Just to keep interested parties up to date with what is happening (or not as in this case) in the HPC regulation camp, this is the bulk of an email from the HPC policy office, dated 1st May 2012.
"As you are aware, in February 2011 we recommended to the Secretary of State for Health and to Scottish Ministers that sports therapists should be regulated, following an application made through our now closed 'aspirant groups' process by the Society of Sports Therapists.
Although we have powers to make recommendations that a group should be regulated, the decision about whether that group becomes regulated, and indeed, how they are regulated and by whom, rests solely with Government and Parliament.
In this case, you may be aware that in February 2011, around the time the sports therapists application was being further considered, the coalition Government published the Command Paper 'Enabling Excellence' which sets-out its policy on professional regulation. This paper set-out an alternative system of what is called 'assured voluntary registration'. The Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) will have powers to accredit voluntary registers held by professional bodies or other organisations.
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The Paper said that the Government considers that 'assured voluntary registration' is a better way of balancing improving quality with the intention to 'avoid introducing regulation with its associated costs wherever possible'. The Paper indicates that the Government will now only consider statutory regulation in exceptional circumstances, and where 'voluntary registers are not considered sufficient to manage the risk'. 'Assured voluntary registration' is referred to as the preferred and presumed option, including for those groups, such as sports therapists, for whom the HPC has made a recommendation.
Since 2000 we have made a number of recommendations to Government for the regulation of groups and we stand by those recommendations, including for sports therapists. However, as outlined above, the decision about whether regulation is introduced is one for the Government rather than for the HPC. Given the current Government's policy as outlined above, there is no current timetable attached to the regulation of sports therapists. "
there it is then, again, in black and white, what we have been saying for the last 2 years.
No timetable for regulation, lets see how this can be dressed up for the next batch of degree graduates about to enrol on a £27k three year programme of theoretical study to qualifiy them to work unpaid internships.
regards
BGFL
However, as outlined above, the decision about whether regulation is introduced is one for the Government rather than for the HPC. Given the current Government's policy as outlined above, there is no current timetable attached to the regulation of sports therapists. "
I dont agree with alot of what the SST has said regarding this matter and if regulation happens its not going to be this year as is repeated by the chairman over and over again. BUT as it says above, it is a decision for the government who in extreme circumstances may approve statutory regulation and that is what the SST are still pushing for.
Its unlikely but NOT inconcievable that Sports Therapy will be granted statutory regulation. What ever occurrs it wont happen for years and years.......the saga continues!:(
I dont agree with alot of what the SST has said regarding this matter and if regulation happens its not going to be this year as is repeated by the chairman over and over again. BUT as it says above, it is a decision for the government who in extreme circumstances may approve statutory regulation and that is what the SST are still pushing for.
Its unlikely but NOT inconcievable that Sports Therapy will be granted statutory regulation. What ever occurrs it wont happen for years and years.......the saga continues!:(
I completely disagree Dan. Sports Therapy is regulated by a government sponsored regulator. It put almost a million pounds into funding CNHC. It wont let that go to waste. Once CNHC has its CHRE accreditation it will be a health regulator. CHRE are the regulators regulator for want of a better description. They oversee HPC and all other health regulators.
There is no way that the government will spend one penny more regulating a profession that it has already spent money on regulating.
What is being proven is that CNHC does have teeth. It may not have dealt with many cases against therapists yet (but that is due to lack of genuine complaints), it is certainly dealing with the training issue. Standards are being driven up, and no matter how much resistance there is, you cannot go against the majority force, which is being demonstrated to me.
The tone of the HPC email is that the government wants everything to go down the CHRE route, and that is exactly what CNHC is doing.
If people want to hold onto the hope of stat regs then that is up to them, however, in my opinion of the people wanting it, they only want it because they think it will open up the floodgates of work and opportunities, and guess what, it wont! Look at physios, they have had stat regs for years, yet how many newly qualified grads have been employed by the NHS in the last 5 years? 5%, 10%, something along those lines.
If you want opportunities in the industry you make them yourself, you dont hope for some miracle, in the form of stat regs.
