Public Health Register achieves accreditation

Today, UK Public Health Register’s voluntary register of public health specialists and practitioners has been accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care under the Accredited Voluntary Registers (AVR) scheme.

The AVR scheme is managed by the Professional Standards Authority, an independent statutory body accountable to Parliament, and the vetting and approval process is very rigorous. UKPHR has been protecting the public by registering public health specialists for ten years and also began registering public health practitioners in pilot areas in 2011. Specialists are leaders in public health practice, providing strategic decision-making and guidance as Directors of Public Health and Consultants, for example. Practitioners carry out vital health work such as helping individuals give up smoking, supporting communities to exercise and eat healthily and protecting us all from disease outbreaks. Bryan Stoten, Chair of UKPHR, says he is delighted that UKPHR’s work to assure the professional competence of the public health workforce has been judged to be effective: “The accreditation process has been tough. Achieving this status is objective confirmation that our standards and our procedures are rigorous as well as transparent and accountable. This is the most we can do as a non-statutory register to give the public and the public health workforce assurance that we and our registrants are committed to high standards. “Good public health practice is important for every citizen and every community because good health and wellbeing is fundamental to a fair and strong society.”

AVR status represents objective assurance that UKPHR’s standards are robust and that the organisation meets modern standards of registration. Government established the scheme last year and it enables voluntary registers like UKPHR to be held to account for the standards they operate not just by their registrants but also by the public and the Professional Standards Authority.

For Full Announcement – click here