Terms and Conditions of use
Welcome to the Health Practice Associates Council website.
If you continue to browse and use this website, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following Terms and Conditions of use, which together with Acceptable Use Policy, Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy govern Health Practice Associates Council 's relationship with you in relation to this website. If you disagree with any part of these Terms and Conditions, please do not use our website.
Your attention is particularly drawn to our liability and limitation section for our Terms and Conditions which appear later.
The terms "HPAC", "Health Practice Associates Council", "us" and "we" refer to the owner of the website, Health Practice Associates Council is a Community Interest Company (CIC)registered in England and Wales, company number 10830551.
The term "you" refers to the user of our website. The use of this website is subject to the following terms:
The term "UbiquiCore Limited" refers to the owner of the software and web platform licensed to the Health Practice Associates Council.
1. Accessing and using our site
1.1. Our site is made available free of charge, although we reserve the right to introduce charges for certain features or services.
1.2. Access to our website is not intended for those under the age of 16. If you are under the age of 16, please do not use, register or provide any personal information to our website.
1.3. Access to the HPAC website is temporary. We do not guarantee that our site, or any content on it, will always be available or be uninterrupted, and we reserve the right to suspend, discontinue, withdraw or amend the service we provide on our site without notice. From time to time, we may restrict access to some parts of our site, or our entire site, to all users and, if the need arises, we may close the site indefinitely. We will not be liable to you if for any reason our site is unavailable at any time or for any period.
1.4. You are responsible for making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to our site. You are also responsible for ensuring that all persons who access our site through your internet connection are aware of these terms and that they comply with them.
1.5. If you wish to submit content to our website, you must, in addition, register with our site and comply with the content standards set out in our Acceptable Use Policy.
1.6. Our site is provided as a voluntary registry service to help track and manage clinical, operational, professional, and safety standards of individuals.
1.7. We expressly disclaim all liability and responsibility for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage incurred by any user or visitor to our website through reliance placed on information or materials posted on our website or by any user or visitor to our website or by anyone who may be informed of any of their contents. In particular, but without limitation, we will not be liable for the loss of profits, sales, business or revenue, business interruption or loss of anticipated savings, loss of business opportunity, goodwill or reputation.
1.8. We fully reserve the right in our sole and complete discretion to control, edit or remove any comments, postings or other content generated by you or by any third party, where we consider these necessary or appropriate. However, we are not obliged to oversee, monitor or moderate any interactive service we provide or content hosted on the website and expressly exclude our liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of or reliance upon any interactive service or content by a user or any other person, whether the service is moderated or not.
1.9. We reserve the right in our sole and complete discretion to modify, suspend, or remove your account and to disable any user identification code or password, without notice, at any time, and without liability to you. If we terminate your access to your account or you ask us to deactivate your account, your profile and all other data will no longer be accessible through your account, but those materials and data may still persist and appear elsewhere on the website.
1.10. HPAC currently operates a free service but reserves the right to begin charging you for all or part of its services or to introduce a chargeable premium service or content. If we do change the nature of the services or implement a charging basis, we will give you a reasonable period of notice.
1.11. Your use of any information or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable. It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any services or information available through this website meet your specific requirements.
1.12. This website contains material which is owned by us. This material includes, but is not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance, and graphics. Reproduction is prohibited other than in accordance with the copyright notice, which forms part of these Terms and Conditions.
2. Registration and accounts
2.1. To be eligible for an individual account on our website, you must be at least 18years of age and resident in the United Kingdom.
2.2. You may register for an account on our website by completing and submitting the account registration form on our website.
2.3. You must not allow any other person to use your account to access the website.
2.4. You must notify us in writing immediately if you become aware of any unauthorized use of your account.
2.5. You must not use any other persons account to access the website unless you have that person's express permission to do so.
