Does my health issue need to be declared?

If you can still practice safely and effectively with your health condition, you do not need to declare it to us.

This is set out in the standards of conduct, performance and ethics:

‘You must take responsibility for assessing whether changes to your physical and/or mental health will detrimentally impact your ability to practise safely and effectively. If you are unsure about your ability to do so, ask an appropriate health and care professional to make an assessment on your behalf.’ (6.3)

‘You must adjust your practice if your physical and/ or mental health will detrimentally impact your ability to practise safely and effectively. These adjustments must promote safe and effective practice. Where it is not possible to make these adjustments within your scope of practice, you must stop practising.’ (6.4)

Our case studies illustrate how to apply these principles.

Health issues that need to be declared

As each matter is assessed on its unique circumstances there is no list of conditions which will prevent you being on the Register.

You do not need to make a health declaration if:

• your condition does not affect your practice at all;
• your condition does affect your practice, but you can adapt, limit or change your practice so that you can practise safely and effectively (for example, through reasonable adjustments); or
• you have stopped practising because of your health. 

In other words, if you can meet the requirements in the standards above, you do not need to tell us.

Assessing your risk

Each registrant is responsible for ensuring their own fitness to practise and managing risk.   

Each individuall's risk assessment will look different based on their role and their health condition. Many of our registrants practise with health conditions or disabilities that do not affect their practice or have adjustments in place to support them to continue to practice.

We do expect registrants to seek appropriate healthcare advice when they have health concerns and to follow the advice of medical professionals

If you are unsure, you should contact us.  Contact the Registration team (for applications and renewals) or the Fitness to Practise team (for self-referrals).

Flowchart - does my health issue need to be declared?

This flowchart shows a simplified process of assessing whether you meet standard 6.3 and if you need to make a declaration to us. 

Career breaks due to health conditions

If you develop a health condition and decide to take a career break because of it, you don't necessarily need to leave our Register.

To remain on our Register, our requirement is that you have practised your profession within the last two years. By ‘practising your profession’ we mean drawing on your professional knowledge and skills.

You may be able to practise by adapting your role or even changing it. For example, you could move from a frontline or clinical role to one in education or research. (For more information, see What we mean by ‘practising your profession’.)

If you are likely to spend longer than two years without practising your profession, please contact our Registration team to discuss this with them.