We’ve all received the email notification we’ve been dreading: It is re-registration time for Health Care Professions Council’s (HCPC) registrants and a stressful time for those who have been called for audit.
What you will have noticed if you’ve already reregistered that there has been some additional equality monitoring information this time round and I may have had something to do with it… When I first registered with the HCPC I had quite the experience as I declared my disability (when I didn’t need to – we’ll get to this bit later) and ended up not being able to get my registration until 3 months into qualifying.
To find out more read Finally! Becoming a Registered Occupational Therapist!
When I finally got my registration I learnt a lot with the biggest thing being that I didn’t need to declare my disability because it didn’t affect my practice as it could be managed through reasonable adjustments and had been on my placements. Fair enough, right? Not really. I get why I didn’t need to disclose but this process still didn’t sit with me for multiple reasons:
- Not declaring still didn’t justify the way I got treated when I declared my disability.
- What if I wanted to disclose my disability positively?
- We are trying to encourage positive disclosure in practice to enable access to reasonable adjustments but not to HCPC? What page are we on regarding disability disclosure?
So, around 2 years ago I started working with HCPC to improve their registration process and fitness to practice guidelines regarding disability and I’ve got to say Tom and I make a great team. What I love most about my relationship with HCPC is that it’s still ongoing, we know that changes made still aren’t perfect and Tom and I regularly engage in long email conversations with thoughts even if we can’t work on them yet just to get them out there.
When Tom and I first met I expressed my main concerns and told him my story. This then developed and in October 2023 I told my story to the case workers working on cases similar to mine to the HCPC. During 2024, Tom kept touching base with me about what was happening. In the summer of 2024, he told me the most excellent news that if you declare a disability at registration/re-registration your case will not automatically get sent to fitness to practice. There is a window for registry to look at this for those who have positively disclosed or disclosed because they didn’t know not to like me.
Registry will still come back to you asking for evidence if you haven’t sent it off with your initial application but if the evidence is substantial then you should be registered within a few weeks of sending it off. The evidence I suggest sending off is a list of reasonable adjustments that you need from previous experience including practice-based learning. However, it’s now made quite clear on the website that if you can manage your disability through reasonable adjustments you don’t need to disclose.
Whilst HCPC do recognise that disability is not something to be pitied, they unfortunately do not have the infrastructure to facilitate positive disclosure as their main job is to support applicants who may need a break because of their health etc. Whilst the information is clearer and I do admit it’s still not the gold standard, I do understand HCPC’s perspective on this. I have been involved in providing some clearer information on this including, what you do and don’t need to disclose and guidance on relevant support systems available. As I do believe we have a responsibility to figure this out as registrants but certainly not a responsibility to figure this out solely and should always be asking for support. Rest assured I have made a point about this message getting through to take some of the responsibility away from registrants.
Now, if you declare a disability outside of the re-registration process this does go straight to fitness to practice. So, if you’re newly disabled or experience changes in your symptoms, make sure you speak to people who have had similar experiences first, read the guidance and work with your line manager. Now, my debate about this is if you have a new condition/symptoms that you’re struggling adjusting to it’s more than likely you’d be off work anyway for a while and you don’t need to declare a career break to HCPC unless it’s 2 years or longer. However, some of us need to work and don’t have that option so make sure you read that guidelines carefully and have an honest chat with your employer before declaring.
Read the Health and character declarations: Fitness to practice fact sheet to find out more.
So, like I say the changes regarding making a health declaration aren’t perfect yet, but it’s a start and a lot clearer than it was when I was registering. There is also now a note at registration that any equality information given will not be used against your fitness to practice. So, if you do want to declare and influence data on diversity, which is important, you can declare through other formats. The changes made this year have been big and I’ve looked over more information that is yet to be published and it’s a start. Yes, there is still a bit to go but right now I am very happy to have this open relationship with HCPC and I want to keep it going. So, watch this space!
This is a general overview so if you have any specific questions please do get in touch! I would also like to thank you as it wasn’t for your incredible support on my original blog this might not have happened. Don’t be afraid to make waves!
Thank you for reading,
Georgia x