2.6. If you registered for an account on our website, you will be asked to enter a user email address and password - YOU MUST ONLY USE YOUR LEGAL NAME AND SURNAME ON YOUR HPAC REGISTRANT PROFILE
2.7. Your user ID must not be liable to mislead and must comply with the content standards contained in our Acceptable Use Policy. You must not use your account or user ID for or in connection with the impersonation of any person.
2.8. You must keep your password confidential.
2.9. You must notify us in writing immediately if you have become aware of the disclosure of your password or if you change your name by deed poll.
2.10. You are responsible for any activity on our website arising out of any failure to keep your password confidential and may be held liable for any losses arising out of such failure.
2.11. When you register with us, you must not choose a custom avatar or profile picture which is inappropriate, offensive or otherwise in breach of the content standards set out in our Acceptable Use Policy. We have the right to remove any avatar or profile picture which in our sole opinion does not comply with such content standards.
2.12. You must inform HPAC if you have any outstanding complaints still under investigation or if you have been found guilty of a serious concern raised against you by a previous/current employer, member of the public or other relevant party.
3. Billing
3.1. Upon signing up to a paid-for service, immediate payment will be taken.
3.2. Registrants are responsible for ensuring that their registered form of payment, i.e. credit or debit card or banking information is approved for use by their bank and remains valid.
3.3. Monthly payments will recurrent on the same day of subscription each month for a minimum period of 12 months and on a rolling12 contract period thereafter.
3.4. Annual payments will recure on the same day of subscription each year for a non-refundable period of 12 months.
3.5. If your account is expired and you submit updates to your profile, this will activate your subscription for a 12 month period based on the terms above.
3.6. Overdue accounts will be publicly marked as a "Delinquent Account" after 15 days of non-payment.
3.7. If your account is marked as expired, delinquent, suspended, temporary suspension or is has been archived, you may not present yourself as an active member of the register under any circumstances.
3.8. If your account is marked as expired, suspended or has been archived, you may not under any circumstances make use of your HPAC ID card, the HPAC logo or any other HPAC related material be it physical, digital or otherwise to present yourself as an active or endorsed member of the register, either directly or indirectly.
4. Deregistration
4.1. Notice of intended deregistration must be supplied no later than 15 days after the renewal date of your 12-month contract term. This must be supplied either by filling in the deregistration form or by recorded interview over the phone answering the same questions found in the deregistration form. Your HPAC ID card will subsequently be deregistered and must be returned, or a photographic image clearly showing it has been destroyed must be supplied, please note that you will continue to be charged until your ID card has been returned to HPAC. You will lose your verified status which will be duly reflected on their profile as expired. Any outstanding monthly subscription fees within the minimum 12-month recurring term must be paid in full. Additionally, any outstanding payments for additional services purchased from HPAC on a payment plan will be charged for in full immediately via your registered payment card or bank account.
4.2. Conditions where the 12-month minimum term does not apply: In the case of a registrant either withdrawing from the verification process, failing to provide the requested information or failing to pass verification because of reasonably foreseeable factors which would have led to an application being rejected but were not declared at the point of registration by the registrant and if no card has been issued, the 12-month minimum term does not apply, however admin costs of a non-refundable fee of £25 must be covered. Either by means of the subscription payments to the date of the deregistration or by a one-time payment made by the registrant.
4.3. Verification can take up to 8 weeks to complete and is subject to registrants providing HPAC with all needed information, evidence and materials in a timely manner. Failure to provide any required information, evidence, materials or a valid means of payments requested by HPAC may result in a delay in registration. No refunds will be issued for periods of non-verification where the delay in processing verification is as a result of registrants not supplying requested information, evidence and materials in a timely manner.
4.4. You may only re-apply to the HPAC Council register after 12 months have passed since deregistration.
5. Replacement of HPAC Identity Cards
5.1. All cards issued by HPAC remain the property of HPAC. Due to the high cost in producing each HPAC ID card, the fee to replacing lost, stolen or damaged cards is £30 for members with more than 3 months before your current ID card expires.
5.2. You are required to first return your current ID card via prepaid postage provided by HPAC. Alternatively, you can provide us with photographic evidence of your current ID card having been destroyed by a shredder.
