The Health Professions Council (HPC) has announced the appointment of Anna Van der Gaag as Chair.
She commented: “I am very honoured to have been independently appointed as Chair of HPC. The HPC continues to welcome new challenges and I look forward to working with colleagues on the Council to continually improve our services and work with the professions to maintain high standards of good professional practice.”
“I believe the HPC is set to make a significant contribution to public protection in the coming years as we take on new professions and help to build the evidence base of robust regulation. If we are to continue to be an effective regulator, good governance must be at the heart of what we do and I intend to ensure that this commitment is upheld.”
Anna was appointed in principle as Chair by the Health and Social Care Appointments Committee of the Appointments Commission subject to legislative approval.
Anna has served as President of the Council since July 2006. After an initial two years she was unanimously re-elected by Council on the 11 September 2008.
Anna van der Gaag is a speech and language therapist and Honorary Research Fellow in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Glasgow.
She has been actively involved in research and development initiatives in standard setting, clinical guidance, quality assurance, skills mix and service evaluation for more than two decades.
Her recent research work includes user involvement in decision making, e-learning in post graduate education and improving communication between primary care practitioners and people with communication disabilities.
Anna has been a member of various advisory groups for the Medical Research Council, Department of Health, Kings Fund and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
In 2007 a Government white paper, Trust, Assurance and Safety – The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century, made a number of proposals regarding the governance arrangements for the nine UK healthcare regulators. One proposal was that the Council’s of regulators should be smaller and more ‘board-like’. The white paper also proposed that all Council members should be independently appointed rather than elected.
In February 2008 the HPC recommended to the Department of Health (DH) that the number of members on the HPC Council should be 20 (including the President), and that there should be an equal representation of registrant and lay members. On 3 July 2008, the Council agreed the criteria which will be used to appoint the Chair and members of the restructured Council.
HPC’s newly appointed Council will play a key role in setting strategy and policy and ensuring the HPC fulfils its statutory duties.
The aim is to create a diverse Council, with a balanced mix of skills and experience reflecting the professions we regulate and public that we serve. The restructured Council will be comprised of a Chair and 19 Council members and will commence on 1 July 2009.
