Such a move is increasingly being demanded by consumers. They found a patchwork of varying arrangements for different professions, differences in regulation between the public and independent sectors and legislation governing many regulatory bodies which has not caught up with changes in public demand or with current health-care practices. They noted that it is often difficult to find out what regulatory schemes there are and how they work to protect consumers. They concluded that regulation focused on individual professions in isolation may not adequately reflect contemporary needs and called for radical reform. A question of competence Competence should be central to any debate about the desirability or otherwise of new roles.
Assumptions are an insufficient basis on which to make judgements about safe practice.
Competence must be articulated and assessed, not presumed. Within the framework of clinical governance NHS Trusts will need to make apparent the skills and knowledge that practitioners possess. Therefore, adopting a competence-based approach to new role development will offer an opportunity to make explicit the skills and knowledge required when delivering a clinical intervention and the appropriate staff group to undertake it. The question of competence to undertake new roles is a growing concern for consumer organisations. Such evaluations should also to look beyond the posts to the organisational environment and even philosophy of service provision.