6. Submitting content to Health Practice Associates Council CIC
6.1. Whenever you make use of any feature on our website, or to make contact with any other users of our site, you must comply with the content standards set out in our acceptable Use Policy.
6.2. You must take all reasonable precautions to include using appropriate virus checking software to ensure that any information, content, material or data you provide is free from viruses, spyware, malicious software, Trojans, worms, logic bombs and anything else which may have a contaminating, harmful or destructive effect on any part of this website or the websites of any third parties or any other technology.
6.3. You must check and ensure that all information, content, material, or data you provide on this website is correct, complete, accurate, and not misleading and that you disclose all relevant facts. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for any loss or damage you may suffer or incur if any information, content, material or data you provide on this website is not correct, complete and accurate or if it is misleading or if you fail to disclose all relevant facts.
6.4. By submitting user content for publication on this website, you are confirming that you accept the Terms and Conditions of our website use together with our acceptable Use Policy, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy. Further, by submitting user content, you warrant that any user content submitted by you complies with the content standards set out in our Acceptable Use Policy and that you will be able to indemnify us for any breach of the warranty contained in our Acceptable Use Policy. This means that you will be responsible for any loss or damage we suffer as a result of your breach of warranty.
6.5. We have the right to promptly remove, disable access to or refuse to upload, any user content (or other content) which we deem to be, or which is notified to us as being, potentially defamatory of any person, unlawful, fraudulent, misleading in violation of any third party rights or contravention of these terms of use and/or our Acceptable Use Policy.
6.6. We have the right to move, edit, close or delete any thread, for any reason, including but not limited to the more efficient administration or organisation of this site.
6.7. You are solely responsible and liable for your conduct on this website and for the user content that you place on this website. You must ensure that you own your user content or otherwise have the right to grant the license. Your user content must not violate or infringe any privacy rights, intellectual property rights such as copyright, database rights, and trademarks or other rights of any third party, including any right of confidentiality. Your user content must not violate or infringe any law.
6.8. You agree that you will be liable to us for any damage, loss, claim, demand, liability, or expense, including reasonable legal fees that we may suffer or incur arising out of or in connection with your conduct on this website and/or your user content.
7. Qualification verification, identity, Criminal Records check (DBS), background and character checks
7.1. All applicants to the register and users consent to HPAC contacting any person or organisation to obtain further information about their application or to verify the information that is provided; and agree that any person who is so contacted may provide HPAC with any information about the applicant which that person or organisation holds and HPAC may, in turn, share the identity and evidence supplied by the applicant to HPAC with any organisation HPAC deems to be relevant in assisting in the validation of evidence process.
7.2 HPAC will conduct an enhanced DBS background check on all applicants, and any applicants who have a caution or conviction on their DBS will be defered for a review by the HPAC DBS panel for consideration.
7.2.1 All applicants must complete the enhanced DBS check application directly via the HPAC.
7.2.2 All applicants must register their HPAC DBS certificate on the DBS update service within 28 days of their certificate being issued. There is no fee for HPAC applicants/registrants to register their DBS certificate generated from an HPAC check.
7.2.2.1 If an applicant/registrant has not registered on the update service within 21 days of their certificate being issued, applicants/registrants give HPAC expressed permission to register the DBS certificate on the applicant's behalf using the data provided on their application/HPAC profile.
7.2.2.2 HPAC may apply an admin fee of £15 to register an applicant's/registrant's DBS certificate on the update service on their behalf.
7.2.3 The HPAC monitors all registrant DBS certificate statuses in real time, this means that if a change to a DBS status/validity takes place the HPAC will detect such a change, usually within one hour, and will result in the registrant's profile being immediately removed from the HPAC register for review. A new DBS applicantion must be completed for review by the DBS panel.
7.2.3.1 If the registrant has not already self reported the issue that caused the change in their DBS status, as per the code of conduct, this may result in a sanction.
