There are 9 health profession regulators:

• General Chiropractic Council (GCC)
• General Dental Council (GDC)
• General Medical Council (GMC)
• General Optical Council (GOC) 
• General Osteopathic Council (GosC)
• Health Professions Council (HPC) 
• Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)  
• Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI) 
• Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB)

The Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) oversees the health profession regulators - click here to access the latest performance review. The final report of the Working Group on Extending Professional Registration was published in July 2009 and made recommendations in 5 key areas:

• risks
• costs and benefits of regulation
• new models of assurance
• new routes to regulation
• registration and involving patients and the public and employers 

For information and the latest developments on raising the standards of those who work in health and social care go to Professional Standards Programme.

New and recent developments include:

• The new General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) will be the regulator for pharmacy professionals and premises from 1 April 2010. This body is being established following the recommendations in the Government White Paper Trust, Assurance and Safety - The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century (February 2007). For further information, go to the GPhC website.
  
  
• From 1 July 2009, the Health Professions Council (HPC) opened its register to practitioner psychologists. For further information, click here.
  
  
• Tomorrow's Doctors (2009).  The knowledge, skills and behaviours of medical students and the standards for teaching, learning and assessment are set down by the GMC.  A comprehensive review took place in 2009.
  
  
• Licensing and Revalidation of Doctors.  From 16 November 2009, the GMC introduced the licence to practice. The Department of Health has announced 10 revalidation pilots which will test the proposed system of licence revalidation of doctors every five years by the GMC.  The pilots will run until 31 March 2011.  For further information: DH Medical revalidation and http://www.revalidationsupport.nhs.uk.

• It is estimated that there are 1 million health care support workers in the UK who are currently unregulated.  The NMC has commissioned research to review the issues and identify the risks and benefits of regulation.  The report is expected Spring 2010.  See further - http://www.nmc-uk.org/aArticle.aspx?ArticleID=4037.