What we investigate

Should you raise a concern, we can investigate

We investigate concerns about our Registrants as part of our role in protecting the public, upholding public confidence in Clinical Physiology and maintaining professional standards. Concerns can only be considered under the RCCP fitness to practise procedure if they concern a Registrant. 


Impaired fitness to practise means more than a suggestion that a professional has done something wrong. It means a concern about their conduct, competence, health or character that is serious enough to suggest that the registrant is unfit or unsafe to practise without restriction, or at all.
You may find it helpful to read Good Scientific Practice and to help understand what we mean by ‘fitness to practise’ where they set out the requirements that we expect our registrants to meet.

  • Examples of concerns that we can investigate include:
  • violence;
  • sexual assault or indecency;
  • any criminal offence;
  • abuse of professional position;
  • discrimination against the public, colleagues and others;
  • serious breaches of a member of the public’s confidentiality;
  • improper sexual, emotional or financial relationship with a service user;
  • any criminal offence where the registrant has been given a custodial sentence;
    dishonesty; and
  • serious or reckless errors in a registrant’s practise which have caused, or have the potential to cause, serious harm (physical or emotional) to a person’s needs;

Where allegations are of a serious nature we may apply for interim measures. We may use interim measures powers to immediately and temporarily restrict or suspend a registrant practising under RCCP registration whilst we investigate. Interim measures are required in cases where concerns about a clinical physiologists fitness to practise are so serious that, if we allowed the clinical physiologist to continue to practise unrestricted whilst we carry out our investigation, public safety or the clinical physiologist themselves would be put at risk.


Find out more information about interim measures
 
What we can’t investigate


Concerns that are not about a clinical physiologist’s fitness to practise cannot be considered by us. 
Before raising your concern, please make sure that we are the most appropriate organisation to help you.   If you need help deciding whether to raise a concern with us or another organisation, please contact us on 01455 244640 or rccpadmin@ahcs.ac.uk.


Many concerns can be best resolved at a local level by speaking directly to the clinical physiologist or their place of work and/or following local complaints procedures. This is because some concerns are best dealt with by the clinical physiologist’s employer, especially if the concern is not about a clinical physiologist’s fitness to practise for example being rude, poor time-keeping, making a decision you are not happy with.
We will always consider any concern raised with us to see if it is something we can investigate.


If you are unsure whether your concern is something we can investigate, you are encouraged to contact us to discuss their situation before submitting your concern on 01455 244640 or rccpadmin@ahcs.ac.uk


We are unable to consider concerns about:

  • organisations;
  • deal with customer service or consumer issues;
  • arrange compensation; intervene in disputes between registrants;
  • or make a registrant apologise.
  • Concerns about clinical physiology services or employers of clinical physiologists are the responsibility of other regulators such as the Care Quality Commission.
  • If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint, you can ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) to investigate.