Shiatsu Society

Regulation

REGULATION UPDATE !  

The CNHC register is now open for Shiatsu practitioners. Practitioner members of the Society will shortly be able to apply online and via this website at a greatly reduced cost. The Shiatsu Society is now officially recognised by the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) as a verifier of Shiatsu practitioner qualification.

NEW VOLUNTARY REGISTER FOR COMPLEMENTARY HEALTHCARE

The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council opened its new register on 19th January 2009 which means for the first time in the UK, members of the public who use a range of complementary healthcare services will be able to check that their practitioner is registered with an independent, and robust voluntary registration body.

With more than 150,000 complementary healthcare practitioners in the UK and an estimated 1 in 5 people using complementary disciplines, the CNHC has been formed to enhance public protection by setting standards for registration. The CNHC kitemark (above) will be established as the hallmark of quality for the sector. Over time, the general public and those who commission the services of complementary healthcare practitioners will be able to choose practitioners with confidence, by looking for the symbol.

Based on substantial preliminary activity undertaken by the Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health and with the help of a range of complementary healthcare practitioners, the CNHC was founded in April 2008. The Department of Health has consistently supported the CNHC throughout its start-up period and is committed to establishing the CNHC as the national voluntary register in the complementary healthcare field.

Ben Bradshaw, Minister of State for Health, said: “I welcome the opening of the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) register. Now that the Council is open for business, there will be a single voluntary registration body encompassing a wide range of complementary and alternative therapies, to which the public can turn for help.

“Members of the public who use these therapies will be able to check whether the practitioner they’re seeing is registered with the CNHC. If they are, they have the reassurance of knowing that they have had to meet minimum standards of qualification and that they have signed up to a rigorous code of conduct. Practitioners too will benefit by increased public confidence.

“Public safety is paramount.  Registration, whether voluntary or statutory, is about protecting patients, and I am pleased to see this important milestone in voluntary registration. People should always seek their GP’s advice to ensure that any other therapy they use does not conflict with orthodox treatment,” he concluded.

In order for practitioners to successfully register with the CNHC and receive the kitemark, they must have undertaken a programme of education and training which meets, as a minimum, the National Occupational Standards for that profession/discipline or achieved competency to the same level by means of relevant experience and assessment.

The first professions to have the standards in place for registration with the CNHC are massage therapy and nutritional therapy. Throughout 2009, the Register will be opened to further disciplines, as they become ready and wish to register, and include: Alexander technique; Aromatherapy; Bowen technique; Cranial therapy; Homeopathy; Naturopathy; Reflexology; Reiki; Shiatsu; and Yoga therapy.

For further information about registration, visit www.cnhc.org.uk

The CNHC was established in April 2008. It heralds a completely new approach to the regulation of complementary therapies in the UK. It builds on the excellent work already undertaken by many of the professional bodies within complementary and natural heath care. Upholding the highest professional standards, the creation of the CNHC will provide a boost to consumer confidence and public trust which will in turn benefit all practitioners. Significantly, the roles of the professional associations and the regulatory body are now separated in order to give increased clarity of function.

The key function of the regulator (CNHC) is to ensure public protection. This will be achieved by driving up standards set by the professions themselves; ensuring access to continuing professional development for all practitioners; and providing a route for enquiries about complementary therapy practitioners, and, if necessary, for making a complaint about a practitioner.

The key function of the professional associations will be to continue to provide support for the practitioners themselves. This will be achieved variously in the form of standard setting, provision of courses, CPD and a range of other support. It is expected that practitioners will wish to be registered with the CNHC and also continue to benefit from membership of a professional association.

It is hoped that this separation of regulatory and support function will, over time, make the position clearer for the public who use complementary and natural therapies; for those who 'commission' the services of complementary therapists; and for the therapists themselves.

We anticipate that the mark 'Registered with the CNHC' will swiftly be recognised as the hallmark of quality for the sector. We believe that the public, as well as the professionals themselves, will come to see that registration with the CNHC offers the 'gold standard' of regulation.

We look forward to engaging in further debate with all those who access this site - professional and public. We are confident that we are moving forward positively into an exciting new future and we hope you will travel with us.

Maggie Dunn     Maggy Wallace
CoChairs CNHC

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