EBME Forums Forums Management Professional Issues HPC Agrees to Regulate Clinical Technologists

If everyone took the view 'why should I join the voluntary register, why don't I just wait and save £10', then quite simply there would be no compulsory registration and our profession would remain unregulated.
One of the points that had to be proven was that there was a wish for med techs to register. This was achieved by showing how many had signed up for the voluntary register. If only a small number had signed up then the whole registration process would have died out in the early stages.

No decisions have been made regarding the process of transferring registration, however, the information below can be treated as a guide:

The fee currently payable to HPC by other regulated groups is paid biennially (two-yearly) and is currently £120. This can be paid by £30 instalments every six months. (Note: The HPC determines the cost of their fees - please do not harangue me over the size of the fee.)

I understand that when the voluntary register is transformed to a statutory register this fee becomes payable.

If you are not on the voluntary register at that time I believe that you will have to apply to join the HPC Register using their "grandparenting" arrangements. A process which costs £200 per application. Once accepted you will then have to pay the £120 fee.

It currently costs £10 to join the VRCT. The arithmetic is very easy! If regulation occurs in late 2005/early 2006 it is unlikely that current Registrants will be asked to pay further fees beyond this year's renewal. All new applicants will still be required to pay £10.

That's a good point - but isn't what Eagle was asking.

Now that regulation has been achieved and State registration is on the way, why do we need to join the voluntary register ?

Never mind the £10, that's neither here nor there, but all the paperwork that's required is horendous. It will probably be simpler to apply for the full registration because our employers will provide support information.

Surely waiting till the state scheme kicks in won't weaken our case in any way and shouldn't make any difference to the entry requirements because of the 3 year transition period.

So it looks like the VRCT is only people who have ONC and will need the extra leg up to get on the compulsory register?

I wonder if you get your money back if they do not let you in

A.M

Excuse my ignorance this is due to us not having to comply with the HPC but what’s the difference between a Btec National Certificate level3 and a SVQ level 3. I Know there was a big shake up in 1999

So how do people who don't have access to a "recognised...training course" go on? Will anyone publish a training scheme, I'll teach my staff once I know what to teach!

I can't believe that some of the postings criticising the registraion of our profession are genuine. Whilst I agree that there are details to sort out surely to have our profession recognised and regulated can only be to our benefit. For a long time I have looked at the pathology departments and their pay and conditions with envy. Regulating our profession will put us on an equal footing with other professions such as these.
We are being given the opportunity to show how important our role is in the healthcare environment and I can not understand why some med techs are not wanting this.
I would like to thank Jim Methven and colleagues for working towards this aim. I would also welcome constructive criticism on this topic but I can't understand the reasons for knocking the registration scheme.

Well said Ken and I echo your comments regarding the efforts being made by Jim and his colleagues to get our profession recognised and regulated

Ken. The situation you describe in Path Labs is a good example of a profession shooting itself in the foot ! A local hospital laboratory ended up in a totally uncompetitive situation because everyone had done the courses, got the certificates, attended the lectures, got their promotions etc - so the lab was staffed by Senior Senior Team Leaders all pipetting urine from patient sample bottles into test tubes.

Not surprisingly, Ciba Geigi or ICI or somebody could tender for the work a lot cheaper by employing part time people with no qualifications.

We're in danger of making our profession so difficult to get into that Trusts will have no alternative but to subcontract the work out.

I'm not against registration as such. I honestly don't agree with the argument for insisting on a degree as proof of a persons capability to do the job. A degree proves a persons capacity to learn facts and to re-gurgitate them on demand. I don't need Techs who can explain in detail the function of a digital comb filter or a phase lock loop circuit. I need Techs who can mend broken equipment, with minimal information and no technical support from the supplier.

They will only be able to subcontract work out to people who are regulated the same as the existing staff. There will no doubt be provision for lower grade unregulated staff who can carry out the basic work ie equivalent to an existing MTO1 or possibly MTO2.
There are parts of the argument that I don't agree with but overall I think regulation is a good step to making it known that our role in healthcare is as important as other healthcare professionals.