Standards of conduct, performance and ethics

1 Yo ur du ti es as a re gis tran tStandardsofconduct,performanceandethics Co nte ntsIn tro duc tion 2 The stan da rd s 5Fi tne ss to pr acti se 11Gl ossa ry 12 Reg istr an ts must: promot e and protec t the inter ests of servic e use rs and car ers; commun icate approp ri at ely an d effe ct ive ly; work withi n the limi ts of the ir know led ge and skil ls; del egate appr opr iate ly; re sp ect confidentialit y; manageri sk; re port concerns ab out sa fe ty; be op en when things go wr ong; be honest and tr ust wor th y; and ke ep recor ds of the ir wor an dar ds of cond uct , per for man ce and et hi cs1 Arts therapists biomedical scientists Chiropodists / podiatrists Clinical scientists Dietitians Hearing aid dispensers Occupational therapists Operating department practitioners Orthoptists Paramedics Physiotherapists Practitioner psychologists Prosthetists / orthotists Radiographers Speech and language therapistsStandards of conduct, performance and ethics2 IntroductionAbout usWe are the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), a regulator set up to protect the public.

2 To do this, we keep a register of professionals who meet our Standards for their professional skills, knowledge and behaviour. The people on our register are referred to as registrants .About this documentThis document sets out the Standards of conduct, performance and ethics . The Standards set out, in general terms, how we expect registrants to currently regulate the following 15 an dar ds of cond uct , per for man ce and et hi cs3 Our re gis trants wor k in a ran ge of dif fe re nt set tings, which includ edirec t pr actice, man ageme nt , ed uc ation , resea rch and roles inind ust ry. Th ey also work with a var iety of differ ent peop le,inc ludi ng patients , cli en ts , ca rer s and other thi s docu men t we hav e tri ed to us e te rms which eve ryone ca nun de rsta nd.

3 Some ter ms whi ch ha ve a spec ific me aning in thisgui de are explain ed in th e gl oss ar y at the end of this booklet .Wh at th e sta nd ard s mea n for di fferent gr oupsSe rvi ce user s, ca rer s an d the publ icIf you are receivin g care , tre atme nt or oth er services from one ofour re gi str an ts , or you migh t do so in the fut ure, the st and ar ds willhe lp you to unders tan d how ou r regi st ra nts should behavetowa rd s you. The sta nd ard s will al so be hel pful if you are a car the rar e occasi ons th at some th ing goes wr ong, anyonecanra ise a con cern throu gh ou r fi tn es s to prac tise process (see page11).

4 We can take act ion wh en th ere ar e seriousconcer ns ab out ahe alth an d care pr ofe ss ion al s know ledge , ski lls or use th e standar ds of cond uc t, pe rformanceand et hic s to helpus de cide wheth er we need to take act ion to prot ect the publi nda rds of con duct , pe rf or man ce and et hi cs4 Reg istrantsand ap pli ca ntsIf you are registeredwith us, you mu st make sure that you ar efa mil iar wi th the sta nd ard s and th at you cont inue to meet them . Ifyou ar e applyin g to be regi ste red , you will nee d to sign ade clarat ion to confi rm tha t you will keep to the st anda rd s onceyou ar e register a regist rant, you are per son al ly res ponsi ble for the way yoube ha ve.

5 You will need to use you r jud gementso that you makeinforme d an d reason ab le dec ision s and me et the sta nd ar ds. Youmust always be pr epa red to jus tify your deci sion s and act ng inf ormed an d re as ona ble de ci sions mi ght includ e get tingad vice and supportfrom coll ea gue s, educat ion provi de rs,emp loye rs , pr ofess ion al bod ies , tr ad e uni ons or ot he r peop le. Inpa rt icu lar, we reco gni se th e va luab le role profe ssional bod ies playin re pr esentingand promoti ng the inte rest s of their mem bers . Thisofte n incl udes pro vid ing gui da nc e and advi ce ab out goodpr ac tice, which can hel p you mee t the stand ard entsThe st an dar ds als o app ly to you if you ar e a st udent on anHCP C-a pprovedprogr amme.

