The Health Practice Associates Council (HPAC)

The Care Quality Commission | Disclosure & Barring Service | National Police Chief's Council | NHS Safeguarding recognise the Health Practice Associates Council register in supporting the safe recruitment of non-paramedic ambulance clinicians.

The Health Practice Associates Council (HPAC) is the UK's regulator for pre-hospital clinicians below the grade of Paramedic. Working with stakeholders across the United Kingdom, we seek to regulate clinicians who meet our standards for the skills and training associated with their scope of practice, their behaviour and health in order to protect the public. We help employers monitor the ongoing professional conduct of their HPAC registered staff.

The HPAC was established as a regulator in 2014 with support from seven NHS Ambulance trusts, voluntary organisations and independent ambulance providers. Now a registered council, we are a non-profit organisation governed by the public interest and are proud to have gained the support and involvement of numerous significant stakeholders in the industry.

When onboarding new applicants to the register, their qualifications, identity and background are all checked and verified before approval by our registration team. This includes a full enhanced DBS check, which is then registered on the update service and monitored in real time by our safeguarding system.

Nationwide Police Engagement: The HPAC is signposted nationwide in all police custody suites in the country as the non-paramedic referral pathway. This arrangement is based on the principles of common law disclosure and helps to rapidly identify and alert service providers of new risks to patients, staff, the public and employers. The council regularly shares intelligence with police forces in bilateral information exchanges when dealing with referrals and fitness to practice investigations. This helps both law enforcement and HPAC to better serve and protect citizens, staff and employers through regulatory compliance.

Engagement with the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS):The HPAC shares details of relevant referrals that we receive with the DBS. Details of our investigations, including registrant compliance with the fitness to practice process and outcomes, provide valuable insight for the Barring Service when assessing individuals. It is crucial that all providers of regulated activities (employers or volunteer managers of those working in regulated activity in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland) understand their legal duty to make a referral to the DBS if certain conditions are met. Learn more by following this link.

Kenny Gibson is the National Head of Safeguarding for the NHS, overseeing several portfolios, including Child Sexual Exploitation, Female Genital Mutilation and Looked After Children, and is the Safeguarding Lead for the HPAC. Prior to becoming the Head of Safeguarding for NHS England & NHS Improvement, Kenny was the Head of Public Health Commissioning for London. Kenny is passionate about connecting with and listening to patients, carers and health practitioners in order to improve services and experiences within the NHS, as well as to empower people about their own well-being.

He has supported the work of the HPAC as a Council member since 2019 and is excited to see the vital steps in the Council’s mission since the register was set up in 2014 to help safeguard patients and staﬀ across the UK as the first regulator for non-paramedic ambulance clinicians.

Vinny Wagjiani is a Detective Inspector with Kent Police. He worked at a national level with the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) Custody Portfolio and has been influential in modern practices developed within the Custody arena. In addition to police-related work, Vinny is the event organiser for a charity event called Light the Lakes, which is dedicated to the remembrance of police officers who have died on duty. He is also the Chair of school governors overseeing the governance of a school which includes the safeguarding of children. He is a Trustee for a charity which identifies vulnerable male adults, bringing together men from isolated areas to enhance their health and wellbeing.

He is the National Police Lead for the HPAC and works with Police forces across the country when relevant referrals are received. He led the project which saw the HPAC signposted as the non-paramedic referral pathway in all custody suites across the country. He is currently developing a national strategy for an integrated approach with the HPAC and all forty-three police forces within the UK to ensure the public is safeguarded by effective and rapid information sharing. Promoting a joined approach to advancing regulation compliance and healthy stakeholder engagement across the sector.

There are up to 30,000 face-to-face pre-hospital patient contacts per day in the UK made by ambulance staff wearing the trusted green uniform. Did you know that in the UK only 50% of frontline ambulance staff are regulated by statute? Whilst the vast majority of clinicians are safe, patient-centred, extremely caring individuals, sadly, as in all areas, some pose a genuine risk to patient and staff safety. We believe that with the support of like-minded stakeholders, using a non-statutory approach, we can bridge this gap in regulation.

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