CHRE Performance review report 2011-12 - Professional Standards ...

1. Chief Executive’s foreword
In this annual review of the performance of the nine health professional regulators we have
tried to report clearly and concisely on their performance against the Standards of Good
Regulation. We have changed and we hope improved the structure of our report to make it
clearer when a regulator does or does not meet a standard.
In line with right-touch regulation we continue to try to concentrate on the outcome of
regulatory activity in protecting patients and providing assurance to the public. Along with
the regulators we recognise that this is not always easy. The distance between a regulatory
action and its effect on an individual's behaviour is considerable. It is therefore inevitable
that in regulation inputs often become proxies for outcomes as sometimes that is the best
we can do. I have suggested elsewhere this year that we oversell regulation if we claim it
can or indeed should be responsible for controlling individuals 2. It is the task of professional
regulation to set the framework of behaviours within which people take responsibility for
their own judgements and actions. It is a fundamental quality of being a professional that
you are responsible for your own conduct.
Patients’ and service users’ safety and the protection of the public should be the unrelenting
focus of the regulators. If they are, then public confidence in regulation and respect for the
professions will be enhanced. Each of the governing Councils of the regulators need to
assure itself that that task is indeed at the heart of their work and that resources are
directed to its cost-effective execution.
The changes that are taking place in the organisation of the Health Service in England and
the growing difference in approach between the four countries of the UK will require
regulators to be forward thinking and ready to anticipate change. There will also be changes
to the size of councils and a new system of oversight of appointments to them. There are
already discussions taking place about improving the exchange of information and
intelligence about complaints between system and professional regulators and between
them and the UK Ombudsmen. As the new scheme for accreditation of voluntary
occupational registers comes into being the boundaries of statutory regulation may shift and
the final recommendations of the Law Commissions combined with continuing financial
pressures will inevitably concentrate attention on impact and cost effectiveness.
We hope that all Councils will read and formally consider this report, particularly those
aspects directed to their own performance but also the general lessons to be learned from
the good practice of others.
This performance review is the product of much effort by the staff of the regulators as well
as by our Scrutiny & Quality and Standards & Policy teams. I am grateful to them for their
attention to detail, insight, thoroughness and care. We aim to report accurately, fairly, and
concisely. I hope we have done so.
Harry Cayton
Chief Executive
2 CHRE 2011 Letter to Ann Milton MP
https://www.chre.org.uk/_img/pics/library/pdf_1311776896.pdf
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