GCC Statement on new PSA report, ‘Safer care for all – solutions from professional regulation and beyond’

Nick Jones, Chief Executive and Registrar at the General Chiropractic Council (GCC), said in response to the Professional Standards Authority’s (PSA) report, ‘Safer care for all – solutions from professional regulation and beyond’:

"We welcome this thoughtful report recognising important and ongoing challenges facing the UK's health and social care sector, and that offers new thinking and innovative solutions."

Professional accountability and the safety of the public

"The report's attention on balancing the safety of patients alongside the need for professional responsibility and accountability is important. These are intrinsically linked, and getting the right balance for the benefit of patients and healthcare professionals is challenging.

"The confidence patients (and their families) have in their care and safety can only be improved if healthcare professionals acknowledge and learn from their mistakes. However, an environment where healthcare professionals are unsupported within a culture of fear, blame and reprisal will not achieve this outcome.

"A focus on the continuing development of healthcare professionals is vital, especially in communication; creating an environment where patients and colleagues can speak up and challenge; where candour is the basic expectation and accountability is clear. When those characteristics are not evident, and the quality of care has fallen, patients and their families expect to see action taken in response to apparent failure.”

Inequality and discrimination within healthcare

“We welcome the report’s candid assessment that inequality and discrimination are challenging and persistent issues affecting patient care and the morale and retention of healthcare professionals. As the report notes, this diminishes the confidence in the UK's health and social care provision and its effectiveness.

“We hear the calls for all parts of the health and social care system, including the regulators, like the GCC, to recognise and prioritise these concerns to achieve progress.

“The PSA calls for regulators to be more consistent and coherent in our positioning, language, actions and outcomes surrounding discrimination and equality. We agree and welcome the report's recommendations for addressing inequality and discrimination, and in the recognition by the PSA itself, as an important and integral part of our healthcare system, that it too will give greater attention and be more consistent here.”

Health and Social Care Safety Commissioner

“The recommendation of a Health and Social Care Safety Commissioner for each UK nation is an interesting one, but we fear their proposed role will add further tiers of bureaucracy and diminish the responsibility of all of us to work for safer care. There must be the certainty that an additional voice at what is already an overcrowded table does not hinder the efforts of hard-working staff seeking to improve care.”