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The Care Quality Commission | Disclosure & Barring Service | National Police Chief's Council | NHS Safeguarding | independent ambulance association 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.