UK Governing Bodies & Health Regulators Explained

At HealthHubble we understand just how important it is finding the right clinician, therapist or professional for your individual needs.

To help you feel reassured and confident in your search, many of the listed health and wellbeing professionals are registered with regulatory or membership bodies who drive standards within their discipline.

To get a feel for what each organisation does and how they work or regulate health and wellbeing professionals, take a look at our easy reference guide.

 

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy Logo

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP - Register) works to promote the role and relevance of the counselling profession whilst raising standards and promoting safe, ethical and competent practice within counselling and psychotherapy. The BACP is the leading professional association for counsellors and psychotherapists in the UK. All BACP members must work within the Ethical Framework, along with the BCAP’s Ethical Standards to all clients.


 

British Association of Dermatologists Logo

British Association of Dermatologists

The British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) is a registered charity who works within the Department of Health, patient bodies such as support groups and commissioning bodies across the UK. Their work includes advising on best practice within dermatology services and settings and provides information directly to the general public in respect of skin conditions and information on seeking treatment.  The BAD initiated the Quality Standards for Dermatology which underpins the provision of care for people of all ages with skin conditions.


 

British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine Logo

British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine

The British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine (BASEM) is the largest multidisciplinary sports medicine organisation in the UK.  Membership is only offered to medical practitioners and allied health professionals. The primary role of BASEM covers training, education and development within the spheres of musculoskeletal medicine, exercise medicine and athlete care. 


 

Care Quality Commission Logo

Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitor, inspect and regulate services that provide health and social care to the public.  Services regulated by the CQC include:

  • Ambulances
  • Care Homes
  • Children’s Services
  • Clinics
  • Community Services
  • Dental Services
  • GPs and Doctors including GP practices, walk-in centres and out-of-hours services
  • Hospices
  • Hospitals including NHS trusts and independent hospitals
  • Mental Health Services
  • Secure Settings
  • Services in your Home, including agencies, mobile doctors and services provided over the phone

The CQC set out the fundemental standards for good and outstanding care and ensure that through inspection, regulation and visits these standards are upheld to ensure patient safety. 


 

Health and Care Professions Council Logo

Health and Care Professions Council

The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC - Register) is a regulatory body which regulates the following 15 protected health and wellbeing professions:

By law, professionals with these protected titles must be registered with the HCPC, to ensure that they are practicing safely and effectively.  The HCPC sets out the framework of standards of conduct, performance and eithics, which all registrants must work within.


 

British Dental Association Logo

British Dental Association

The British Dental Association (BDA) support both qualified and student dentists through advice and education.  The BDA is both a trade union and professional body who represent all fields of dentistry, from general practice, community services, armed forces, hospitals, academia and public health research. 


 

British Acupuncture Council Logo

British Acupuncture Council

The British Acupuncture Council (BAcC - Register) is a member-lead self-regulatory body for the practice of traditional acupuncture in the UK for professionally qualified therapists registered.  The BAcC was one of the first organisations to become a member of the Accredited Register scheme run by the Professional Standards Authority which recognises the high standards of training, safe practice and professional conduct where the sector in question is not covered by statutory regulation. the BAcC requires all of their members to operate within their Code of Porfessional Conduict and Code of Safe Practice to ensure that all patients recieve the highest standards of care.


 

British Dietetic Association Logo

British Dietetic Association

The British Dietetic Association (BDA) is a trade union and professional body representing the UK’s dietetic professionals.  Membership is open to any professional working within dietetics, nutrition or who has an interest in food or diet from practitioners, researchers, educators, support workers and students. 


 

British Maternal and Fetal Medicine Society Logo

British Maternal and Fetal Medicine Society

The British Maternal and Fetal Medicine Society (BMFMS) is a registered charity with the aim of improving the standards of pregnancy care through the sharing of knowledge, promoting and funding research whilst contributing to the development and implementation of high-quality training.  The BMFMS provides Maternal and Fetal Medicine input to relevant Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) committees and provides advice on training to the RCOG.


 

British Pharmacological Society Logo

British Pharmacological Society

The British Pharmacological Society (BPS) is a registered charity whose mission is to promote and advance the entire sphere of pharmacology.  The BPS lead the way in research around the world with an active membership spanning over 60 countries worldwide. 