7.2.4 Registrants must ensure that their enhanced DBS certificate that they provided to HPAC via the HPAC is maintained on the the DBS Update Service.
7.2.4.1 If a DBS certificate is removed from the update service because a registrant has either neglected to renew the service or because there has been a status change on their certificate, a new DBS check needs to be carried out by the HPAC and an admin fee of £30 may be applied.
7.3. If supporting evidence is found to be inadequate for the grade applied for either an alternative grade of a lower scope of practice will be recommended or the application rejected. Additionally, even if evidence has been previously approved and verified if it discovered that the approval was made in error or is deemed to no longer meet the standard for the registered grade the registrant's grade may be amended to a lower scope of practice or registration status withdrawn entirely. HPAC accepts no liability for loss of earnings or reputation as it is firstly the registrant's responsibility to ensure that the appropriate grade has been applied for based on training and qualification achieved.
7.4 If an applicant to the HPAC register has previously been struck off or suspended by any professionals' register and remains so at the time of applying to register with the HPAC, the application cannot be progressed any further and his/her details will be removed from our application process with immediate effect, if your circumstances change however you can consider re-applying at a later date.
7.4.1 Failure to declare such sanctions by a Professionals' register against yourself may lead to HPAC taking further action. This term is applicable to all current and new applications. This term is applicable to all applications not yet accepted, both current and new.
7.5 Checks may include:
· Verification of the identity documents submitted by the applicant
· Confirmation from education providers that the applicant's qualifications are genuine
· Confirmation of the applicant's good standing and character
· Identity, address, driver's licence, passport number checks with Identity checking service providers – this will leave a footprint on your credit record, however, this is a soft check and does not affect your credit score.
· An enhanced background check with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
· Sharing of any documents supplied as evidence of training or qualification with relevant organisation
· Identifying the registrant to the organisations with whom HPAC conduct these checks
8. Grade Representation to the Public, Additional Education/Training & Skills declared by the registrant.
8.1. When seeking to gain employment and when providing care in the public as a self-employed clinician, you are to clearly indicate your registrant grade on the HPAC. You are to ensure your uniform, vehicle and equipment livery, documentation and/or any other area of grade reference does not mislead the public or contracting organisations. i.e. an Emergency Care Assistant should not wear epaulettes that say Technician or Emergency Care Practitioner. However, they may choose to wear epaulettes that say Emergency Care Support Worker or something similar that does not obfuscate the boundaries of their scope of practice.
8.1.1. Exceptions: Your employer must have a clearly defined scope of practice for such roles that describe your grade differently from the HPAC, which are easily accessible to the public and/or service users. This must have medical direction/clinical governance which provide policy, procedures and safe systems of work to protect the public, individual providers and the organisation. They must actively signpost service users such as contracting bodies and the patients to these documents to ensure responsible and safe contracting takes place. At no time may your role/grade described either on your uniform, equipment or vehicle livery, documentation or anywhere else, mislead the public or give the impression that your skills and/or scope of practice are beyond their legitimacy.
8.1.2. Anyone who carries out work for an employer which actively misleads the public, contracting bodies or organisations either intentionally or unintentionally will be subject to sanctions from the HPAC and may be referred to the police for suspicion of conspiracy to commit fraud.
8.2. HPAC notes additional competencies beyond those traditionally associated with clinician grade, but does not/cannot authorise the extended practice. The actual scope of practice is the responsibility of the individual and/or their employer with reference to the relevant law/guidelines/training/competencies in accordance with practice jurisdiction.
9. Safeguarding Alerts, Cautions, Suspensions and Reporting Concerns
9.1. Any outstanding or anticipated complaints must be declared by the registrant upon registration and during their time as an active registrant on HPAC.
9.2. All registrants are required to immediately self-report any investigations which reflect upon their clinical competency, professionalism or ability to practice within 15 days after the investigation is commenced.
