Health Professions: Sexual Offences

The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) oversees the bodies which regulate health and care professionals in the United Kingdom. As with all UK healthcare professional regulators, the PSA is independent of Government, and directly accountable to Parliament. As the oversight body for the UK healthcare regulators, it annually reviews each professional regulators’ performance and publishes its findings.

Since 2006, the PSA has published guidance for healthcare regulators, employers and patients on tackling sexual misconduct amongst healthcare professionals as part of the ‘Clear Sexual Boundaries’ project.

The recommendations in the reports have been used by all the statutory healthcare regulators as a basis for reviewing and aligning their own guidance to registrants on standards of professional behaviour. In addition, Fitness to Practise Committees consider the guidance when making decisions on sanctions in cases involving sexual misconduct by registrants to ensure they are proportionate and equitable across professions. Regulators have also committed to working with registrants, employers, education providers and other stakeholders to develop more effective ways to prevent sexual misconduct by registrants and to improve the detection of perpetrators of sexual misconduct.

My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not had any recent discussions with professional regulators to ensure consistent management of sexual misconduct cases.