 

British Chiropractic Association Logo

British Chiropractic Association

The British Chiropractic Association (BCA - Register) represents over 50% of all UK Chiropractors. Just like other medical professionals, the title ‘chiropractor’ is a protected tile and therefore it is illegal to practice as a chiropractor without being registered with the General Chiropractic Council (GCC). All BCA members are required to be registered by the GCC. 


 

General Chiropractic Council Logo

General Chiropractic Council

The General Chiropractic Council (GCC - Register) regulates chiropractors based in the UK, Isle of Man and Gibraltar to ensure patient safety.  Established and accountable to Parliament, the GCC protect the health and safety of patients undergoing chiropractic treatment by ensuring high standards of practice and setting educational standards for the profession.  It is illegal for someone to call themselves a ‘chiropractor’ unless they are registered with the GCC and all registrants to follow standards set out with the GCC's Code of Practice.


 

General Dental Council Logo

General Dental Council

The General Dental Council (GDC - Register) is the UK’s statutory regulator of all dentists and dental care professionals, with around 110,000 members.  The primary purpose of the GDC is to protect patient safety and maintain public confidence in dental services. Professionals regulated by the GDC include:

Anyone who works within the UK as a dentist or a dental care professional must be registered with the GDC. 


 

General Medical Council Logo

General Medical Council

The General Medical Council (GDC - Register) work to protect patient safety across the UK by ensuring that all doctors are registered with a licence to practice before they can work in the UK.  The GMC maintains the medical register which is an online list of doctors in the UK, showing registration types, training and other useful information. The register offers confidence that doctors practicing medicine in the UK have relevant training, skills and experience within their speciality.  The GMC set out the ethical standards that doctors must follow in their Good medical practice guidance.


 

General Optical Council Logo

General Optical Council

The General Optical Council (GOC - Register) is the regulator for the optical profession in the UK including optometrists, dispensing opticians, student opticians and optical businesses and aims to protect the public by upholding high standards.  The GOC sets standards for training, approving qualifications leading to registration.


 

General Osteopathic Council Logo

General Osteopathic Council

The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC - Register) is a registered charity and regulator of osteopaths working within the UK. They work to protect the public by setting, developing and maintaining standards of osteopathic practice and conduct.  By law, osteopaths must be registered with the GOsC in order to practice and follow the Osteopathic Practice Standards.


 

British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons Logo

British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS - Register) is a charity which is dedicated to safety and education in cosmetic surgery.  The association is made up of more than 350 highly qualified member surgeons who follow a code of practice and ethics to improve safety standards within the profession. BAAPS is also committed to educating the general public about cosmetic surgery especially the benefits and risks of procedures. 


 

Complementary and Natural Healthcare CouncilLogo

Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council

The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC - Register) was set up by Government to protect the public by providing an independent register of complementary healthcare practitioners.  The CNHC sets standards via their Code of Conduct, Ethics and Performance which practitioners need to meet in order to remain on the register.  Registration is voluntary; however, registrants are bound by standards and conduct to remain registered and include the following therapies:


 

General Hypnotherapy Register Logo

General Hypnotherapy Standards Council & General Hypnotherapy Register

The General Hypnotherapy Standards Council (GHSC) and General Hypnotherapy Register (GHR) are the UK’s largest and most prominent organisations within the field of Hypnotherapy.  The GHSC is responsible for overseeing the criteria for the ongoing registration of individual practitioners within the GHR.  The GHR is overseen by the GHSC and is responsible for its day-to-day administration together with the implementation of all GHSC decisions. It is a professional association and register of practising hypnotherapists based in the UK, together with registered therapists in some 35 countries around the world. 


 

Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners Logo

Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners

The Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners (JCCP - Register) was established to help members of the general public who are considering undergoing non-surgical treatments such as injections, fillers, lasers, peels and hair restoration surgery.  They offer advice on patient safety and information surrounding a number of treatments with links to the Cosmetic Practice Standards Authority (CPSA). 

 

 

Want to keep learning?  Discover more about the health and wellbeing industry:


 


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