9.3. HPAC fully co-operates with law enforcement agencies as well as all other statutory services within the UK and abroad. As such, if a concern is raised against a registrant on our registry in relation to a police investigation, HPAC is given expressed permission by the registrant to contact the police to verify if the allegations are hearsay or valid. If they are found to be valid and the registrant has not self-reported, this may result in an immediate interim suspension.
9.4. Concerns raised by a statutory service such as police, fire and rescue as NHS will result in an immediate and proportionate response in relation to the concern raised. Full liability for any subsequent legal action from the registrant reported falls to the organisation or service which submitted the concern to HPAC. HPAC may update the registrant status based on the outcome of the investigation being undertaken by the reporting statutory service or the decision of the courts should their decision be successfully challenged by the registrant. For example, if a registrant has been suspended or had a caution added to their registration in response to a credible safeguarding concern but is subsequently cleared the registration will be updated to reflect an active status without any active concerns.
9.5. HPAC accepts no liability for loss of earnings or reputation damage that may result from safeguarding or professional conduct concerns raised against a registrant. The individual or organisation reporting any concern or concerns accepts full liability for any subsequent actions a registrant may peruse in defence of their registration status or subsequent damages they may claim to encounter as a result. Resolution of such matters will not be via HPAC and must be settled between the complainant and the registrant either in court or via their elected representatives.
9.6. Inline with the safeguarding act the law does not prevent the sharing of sensitive, personal information between organisations where the public interest served outweighs the public interest served by protecting confidentiality – for example, where a registrant has falsely claimed to possess qualifications to practice as a clinician by falsifying, misleading or withholding key information that would prevent their registration as said clinician. As such safeguarding concerns may be shared both with organisations registered on HPAC and with external organisations relevant to the providing of safe care to the public.
9.7. By registering with Health Practice Associates Council CIC, you agree to and accept that if a serious concern is reported to HPAC regarding your fitness to practice safely, we may at any time activate a caution or suspension notification on your profile. This may be reflected on your public profile and until such time as the matter is resolved.
9.8. If suspension notification is active account access will be suspended until such time it is removed.
9.9. HPAC will endeavour to co-operate with any police or court requests for registrant information. As far as is essentially relevant to a police investigation documents supplied to HPAC by a registrant may be shared with the police or courts without notifying the registrant.
9.10. By registering with HPAC or submitting a concern you accept in full this process and any subsequent liabilities.
10. Event Log
10.1. As part of HPAC's safeguarding system, all organisations a registrant is associated may view all event logs entered by third party organisations. HPAC accepts no liability of these comments, and it is up to the registrant and complainant to resolve them.
11. Code of Conduct
11.1. HPAC is currently outlining its own code of conduct, however, all registrants must conduct themselves in accordance with the code of conduct, standards, performance and ethics of the employing or commissioning organisation.
11.2. Registrants must be honest in all their dealings with HPAC, Employers, commissioning organisations and service users. Registrants must self-report any changes in their circumstances that could affect their fitness to practice.
12. Complaint Handling
12.1. If you wish to complain about any user content posted on our website by a third party, or any other content which appears on our site, please contact us via the website contact form or at the postal address given at the beginning of these Terms and Conditions.
12.2. Please precisely identify the user content or other content about which you are notifying us, including the page of the site on which it is posted. You should provide us with full details of your complaint and, if you are alleging copyright infringement, evidence that you own the copyright. We will then review the material and decide whether it complies with the content standards set out in our Acceptable Use Policy. We will deal appropriately with any user content or other content which, in our opinion, violates those content standards. We will endeavour to inform you of the outcome of our review within a reasonable time of receiving your complaint.
12.3. HPAC as a rule will not investigate anonymous complaints.
12.4. The complaints form must be completed in full and can be found on the home page or via this link: https://www.HPAC-uk.org/concerns_report_form
12.5. All complaints received which meet the threshold for investigation will be shared with relevant organisations/stakeholders.
