A new era for health and care: why regulation must evolve to protect the public
The UK’s health and care sector is undergoing one of the most significant transformations in a generation.
With the government’s ambitious “Plan for Change” now in motion and with a new ‘10-year plan’ around the corner, we are witnessing a decisive shift in how care is delivered, regulated, and experienced.
These reforms are not just about systems and structures—they are about people. And at the heart of this transformation lies a renewed commitment to public protection, patient safety, and professional accountability.
The government’s priorities: moving care from hospitals into communities, from reactive treatment to proactive prevention, and from analogue systems to digital-first services, are clear.
Regulation will not remain untouched by government either, with a recent Ministerial commitment to legislative change in this parliament aimed at reforming the way regulators are able to make decisions and protect the public. These changes are not just welcome, but essential.
Reform on this scale brings complexity. As care becomes more integrated and multidisciplinary, the role of professional regulation must evolve in tandem. As technology, including new opportunities brought about by AI, disrupts legacy practice, regulators must keep pace.
The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), as the UK’s largest multi-profession healthcare regulator, is uniquely positioned for this evolution.
We regulate 15 diverse professions, 360,000 registrants from paramedics and physiotherapists to radiographers and occupational therapists.
This breadth gives us a panoramic view of the sector and a deep understanding of the interdependencies that define modern care.
It also places a responsibility on us to ensure that regulation is not only robust but also agile—capable of adapting to new models of care, emerging technologies, and evolving public expectations.
With care workers being upskilled to deliver more health interventions at home, and with digital platforms enabling real-time sharing of patient data, the boundaries between professions are blurring. Regulation cannot fall behind in upholding standards but also in fostering collaboration, innovation, and trust.
At HCPC, we are already taking proactive steps to meet the challenge. We are:
- strengthening our approach to continuing professional development;
- sharing our data to inform workforce decisions through our new Data Hub and
- supporting the right culture and leadership through our work on sexual safety by working closely with employers, educators, and other regulators.
In 2021-22, the HCPC only achieved 13 out of 18 of the Standards for Good Regulation set by the Professional Standards Authority. The confirmation last week that we have met 17 for 2024-25, shows a solid track record of progress steeped in public protection.
Public protection is not a static goal. It is a dynamic commitment that must respond to the realities of modern care. As services become more integrated, so too must our approach to regulation. We must break down silos, share intelligence, and act swiftly when concerns arise.
We must also support professionals to thrive in a changing landscape — because safe, confident practitioners are the cornerstone of safe, high-quality care.
Also, we need to listen — engaging with patients and communities to ensure that our standards and work reflect what matters most to the public. As we all look to the future, we will be launching a programme of engagement over the next few weeks to co-produce the HCPC’s next Corporate Strategy. The Strategy will set out our priorities for the next 5 years and we look forward to working together to help shape them.
The reforms underway in health are ambitious, and rightly so. They reflect a collective determination to build a health and care system that is fit for the future — one that is fairer, more responsive, and more sustainable. As Chair of the HCPC, I am proud of the role we play in this journey. But I am also clear-eyed about the challenges ahead.
Now more than ever, we need a regulatory approach that is proactive, collaborative, technologically agile and relentlessly focused on the public protection. Because at the end of every policy, every reform, and every regulation, there is a person — a patient, a service user, a member of the public — who deserves the very best care we can provide.