The nine regulators of healthcare professionals maintain registers of professionals fit to practise in the UK. They set standards of behaviour, education and ethics, and deal with concerns about professionals who are unfit to practise because of poor health, misconduct or poor performance. They can remove people from the register and prevent them from practising.

The nine regulators of healthcare professionals are:

• the General Medical Council (GMC), which regulates doctors
• the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), which regulates nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses
• the Health Professions Council (HPC), which regulates 13 professions*
• the General Dental Council (GDC), which regulates dentists, dental hygienists and dental therapists
• the General Optical Council (GOC), which regulates dispensing opticians and optometrists
• the General Chiropractic Council (GCC), which regulates chiropractors
• the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC), which regulates osteopaths
• the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB), which regulates pharmacists
• the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI), which regulates pharmacists.

The UK Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) group created a leaflet entitled 'Who Regulates health and social care professionals?'.  CHRE is a member of this forum. 

A copy of the leaflet can be found here.