13. Account Closure
13.1. A minimum of 30 days notice is required for deregistration or closure of your account, due to the nature of the register, this can only be done by completing an account deregistration request form either online or recorded telephone exit interview. You agree that in the interest of public safeguarding, a record of all qualification evidence and statements supplied will be retained by HPAC for up to five years from the date of account closure. You agree that if you ask us to deregister your account access to your profile will be revoked upon closure request to prevent data alteration. If a registrant has been shown to supply HPAC with fraudulent information or if a safeguarding concern is successfully raised against registrants who have already deregistered their account, this information will be shared with relevant law enforcement and any other agencies related to public safeguarding in line with the safeguarding act. If proven evidence of fraud, patient endangerment or conduct which would have resulted in a caution or similar notification being applied to your account is submitted to HPAC during the five year period after account closure, your public profile will be updated with a warning reflecting the gravitas of the proven incident.
13.2. If you are a verified member and you choose to close your account, you must return your Card to Chantry House, 22 Upperton Road, Eastbourne, BN21 1BF within 15 days of account closure request. Proof of postage is required, if you fail to return your ID card, you agree to pay £30 for failure to return the card. If closing your account before the completion of your annually renewed 12-month contract cycle, the remaining months must be paid in full. Additionally, any outstanding payments for additional services purchased from HPAC on a payment plan will be charged for in full immediately via your registered payment card or bank account.
13.3. Your account will no longer appear as verified and will be marked as expired or archived.
13.4. You may only re-apply to the HPAC Council register after 12 months have passed since registration.
13.5. If your account is marked as expired, suspended or has been archived, you may not present yourself as an active member of the register under any circumstances.
13.6. If your account is marked as expired, suspended or has been archived, you may not under any circumstances make use of your HPAC ID card, the HPAC logo or any other HPAC related material be it physical, digital or otherwise to present yourself as an active or endorsed member of the register, either directly or indirectly.
14. RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN
14.1. Inline with the safeguarding act and in the agreement of the principles relating to the purposes and mechanisms for the HPAC registry to be effective as a national safeguarding tool:
14.2. YOU ARE EXPRESSLY AGREEING THAT YOUR DETAILS CAN BE HELD AND SHARED (WHERE RELEVANT TO PUBLIC SAFETY/INTEREST) IN FULL UP TO FIVE YEARS AFTER ACCOUNT CLOSURE OR REQUESTING THAT YOU BE FORGOTTEN.
14.3. *ADDITIONALLY, YOU AGREE THAT HPAC MAY RECORD AND STORE THE BASIC STATUS OF YOUR ACCOUNT UPON CLOSURE IN PERPETUITY AS A REFERENCE POINT SHOULD YOU WISH TO RE-APPLY TO THE REGISTRY IN THE FUTURE.
14.4. *This includes your name, surname, grade, PIN number, uploaded documents, date of birth and departing status and reasons behind any concerns i.e. Caution/Suspended.
14.5. All new applications which become dormant due to lack of response or interaction from individuals during the verification process will be archived after 60 days of dormancy and stored on our system in line with the aforementioned terms.
15. Data Protection Officer
Satswana Ltd
Pembroke House, St Christopher's Place Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 0NH
Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 0NH
Email:[email protected]
Tel:01252 516898
16. Intellectual Property
16.1. By submitting user content to the website, a non-exclusive license is granted to the Health Practice Associates Council to use that user content, except where such user content consists of a private message. Although you will still own the copyright in your own user content, we will have the right to freely use, edit, alter, reproduce, publish and/or distribute the material contained in your user content on the website. Any such license is free of charge, perpetual and capable of sub-license.
16.2. We keep this information securely, and will not reveal it to any associated third parties. In addition, all members of Health Practice Associates Council staff and volunteers are bound by our data protection policy.
16.3. We will never sell or rent registrant personal information to third parties. Organisations making use of this site agree to our data protection policy and are fully liable and accountable for their use of registrant information. Organisations can only access detailed information regarding registrants if expressly granted access by that individual via the association request system. We also receive requests for statistics about the number of Health Practice Associates Council by, for example, age, area, or gender. We do sometimes release these statistics, but we make sure that no health practice associate can be identified.