I get fed up of hearing, why cant we work in NHS etc etc, well the answer is simple, if you want to work in the NHS, go and get one of the jobs available, usually cleaning or catering! If you want to try your luck at working as a healthcare worker, you may get on as a physio assistant, although most of these jobs are being taken by qualified physios, or you could go to uni for three years to do an OT or physio degree and chance your luck, or you could train for 7 years to be a doctor. But training in sports massage or sports therapy to go and work in the NHS is just barmy!
The so called insurance work which every stat regs brainwashed sports therapist craves for is being done by physios, or canny diploma level sports therapists who have got a bit of sense! Stat regs will not open the floodgate for this kind of work, as its already being done!
You can probably quess that I am sick to my back teeth of hearing about stat regs, it has been there like a bad case of toothache for over a decade now, and not only is it boring, people just need to get over it, and either choose another profession which has already got stat regs, or stop moaning!
by the way Dan, that wasnt aimed at you. Hopefully this will be read by all the ST's that ring me or email me asking for advice on stat regs, who moan and complain and dont do anything about it!! I wouldnt mind if they were STO members! Complain to your own bl**dy PA! :banghead:
and breathe
To be honest Richard, for me personally I couldnt give a toss now if ST is voluntary, Stat or any other kind of regulated. Like you I am tired of it and I think ST will trundle along like it has for years to come.
You say that standards have been raised, and I appreciate how much you and others have put into that. But whilst organisations pay no respect to them and get away with it, it makes them meaningless. I am enrolled on a course that the providers have apparently in writing, admitted does not meet the standards drawn up by skillsactive. They did not agree to those standards and refused to be involved in the process. They admitted the course wasn't upto scratch yet they are still advertising it at £2750 a pop because they know that whilst the industry is fractured as it is, with a regulation system that you do not HAVE to sign upto then they can get away with it.
In my post I was just saying that out of left field the government COULD decide that stat regs is needed unlikely but the possibility still exists.
I know little of the CHRE process but if that were to happen would that also be a voluntary register? Would it offer the protection needed and prevent the Stonebridge brigade from practicing? because that is what we need.
Unfortunately I hassled my ex PA (you know who) and got responses that any politician would be proud of. My membership expired long ago........
One of the reasons Gaz and I got involved was to try and make a difference, and I believe we have. The whole politics of this industry has left a bad taste in my mouth to be honest, it stinks, but that doesnt stop me from carrying on, it just makes me more determined.
All we can do is to come onto forums like this and highlight what the standards are, not that have been set by Gaz and I, but by the whole industry bar one. I dont see those DL companies as genuine training providers, so I dont even count them. If potential students read this and decide that they still want to train with these people offering substandard courses, then its their loss.
I know exactly where you are coming from in regards to your own training, and believe me, you arent on your own, there are so many others that have gone down the same route as you, and have got nowhere, I am amazed that they have been allowed to carry on, but in my opinion, where someone falls outside of the 'industry/lead bodies/regulator' etc, then the other option is trading standards and advertising standards. There is enough evidence of what the minimum standard is to at least make a genuine claim for a refund. Something has to be fit for purpose, and you can argue that if something is below standard, then it is not fit for purpose. Any course not meeting the nationally recognised minimum standard, is substandard.
There are relatively few training providers not meeting minimum standard nowadays, and with pressure from the PAs, the awarding organisations have no other option than to put more pressure on the TPs to raise their game, or get kicked out.
Yes we still have the DL providers (one of which is based in Spain which makes it difficult to police), who continue to churn out what is in my opinion, absolute rubbish, and we still have the 'one day practitioner' brigade, who make their living making statements that are in my opinion highly dubious, to say the least.
Stat regs can never stop these training providers - they will always be around, look at the degree mills where you can buy physio degrees from, HPC hasnt been able to stop that. By the time they come to register with HPC, the degree mill has had the money, and the person is out of pocket with a useless piece of paper.
If you are unhappy with your training provider and think they arent giving you what you paid for, I guarantee that there are ways to get your money back, there is always a law to protect you.
"As you are aware, in February 2011 we recommended to the Secretary of State for Health and to Scottish Ministers that sports therapists should be regulated, following an application made through our now closed 'aspirant groups' process by the Society of Sports Therapists.
