The PSA publishes its performance review for the Health and Care Professions Council for 2024/25

We have published our annual performance review of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). During 2024/25, we monitored the HCPC’s performance against the Standards of Good Regulation (the Standards).

For this period, the HCPC has met 17 out of the 18 Standards. Our report explains how we made our decision. 

The performance review is our check on how well the regulators have been protecting the public and promoting confidence in the health and care professions.

In 2024, we introduced a new approach to assessing regulators against our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Standard. In order to meet the Standard, regulators must assure us they are delivering the four high-level outcomes supported by our evidence matrix. The HCPC met the Standard. It demonstrated positive work across all four outcomes which we assessed it against. We noted good practice in relation to its newly published diversity data dashboard and saw evidence that it had improved the support provided to registrants to help them improve their knowledge and skills relating to EDI through Continuing Professional Development. We considered that there was one area where the HCPC could improve its work in this space, particularly how it uses research to inform its approach to tackling unfair differential outcomes affecting patients and service users who share protected characteristics. 

The HCPC did not meet Standard 15 for the tenth consecutive year due to ongoing concerns about the time it takes to process fitness to practise cases. We acknowledge that the HCPC continues to take steps aimed at improving performance in this area, and the number of referrals it receives is increasing. However, there does not appear to be any sign of an overall improvement in performance, and stakeholders raised concerns about the time the process is taking. We have escalated out concerns in this area again this year by writing to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. 

The judgements we make against each Standard incorporate a range of evidence to form an overall picture of performance. Meeting a Standard means that we are satisfied that a regulator is performing well in that area. It does not mean there is no room for improvement. Similarly, finding that a regulator has met all of the Standards does not mean perfection. Rather, it signifies good performance in the 18 areas we assess.

Our reviews do not stop when we publish our report. They are an ongoing, continuous process and, where we’ve identified areas for improvement, we pay particular attention to these as we continue to monitor the regulator’s performance.

You can find out more about the HCPC’s review in the full report. You can find out more about how we review the regulators here.

ENDS

Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care

Contact: media@professionalstandards.org.uk