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The PSA publishes guidance to help regulators use new powers to protect the public
24 Jun 2025
The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) is today publishing guidance to help regulators make best use of the new powers they will gain when their legislation is reformed.
This follows a renewed commitment from the UK Government to take forward reforms to the General Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Health and Care Professions Council. Reform of the remaining healthcare professional regulators is expected to follow. The changes are aimed at allowing regulators to be more agile and efficient in protecting the public.
The regulators will have new powers to use a less adversarial and quicker ‘accepted outcomes’ process for dealing with complaints about healthcare professionals. Our accepted outcomes guidance:
- provides pointers to help regulators decide when a case can be resolved without a public hearing
- advises on when a hearing might be needed to maintain public confidence and ensure a robust review of the evidence
- helps regulators decide who should make the final decision on a case when not referring it to a hearing
- helps regulators decide what information to include when publishing decisions.
The regulators will also have new powers to make and amend the rules governing the way they regulate. Our rulemaking guidance:
- lays out principles to guide regulators to use their powers transparently, with appropriate consultation and in a way which prioritises public protection
- encourages regulators to consider how their use of these powers aligns with the practice of other professional regulators, as appropriate.
Alan Clamp, PSA CEO, said:
“We’ve produced this guidance to help make these reforms a success. Regulators will receive new powers giving them much-needed flexibility both in how they regulate and in how they resolve concerns about professionals. The regulators are mindful that alongside these new powers sits a continued responsibility to focus on public protection. Our guidance will support good practice in how they use these new powers.”
The new model of regulation already applies to Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates, who have been regulated by the General Medical Council (GMC) since December 2024. Work to reform regulator legislation will continue with the GMC’s framework for doctors, before moving on to the Health and Care Professions Council and Nursing and Midwifery Council.
ENDS
Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care
Contact: media@professionalstandards.org.uk
Notes to the editor
- The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) is the UK’s oversight body for the regulation of people working in health and social care. Our statutory remit, independence and expertise underpin our commitment to the safety of patients and service-users, and to the protection of the public. There are 10 organisations that regulate health professionals in the UK and social workers in England by law. We audit their performance and review their decisions on practitioners’ fitness to practise. We also accredit and set standards for organisations holding registers of health and care practitioners not regulated by law. We collaborate with these organisations to improve standards. We share good practice, knowledge and our right-touch regulation expertise. We also conduct and promote research on regulation. We monitor policy developments in the UK and internationally, providing guidance to governments and stakeholders. Through our UK and international consultancy, we share our expertise and broaden our regulatory insights.
- Our values are – integrity, transparency, respect, fairness and teamwork – and we strive to ensure that they are at the core of our work.
- The PSA ran a 12-week public consultation on both the Rulemaking and Accepted Outcomes guidance between 22 January and 15 April 2024. The full consultation outcome report including analysis of responses is available here.
- The guidance is based on powers outlined in the blueprint legislation laid out in the Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates Order (AAPA Order). The guidance will be updated to take account of any significant changes as new legislation is developed for each regulator.
- This guidance is intended to promote good practice to regulators and support them in making best use of their new powers when they receive them. We may ask them how they have used it in shaping their approach when we carry out our annual review of their performance.