I know why they are flogging the scottis ministers, theres some sort of agreement in place between scotland and england that if scottish parliament pass a law (in in this case regulation) then england must follow....by law. Its a backdoor, but there was a case where i think racist football fans are being jailed for a long time for comments made, and england now has to follow suit with harsh penalties for derogatory comments.
This is why im presuming the sst are going through this route, for those who dont know already.
TT
"As you are aware, in February 2011 we recommended to the Secretary of State for Health and to Scottish Ministers that sports therapists should be regulated, following an application made through our now closed 'aspirant groups' process by the Society of Sports Therapists.
I know why they are flogging the scottis ministers, theres some sort of agreement in place between scotland and england that if scottish parliament pass a law (in in this case regulation) then england must follow....by law. Its a backdoor, but there was a case where i think racist football fans are being jailed for a long time for comments made, and england now has to follow suit with harsh penalties for derogatory comments.
This is why im presuming the sst are going through this route, for those who dont know already.
TT
First I have heard of that. My understanding of scottish law is that it applies in Scotland only. If it were true then we in England would be getting free care for OAPs and free university places etc.
First I have heard of that. My understanding of scottish law is that it applies in Scotland only. If it were true then we in England would be getting free care for OAPs and free university places etc.
It isnt law in scotland that they get free university etc, it is just subsidised by government funding. There is no law in england regarding university fees, each establishment can charge upto 9000 per year tuition fees, or they can give scholarships for free....
Like i said there is an agreement in place, why else would the sst be pushing? Unless they know something i dont.
TT
It isnt law in scotland that they get free university etc, it is just subsidised by government funding. There is no law in england regarding university fees, each establishment can charge upto 9000 per year tuition fees, or they can give scholarships for free....
Like i said there is an agreement in place, why else would the sst be pushing? Unless they know something i dont.
TT
Ok so maybe the university fees wasn't a good example, but there are many laws passed in Scotland that don't apply in England, the most recent is going to be minimum pricing on alcohol, Scottish law to apply in Scotland.
I do commend them for keep pushing stat regs, but IMO its gone beyond public safety, and more about prospects for members, but then again, I can guarantee that STO, ISRM, FHT, CThA, NAMMT, LCSP members will all be eligible for stat regs, if like the second coming of Christ, it ever appears.
Ok so maybe the university fees wasn't a good example, but there are many laws passed in Scotland that don't apply in England, the most recent is going to be minimum pricing on alcohol, Scottish law to apply in Scotland.
I do commend them for keep pushing stat regs, but IMO its gone beyond public safety, and more about prospects for members, but then again, I can guarantee that STO, ISRM, FHT, CThA, NAMMT, LCSP members will all be eligible for stat regs, if like the second coming of Christ, it ever appears.
I beleive it is also happening in england, but no prices have been set, i think 40p was banded around as a number.
But we arent here to talk about boozey prices thats a while issue i may have to raise when im next sipping a pint of lager for £17.59 🙂
Tt
stat regs is obviously imminent, so I would advise all sports therapists to join STO 😉
not had an update on here for a while, however, just to keep everyone informed, during the last two weeks I have had emails from HPHC (HPC), Dept of Health and the Scottish Government.
The HPHC states once again that there will be no regulation of sports therapists through them.
The Dept of Health has said there wil be no statutory regulation of sports therapists, and their preferred route is still voluntary assured regulation (which we already have)
The Scottish Government has stated that it will not pursue statutory regulation for sports therapists.
ps - it takes me about 15 minutes each month to email the relevant people to find out this information, so if anyone doesnt believe me, it wont take up too much of your time to get this information first hand, just PM me and I will give you the email addresses.
Stat Regs is all about protection of the public, so why not ask your Professional association (PA) how many complaints have they received abotu their sports therapists.
Since it was formed, the STO has received.................................................zero complaints
just a thought
BGFL
Don't know about you guys but I'm very very tired of all this nonsense and losing patience rapidly! There always seems to be a question mark looming over something. Its an absolute joke and a completely farcical situation.
The main problem with the sports massage/therapy/soft tissue industry, as the old saying goes 'Too many chiefs' who basically can't agree on anything! It just goes around and around in circles. Highly annoying. Rant over.:mad: