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The Aromatherapy Regulatory Working Party (ARWP) and the Aromatherapy Consortium (AC) have had a busy time over the last year with regular meetings and continuing progression in the move toward regulation of the profession. The AC exists as the body that will determine the structure of the regulatory body for the aromatherapy profession in the UK. The structure has now been agreed as the new Aromatherapy Council, the AC will remain ‘AC’ for continuity. The AC has continuously worked in conjunction with the Princes Foundation for Integrated Health (PFIH) in order to develop regulation within their programme to develop a regulatory system for complementary healthcare. In April 2005 the AC signed up to the 3 year Regulation Programme and received funding to continue this.
Recommendations within the Stone report ‘Development of Proposals for a Future Voluntary Regulatory Structure for Complementary HealthCare Professions’ (Stone, 2005) a report commissioned by the PFIH point to a Federal Voluntary Self Regulated Structure being adopted, the federal approach means that there would be an overarching regulator for many therapies. There are many good points to it, including economics, as the more registrants the lower the charge to each registrant.
Others still feel that they would prefer a single body just for aromatherapy, and again this has good points, as this may be a better structure to pave the way for future statutory regulation if this route was decided on at a later date. The consultation period on proposals has now finished and a seminar is being held in September by PFIH to present the outcomes of the consultation on a federal approach to complementary healthcare and to explore the way forward.
We have also seen the publication of ‘The Regulation of the non-medical healthcare profession’ A review by the Department of Health (July 2006) Without doubt recommendations from this report need to be incorporated in our process.
The review incorporates the Donaldson and Foster Reports, which consider such timely issues as ‘Fitness to Practice’ and continuous fitness to remain on a professional register.
We need to ensure that aromatherapists in the UK understand what is expected of them and the role of the regulatory body in relation to their practice and wider health services. It was decided to hold a public consultation, in line with The Princes Foundation for Integrated Health, and an AC Open debate was held on ‘regulation of the profession’ at Morley College London, in July 2006. Carole Preen and Ian Smith gave a presentation on aromatherapy regulation, which is extremely informative and is available to view via the AC website
We are now preparing for the launch of the regulatory register in December 2006.
The new Council will be officially launched on the 1st December 2006 as the Voluntary Self Regulatory Body for the UK aromatherapy profession. A new website will be launched at that time as www.aromatherapycouncil.co.uk.
The Council will discuss how they will review and update standards regularly taking account of feedback from patients, practitioners and other interested parties.
The new website will be set up with an on-line database of practitioners so that members of the public and other healthcare professionals can check the status of aromatherapists on the register. The website will include a guide for the public and include all the disciplinary procedures/ethics etc and give advice on how to make a complaint. The core curriculum and all other policies will be available to download as will as provisions for professional conduct committee hearings normally to be held in public and publication of findings of professional conduct committees in general.
Viv Hinks 2006
References and Information Sources
Dept of Health/Workforce Directorate/Professional Regulation Branch (July 2006) The Regulation of the non-medical healthcare professions A review by the Dept of Health
Stone, J. (2005)Development of Proposals for a Future Voluntary Regulatory Structure for Complementary HealthCare Professions a report commissioned by the PoWFIH (now PFIH)
www.aromatherapy-regulation.org.uk
www.fih.org.uk
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