orpractical experience.

Practice placement provider

An organisation that provides opportunities forpractice placements.

Practitioner psychologist

A type of health and care professional that weregulate. They try to understand the role ofmental functions in individual and socialbehaviour.

Professional bodies

Each of the professions that we regulate has atleast one ‘professional body’. This is anorganisation which represents its members andpromotes and develops the profession.

Programme

The academic teaching, practice placements,assessment, qualification and other servicesprovided by an education provider, whichtogether form the programme for approvalpurposes.

Protected title

Each of the professions we regulate has at leastone protected title – for example, ‘orthoptist’.Only people who are on our Register can legallyuse these titles.

Prosthetist / orthotist

Prosthetists and orthotists are responsible for allaspects of supplying prostheses and orthosesfor service users. A prosthesis is a device thatreplaces a missing body part and an orthosis isa device that is fitted to an existing body part toimprove its function or reduce pain.

Radiographer

Diagnostic radiographers produce and interpretimages (for example, X-rays or ultrasoundscans) of the body to diagnose injuries anddiseases. Therapeutic radiographers plan anddeliver treatment using radiation.

Register

A list that we keep of the health and careprofessionals who meet our standards.

Registrant

A person who is currently on our Register.

Rheumatoid arthritis

A condition that causes pain and swelling in the joints.

Scope of practice

The area or areas of a registrant’s professionwhere they have the knowledge, skills andexperience to practise safely and effectively.

Self-declaration

The declarations of health and character thatapplicants must sign to confirm that their healthand character do not affect their ability topractise safely and effectively.

Service user

Anyone who uses or is affected by the servicesof registrants or students.

Glossary


Glossary

Speech and language therapist

Speech and language therapists assess, treat and help to prevent speech, language and swallowing difficulties.

Spina bifida

A condition caused by a fault in the development of the spine and spinal cord which leaves a gap in the spine.

Standards of proficiencyStandards which make sure each profession practises safely and effectively. Professionals must meet these standards to become registered.

Victimisation

Where one person treats someone else less favourably because they have asserted their legal rights or has helped someone else to do so.

This document is available in alternativeformats and Welsh on request.Call 020 7840 9806or email [email protected]

Park House184 Kennington Park RoadLondon SE11 4BU

tel+44 (0)845 300 6184fax +44 (0)20 7820 9684www.hcpc-uk.org

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