Consultations on a draft Framework for a Common Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics.

Consultations were held on a draft Framework for a Common Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics drafted by Council.

2 consultation workshops were held on 25 November 2009 and 21 January 2010 with Council members and nominated professionals from the 12 designated professionals and nominees from the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council and the Opticians Board.

The first workshop was well attended (26 professionals) and well received. There was a broad level of support for the common code. However, the wording of some principles required reworking. Some suggestions for rewording came out of the focussed working groups and the draft code was amended and re-circulated to reflect this.
Professional groups were asked to consult their professional bodies on the revised code in advance of the next workshop and to feedback any comments in advance of the meeting. The revised text was also sent to the competition authority and the office of the data protection commissioner. Comments received were logged and circulated to participants at the 2^ndworkshop. 22 responses were received.

The 2^nd workshop was attended by 28 participants. Over 3 sessions, the groups considered the ethics, performance and conduct sections of the draft code. The final session identified priority areas for the groups. Feedback was collected from each session.
Feedback was considered by the Fitness to Practise working group of Council and a final text was agreed for recommendation to Council.