6 We have publi shed anot herdoc ume nt, Guidance on cond uc t an d ethi cs for st ud ent s ,wh ich se ts ou t wh at the st an da rds mean for an dar ds of cond uct , per for man ce and et hi cs5Th e sta ndard s1. Pro mo te and protec t th e interestsofserv ic e user s and ca rersTr eat serviceuser s and carer s with resp You must treat serv ice us er s and ca rers as indiv idual s, resp ect ingthe ir pr ivacy and di gni You must work in pa rt ne rs hi p with servic e use rs and car ers,inv olv ing th em, wh ere app ropr iate , in dec isions about the car e,tre atme nt or other ser vic es to be pr ovided . You must encourageand he lp servi ce users, whe re appr op riat e,to mai nt ain their ow n hea lth an d wel l-bei ng, and supp ort them sothe y can make infor med dec ision ke sur e you hav e con You must make sure tha t you hav e consentfrom se rvice use rs orot he r appr opriate aut hor ity bef ore you provid e car e, treat ment orot he r se rvi ces.

7 Ch al len ge discr im ina You must not dis cri min ate aga inst se rv ice users, care rs orcoll eagues by allowi ng your pe rs on al vie ws to af fect yourprofe ssi onal relation sh ips or th e care , tre atm ent or ot her servic estha t you You must challengecoll eagu es if you think that they ha vedisc rimi nated agai ns t, or ar e di sc ri minat ing agai nst , servi ce users,care rs and colleag ue in tai n appro pr ia te bound ar You must keep you r rel ati ons hips wi th se rv ice use rs and care rsprofe ssi nda rds of con duct , pe rf or man ce and et hi cs62 Comm un ic ate app rop ri atel y and eff ectivelyCo mmu nica te with ser vi ce user s an d You mu st be polit e and con si de ra You mu st liste n to se rv ice use rs and carers and take accountofth ei r need s and wis he You mu st give se rv ice use rs and care rs the informa tion they wantor ne ed, in a way the y ca n under stan You mu st ma ke sure tha t, wh er e possibl e, arrangementsar emad e to meet serv ice use rs an d carers languageandcommu ni cation nee ds.

8 Wo rk wi th collea You mu st work in par tn er shi p wi th col lea gue s, sharingyour skills,know ledge and expe ri en ce wh ere app rop riat e, for the benefit ofse rv ice users an d car er You mu st share rel ev an t informa tion, whe re appropriate , wit hcol lea gu es involvedin th e care , tre atme nt or ot her service spr ovi de d to a servic e use ia l media and network in g websi You mu st use al l for ms of communica tion ap propria tel y andre sp onsi bly, includi ng soci al me di a and net workingweb site Wo rk with in th e limi ts of your knowledgean d ski llsKe ep within your scop e of pra You mu st ke ep wi th in you r scop e of pract ice by only prac tisingin th e areas you ha ve app ropr iate kn owl ed ge, skills andex pe ri ence for.

9 You mu st refer a ser vi ce user to anotherprac titi one r if the ca re,tr ea tme nt or other se rv ices th ey nee d ar e be yond your scop eof pr act an dar ds of cond uct , per for man ce and et hi cs7Ma in tai n and devel op you r knowled ge and skil You must keep you r know led ge and ski lls up to dat e and releva ntto you r scope of pr ac tic e throu gh con tinuing pr ofessi onaldev elop You must keep up to dat e wi th and foll ow the law, our guid anceand oth er requir em en ts rel ev ant to you r pract You must ask for feed ba ck an d use it to improveyour pract ice .4 De le ga te app rop ri atel yDe leg ation, ov er sigh t and su You must only dele gat e wor k to someonewho has theknow led ge, skills and ex per ienc e nee ded to carry it out safely andeffe You must contin ue to prov ide ap prop ri ate supe rv ision andsu pp ort to thos e you del ega te work Res pe ct confi den ti al ityUsin g You must treat infor mat ion about servi ce users as confi dent scl osin g inform You must only dis clos e conf identi al information if: you ha ve perm issi on; the law allows th is; it is in the servi ce user s be st inte rests.

10 Or it is in the pu blic inte res t, suc h as if it is necessarytoprot ec t public saf ety or prev en t har m to other peop nda rds of con duct , pe rf or man ce and et hi cs86 Ma na ge riskId enti fy and mini mi se You mu st take all re as ona ble st ep s to reduce the ri sk of harm tose rv ice users , care rs an d colle agu es as far as possib You mu st not do an yt hi ng, or al low some one else to do anyt hi ng,wh ich cou ld put the hea lth or sa fe ty of a servi ce user, car er orcol lea gu e at un acce pt ab le ag e your heal You mu st ma ke cha nge s to how you pract ise, or stop pract ising,if your ph ysical or men ta l hea lth may af fe ct your performanceorjudge me nt.