In response to media enquiries on the Accredited Registers Scheme for Healthcare Professions, a spokesman for the Department of Health today (January 25) replied as follows:

     The Accredited Registers Scheme aims to enhance the current society-based registration arrangement under the principle of professional autonomy, with a view to providing more information to the public so as to facilitate them to make informed decisions and ensure the professional competency of relevant healthcare professionals.

     To avoid public confusion and facilitate the public to make informed decisions, the Scheme will operate under the principle of "one profession, one professional body, one register". For each profession, the accreditation agent will accredit one professional body that has met the prescribed requirements under the Scheme. A healthcare professional body applying for accreditation should demonstrate a broad representation of the corresponding profession and maintain a well-established operation. It is required to undertake a self-assessment followed by an external peer review process to demonstrate its ability to meet acceptable quality requirements and a commitment to take action when necessary to protect the public. Under the principle of professional autonomy, the Government will not set professional standards for the healthcare professions. Professional healthcare organisations should set qualification standards for their practitioners that are fair, reasonable and as inclusive as possible without compromising professional standards. Meanwhile, the requirements set by the accreditation agent will include governance, operational effectiveness, risk management and quality improvement, standards for registrants, education and training requirements, and management of the register of the professional body.

     Accreditation of a profession under the Scheme will not change the roles or scope of work of that profession, as well as its working relationship with other healthcare professions.

     The pilot scheme was launched at end-December 2016 and is open for application until February 17, 2017. The Food and Health Bureau, the Department of Health and the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which has been commissioned to study the feasibility of the Scheme and appointed as the independent accreditation agent of the pilot project, have been maintaining close liaison with relevant healthcare professions and will continue to engage all relevant stakeholders to gauge their views and suggestions on the Scheme.

Ends/Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Issued at HKT 19:31

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