What lies ahead for 2026 - a calm year or a wild ride?

2025: a year of progress

Last year brought significant movement on some longstanding issues. One major milestone was the UK Government’s announcement of a new barring scheme for NHS managers in England. This will prevent individuals guilty of serious misconduct from taking up senior roles elsewhere in the NHS - a vital step for patient safety.

Alongside this, NHS England made significant headway on their leadership and management framework, and work began on setting up the College of Executive and Clinical Leadership. These initiatives aim to set clearer expectations for managers. The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), which we oversee, will manage the barring scheme.

Recommendations also came out following several reviews including Leng (Physician Associate and Anaesthesia Associate roles), Dash (patient safety landscape) and Kingdon (children’s hearing services). The changes these will bring to titles, practice, processes, organisations and the landscape will begin to unfold this year.

Right-touch regulation: a timely update

October 2025 marked the release of our updated framework Right-touch regulation (RTR) - a decade after the last version. With major plans like Northern Ireland’s Health and Social Care Reset and NHS England’s 10-Year Plan, as well as a renewed UK Government focus on ensuring that regulation isn’t creating unnecessary barriers to growth, RTR remains a useful tool for identifying what roles need to be regulated and how and can provide great support as national workforce plans are shaped and rolled out. This update could not have come at a better time.

Tackling potential areas of under-regulation

Under-regulation was a recurring theme last year, including in non-surgical cosmetic procedures where we saw significant media coverage of patient harm. Decisions about who to regulate lie with the Government, and governments in both England and Scotland committed to stronger safeguards around non-surgical cosmetic procedures including licensing schemes and tougher penalties for illegal practice - a big win for public protection.

But implementation will take time, and risks remain. That’s where our Accredited Registers programme can help, offering consumers an extra layer of assurance. In 2026, we want greater government endorsement and promotion of the AR Quality Mark so the public knows to look for it when choosing practitioners.

We also need similar regulatory safeguards for non-surgical cosmetic procedures in Northern Ireland and Wales, where gaps in regulation could encourage “cosmetic tourism” and expose patients to harm.

Cosmetic procedures are not the only area needing attention. We have flagged risks around audiology, clinical perfusionists, counselling, healthcare scientists and sonographers. In 2026, we’ll keep pushing for stronger protections where needed across these roles using the full spectrum of employer actions and regulatory options, while working with others to do what we can within existing frameworks.

What can the PSA offer in 2026?

Our strength lies in our bird’s-eye view of health and care regulation. Last year, we published Learning Points from fitness-to-practise reviews and, for the first time, compiled insights into a comprehensive report for regulators. We also shared good practice in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion to encourage wider adoption.

Looking ahead, we will:

• support regulatory reform that balances accountability and flexibility
• explore preventative approaches to regulation using data and insights
• introduce new Standards for regulators and Accredited Registers which will be clearer, more aligned, and cover areas of leadership, governance, and culture - a new addition for the regulators
• continue to bring stakeholders together to develop a coordinated approach to prevailing issues, such as regulating for Artificial Intelligence (AI) which we have been doing through the Regulatory Data and AI Group we set up last year.

Driving Our Strategic Plan

From April, we will begin delivering our 2026–29 Strategic Plan. Our focus is to:

• protect the public through continuous improvement and innovation
• promote preventative regulation and reform
  champion Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• address workplace barriers that impact healthcare professionals’ ability to perform at their best.

Looking ahead

We look ahead to the recommendations of various reviews currently underway and which should report in the coming months. These include the Mann review of how healthcare regulation tackles racism and antisemitism, the Thirlwall Inquiry examining events at the Countess of Chester Hospital and related to the conviction of nurse Lucy Letby, the Ockenden Maternity Review (Nottingham) and the Amos National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation.

We are also anticipating the findings of the Independent Review of Social Work Regulation by Dame Annie Hudson and the first-phase report of the Casey Commission on Adult Social Care later this year. We have already shared our view with the Casey Commission that workforce regulation should be part of the conversation to manage risks effectively.

Collaboration remains key and we will continue working as needed with all interested stakeholders across the areas covered by these reviews.

In summary

2026 promises to be a year of action, collaboration, and innovation. From implementing new schemes to driving reform and promoting safer choices, PSA is ready to contribute.