Professional Standards Authority

29/07/2026

How can regulation prevent harm in Wales?

Our latest blog from Eleanor Marks, PSA Welsh Board Member, explores the key themes from a joint PSA and Welsh Government seminar on building a more preventative approach to healthcare in Wales.

The discussion highlighted that regulation can help to protect the public not only by responding to harm, but by supporting the conditions that prevent it from happening in the first place.

Key takeaways include:
🔹 Prevention needs to be built into the everyday operation of health and care systems, not treated as a separate policy aspiration
🔹 People’s experiences are a vital source of intelligence and can help identify where risks may be emerging
🔹Data can help tackle inequalities when it is used specifically to drive accountability
🔹 AI can support registration, revalidation, Fitness to Practise analysis, public engagement and organisational learning, but should not replace human judgement

We were pleased to reflect on how regulation can support Wales’s ambitions for a more preventative, inclusive and person-centred health and care system.

Read the full blog: https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/news-and-updates/news/how-can-regulation-support-preventative-approach-healthcare-wales

27/07/2026

We've published the first issue of our new PSA Policy Update.

In this edition, we round up recent policy developments, reviews and inquiries that are shaping conversations about professional regulation, oversight, leadership, safety and public confidence

The newsletter includes:
• Our response to the Government's consultation on the draft GMC Order
• The findings of the Lord Mann Review on antisemitism and other forms of racism in professional healthcare regulation
• Healthcare inquiries and reviews, including the Ockenden Review, Amos Investigation and Muckamore Inquiry
• Progress since our Safer Care For All report and the work still needed to improve patient and service user safety

Read the full newsletter on our website: https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/news-and-updates/news/e-newsletter-standard

24/07/2026

🔥Read of the week 🔥

This week, we're spotlighting our Q&A on non-surgical cosmetic procedures and how safety can be improved.

Want to find out if socio-economic factors affect consumer safety? Or are you interested in the protections available for under-18s considering these procedures?

Explore these questions and more in our latest Q&A: https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/non-surgical-cosmetic-procedures-and-how-improve-safety-qa

23/07/2026

🔥For this week's non-surgical cosmetics hot topic post, we are focusing on the risks of receiving treatment from unregulated practitioners, what is currently happening to address the issue, and what more needs to be done.

Non-surgical cosmetic procedures including Botox, dermal fillers and laser treatments, are becoming increasingly popular across the UK. But with this growth has come a rise in unsafe practices and serious risks to consumers.

In this video, recorded on 25 June 2026, Caroline Corby, Chair of the Professional Standards Authority, explains:
- The dangers posed by unregulated practitioners
- How current regulation is not keeping pace with demand
- Recent developments in regulation across the UK
- What more needs to be done to improve public protection

While progress is being made, gaps in regulation remain. Until stronger safeguards are introduced, choosing a practitioner on a Professional Standards Authority Accredited Register can help reduce the risk of harm.

You can check a practitioner here: https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/practitioners?page=4

Read a Q&A on the topic: www.professionalstandards.org.uk/non-surgical-cosmetic-procedures-and-how-improve-safety-qa

23/07/2026

Don't forget to submit your experience, evidence or views by Friday, 31 July 2026. Just a few days remain. https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=gqAu-rxK1UWjmFIwQqO9nmDePIkD3lhKqBld-EyDGqdUQUJRMzNMREFFMUVEWUkwTFdMVkhWWDlNNyQlQCN0PWcu&route=shorturl&fbclid=IwY2xjawTO3aBleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETB2UE9vdkNaMjVTaDNlU1lHc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHivNNb_rB3bsJuBg6j1Df5Y3y8QGBt6WXZvZZId_1plBXzFt4jhWw4qvNmvp_aem_zuIx92WZV361XDcV3gD1tw

We are inviting feedback to let us know what impact accrediting the Society of Health Play Specialists, could have.

Health Play Specialists support children and young people to understand and cope with illness and medical procedures through play.

They have submitted an application for provisional assessment against our eligibility and public interest Standard.

Your input will help us consider the potential benefits and risks of accreditation.

Share your experience, evidence or views by 31 July 2026: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=gqAu-rxK1UWjmFIwQqO9nmDePIkD3lhKqBld-EyDGqdUQUJRMzNMREFFMUVEWUkwTFdMVkhWWDlNNyQlQCN0PWcu&route=shorturl

22/07/2026

In 2022, we published our report, Safer care for all: solutions from professional regulation and beyond, setting out a range of recommendations to help improve safety in health and care.

Since then, progress has been made in several areas, with some recommendations now delivered. There is still more to do to achieve the changes needed for safer care for all.

Watch this short video to learn more about the progress made so far.

Watch the video on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/6T8lPeeY5aQ?si=TaqKgv9KqzLRZIaC
Read about Safer care for all: https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/news-and-updates/news/safer-care-all-what-progress-has-been-made
Read our Strategic Plan 2026-29: https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/publications/strategic-plan-2026-2029

21/07/2026

We have published our report on the International Federation for Therapeutic and Counselling Choice Eligibility and Public Interest Test.

Read the report here:

The PSA has published a report confirming that the International Federation for Therapeutic and C

21/07/2026

Under a week to go!

Applications for our Head of Policy role close on 27 July 2026.

Click here to find out more: https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/about-us/work-us/head-policy

We’re hiring: Head of Policy

We are recruiting a Head of Policy to join our Policy team within the Policy and Communications Directorate at the Professional Standards Authority.

The role involves shaping policy positions on health and social care regulation, leading the PSA Policy Team and driving delivery of high-quality policy work, including publications, research, briefings and events.

Blackfriars, London (hybrid working)
Salary: £86,065
Closing date: 27 July 2026

Find out more and apply: https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/about-us/work-us/head-policy

20/07/2026

We're pleased to have joined the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation (CLEAR) podcast, Regulation Matters, to discuss our new Standards.

In this episode, our Director of Regulation and Accreditation, Graham Mockler, talks about:
• the shift towards outcomes-focused regulation
• the growing emphasis on governance, risk management and organisational culture
• the need for greater consistency across regulatory systems

Listen to the episode here: https://podcast.clearhq.org/e/psa_new_standards/

The UK's Professional Standards Authority (PSA) has introduced a new single set of standards that will be used to assess both professional regulators and accredited registers, replacing separate frameworks with a unified set of expectations. In this episode, host Line Dempsey speaks with Graham Mock...

20/07/2026

📢Less than a week remains to apply for this role 📢

Click here to find out more: https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/about-us/work-us/lawyer

We’re hiring: Lawyer

We are recruiting a Lawyer to join our Regulation and Accreditation Directorate at the Professional Standards Authority.

This role involves reviewing fitness to practise decisions, identifying where they may not protect the public, and contributing to learning that improves regulation across health and social care.

Blackfriars, London (hybrid working)
Salary: £61,475
Closing date: 26 July 2026

Find out more and apply: https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/lawyer