Why the Professional Standards Authority’s new Standards are good for patient safety

Summary

This month, the Professional Standards Authority have published their updated and combined Standards for the organisations they oversee and accredit. They are the result of extensive engagement, consultation and careful reflection.

The Standards have been revised with one clear aim in mind—strengthening patient safety and public protection through robust professional regulation and registration.

In this blog, Amanda Partington-Todd, Interim Director of Regulation and Accreditation, explains why the new Standards are good for patient safety. 

Content

Clearer expectations mean safer practice

If our expectations of the professional regulators and Accredited Registers are unclear, it becomes harder to deliver them well.

One of the most important changes we have made is to improve the clarity of our requirements by refining and streamlining the Standards.

Clear standards support better decision making. They reduce ambiguity. And they help organisations focus on what really matters—protecting patients and the public, and maintaining public confidence in the health and care professions.

The same safety bar for everyone

We now have one single set of Standards for both professional health and care regulators and Accredited Registers. This is important.

Different organisations operate in different ways. But when it comes to patient safety, the public should expect the same high standards, regardless of the type of body involved.

By aligning our expectations, we are making it clear that the level of protection afforded to the public should not differ, even if regulators have legal powers that Accredited Registers do not.  

Strong governance and leadership protect patients

Research and experience show that organisational culture and patient safety are closely linked.

That is why the new Standards place consistent expectations on governance and leadership.

Senior leaders must have appropriate oversight of how their organisations are run. They must understand the risks. And they must be accountable for how concerns are handled.

Good governance helps create a culture where issues are identified early, concerns are taken seriously, and learning is embedded. That culture directly supports safer care.

A stronger focus on risk and safeguarding

Regulation exists to reduce the risk of harm. Our revised Standards strengthen expectations around evidence and risk-based decision-making, particularly in relation to professional suitability.

This includes clearer expectations around safeguarding and appropriate checks, such as criminal records checks, where relevant.

Safeguarding is not a technical requirement—it is fundamental to public safety. By reinforcing proportionate, risk-based approaches, the new Standards strengthen our expectations of how regulators and Accredited Registers assess professional suitability throughout a practitioner’s career, holding them to account for maintaining effective safeguards to protect the public.

Better collaboration means fewer missed risks

Patient safety can be undermined when information is not shared or when concerns are not addressed early.

The new Standards encourage stronger collaboration and alignment across regulatory partners. By working together, sharing relevant information and reducing gaps between organisations, we can reduce the risk of missed opportunities to act.

We also want to see concerns resolved as early and as locally as possible, where appropriate. Early action taken locally can prevent problems escalating; for example, by removing barriers to people raising complaints, and improve outcomes for patients and the public.

Raising the bar from the very start

For organisations applying to join our Accredited Registers programme, we have strengthened the tests we apply at the earliest stage.

Improved eligibility requirements and clearer public interest assessments mean we can make the right decisions about which organisations are suitable for accreditation before they enter the programme.

This early scrutiny strengthens public protection and supports confidence in the quality of Accredited Registers.

Focused on impact, not just process

Across all of these changes, one principle runs through the new Standards—regulation must make a real difference.

It is not enough to have policies in place. The systems must work. Risks must be identified. Concerns must be handled fairly and effectively.

Organisations must be willing to learn and improve.

By clarifying expectations, aligning standards, strengthening governance, reinforcing safeguarding and encouraging collaboration, we have built a framework that is sharper, more consistent and more focused on outcomes.

Patient safety depends on strong, effective regulation and registration. Our updated Standards are designed to achieve exactly that by driving continuous improvement and vigilance from the regulators and Accredited Registers. This ensures that regulation continues to protect the public and maintain confidence in health and care professions.

About the Author

Amanda joined the Professional Standards Authority in April 2025 on a year-long secondment from the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Prior to joining the PSA, Amanda was a Deputy Director of Adult Social Care at CQC and has worked in health and social care regulation since 2012. She is a qualified social worker with a background in working with older people, people living with dementia and community organising. She has experience in direct care delivery,  public policy, leadership and regulation. Having worked in health and social care for more than 20 years, she is passionate about improving the quality and safety of health and care services for people.