Guidance for registrants

COVID-19 advice for Registrants: Preparing to return to work and working safely

This advice will help you to follow government guidance on returning to work and working safely during the coronavirus pandemic.

Advertising Guidance:

In response to an identified need, CNHC has developed detailed Advertising Guidance for registrants.  Please click here to view a copy.

The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Copy Advice Team provides a free advice service and will check advertising claims prior to publication – usually within 24 hours (please ensure you leave ample time between seeking advice and amending your advertising prior to publication). They can be contacted through the CAP website
Additional helpful information and advice on advertising is also available on the Advertising Standards Authority website

We recommend that all CNHC registrants use the wording for your discipline that we have agreed with CAP: Descriptors

CNHC Guidance on the Cancer Act 1939:
CNHC has also produced guidance about advertising in relation to the Cancer Act 1939 and we recommend that all CNHC registered practitioners read this. Please click here to view a copy: CNHC Guidance - Cancer Act 1939 

Guidance for CNHC Registrants on Vaccinations:
CNHC registrants must abide by CNHC's Code of Conduct, Ethics and Performance. Section D1 of the Code, Knowing your own limits, states:  

You must recognise and work within the limits of your own knowledge, skills and competence.

CNHC registrants are reminded that if clients raise questions about vaccinations, they must be advised to contact their GP.

You can find the guidance here.

Clear Sexual Boundaries:

Other relevant sources of guidance on the responsibilities of all healthcare practitioners include the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (now the Professional Standards Authority).  Please click here to see an example: Clear Sexual Boundaries

Data Protection Guidance:

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect on 25th May 2018. GDPR applies to all CNHC registrants because you hold and use personal data about your clients. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the source of all the information and guidance you’ll need to ensure you’ll be complying with the relevant GDPR requirements. Click here for further information

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
Click here for changes to Disclosure Scotland criminal record check procedures   

HMRC Support and Guidance:

Links to webinars, e-learning, emails and videos:

• HMRC Business help and education emails: Sign up to HMRC’s free email service
• HMRC Learning Support for self-employed practitioners.
• HMRC Support for Company Directors for practitioners running limited companies and / or employing staff.
• Tax for Health Professionals for all health care professionals who are running their own businesses
• Self-employed Business Expenses
• Simplified expenses for the self-employed
• HMRC YouTube Channel
• Small Business Online Forum for small businesses and the self-employed.

Research Guidance:
There is much debate about the evidence-base for complementary therapies and the challenges of gathering that evidence. However, there are some fairly simple evaluation tools you can use to demonstrate the impact of your work:

The MYMOP evaluation tool
The Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile, or MYMOP as it is commonly known, is an evaluation tool developed by Dr Charlotte Paterson and is widely used by healthcare practitioners including complementary therapists. It takes the form of a simple questionnaire completed by the patient or client and is used to measure changes in their experience of a number of symptoms and activities which they identify at the beginning of a series of treatments. Symptoms can be physical, emotional or social.
It is a useful way to gather data about treatment outcomes and we strongly encourage practitioners to use MYMOP where possible to continue to build the evidence base for complementary therapies.

Click here for further information and to download the MYMOP tool plus instructions  

The MYCAW evaluation tool
The MYCAW (Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing) tool is a simple questionnaire for clients and patients to complete and has been designed to evaluate complementary therapies in cancer support care. It may be useful in other settings as well.

MYCAW has been developed by a multi-disciplinary research group to provide a questionnaire that captures the client’s experiences of any changes to their ‘concerns or problems’, rather than ‘symptoms’.

Click here for further information about MYCAW and how to use it in your practice  

The Research Council for Complementary Medicine (RCCM) advances public education through the promotion of research into complementary medicine.

Click here for information on research findings for complementary therapies

Code of Conduct, Ethics and Performance
The CNHC Code of Conduct, Ethics and Performance provides guidance and advice to help registrants meet the requirements and there are links to more information.