16.4. The only information that we display about you on our public-facing register is your name, registration number, primary qualification, dates of current registration cycle, the approximate geographical area of practice, and any conditions on your registration.
16.5. We draw your attention to the Acceptable Use Policy and remind you of your obligation to ensure that any user content placed on the website complies with our content standards as set out in that Acceptable Use Policy. You must ensure that your user content does not infringe copyright, database right, trademark or intellectual property of any other person. By submitting user content to this website, you are warranting that you have the right to grant us the non-exclusive copyright license as mentioned above.
17. Disclaimer
17.1. All content on our site (including but not limited to user content) is provided for general information only without any guarantees, conditions or warranties as to its accuracy. It is not intended to amount to advice (of any nature) upon which you should rely. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content of our site.
17.2. Although we aim to update our site regularly, we are under no obligation to do so and any of the material on the site may be out of date at any given time.
18. Our Intellectual Property (IP)
18.1. Copyright in the information, data, content or other material displayed on this website is owned by Health Practice Associates Council and is managed and maintained by its software licence provider UbiquiCore Limited. Our copyright cannot be used for any commercial purpose without our prior written consent. Any copy must retain all copyright or other intellectual property notices contained in the original material. Images displayed on this website are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without our prior written consent. Logos, trademarks or other service marks displayed in this website may not be printed or downloaded except as part of the text of which they form a part.
18.2. All intellectual property of HPAC is protected by copyright law, and any attempt to replicate, recreate or otherwise emulate IP content on our site without our expressed permission is strictly prohibited and may result in legal action being taken.
18.3. All content on our site (including but not limited to user content) is provided for general information only without any guarantees, conditions or warranties as to its accuracy. It is not intended to amount to advice (of any nature) upon which you should rely. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content of our site.
19. Non-Compete
By applying to register with the Health Practice Associates Council and by continuing to make use of our site you confirm that you and/or your organisation are not currently directly or indirectly engaged in any competitive business related to the creation and/or maintenance of a non-statutory regulated register for roles within the UK who are currently on the HPAC register. This includes but is not limited to: (i) engaging in a business as an owner, partner, or agent, (ii)becoming an employee or third party that is engaged in such business, for-profit, not-for-profit or otherwise, (iii) soliciting any registrants or organisations on Health Practice Associates Council for the benefit of a third party that is engaged in such business.
20. Information sharing with external regulatory bodies
20.1. Where deemed relevant, HPAC can and will share details or concerns regarding an application/registration with other regulatory bodies we believe a registrant may be linked to.
20.2. HPAC may request information from regulatory bodies regarding registrants/applicants where deemed relevant.
20.3. HPAC has the right to refuse registration, suspend registration, apply a caution to an existing registration or any similar course of action if dishonesty, fraud or any failure to meet the standards of conduct, competency, and proficiency is detected.
20.4. HPAC may make a referral to a relevant external regulatory body based on information ascertained at any point during a registrant's involvement with HPAC where deemed necessary or in the public interest to do so.
21. Liability and limitation
21.1. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or for our fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.
21.2. We use reasonable endeavours to ensure that information on this website is accurate and up to date and to correct errors as soon as we are able to after becoming aware of them. We do not check, monitor or review, verify or endorse such material in any way. We are not responsible or liable for any loss or damage you may suffer or incur in connection with any information, content, material or data collected from or provided by third parties which are displayed on or are otherwise available from this website or any third party websites. Such information, content, material or data may be inaccurate, incomplete or out of date. It is your responsibility to check that such information, content, material or data is accurate, complete, correct, and up to date.
21.3. Any views, opinions, advice, reviews, ratings or comments on this website or any third party website which are made by third parties, do not represent our views, opinions or advice and should not be relied upon by you and are not checked, monitored, reviewed, verified or endorsed by us. We are not responsible or liable for any loss or damage you may suffer or incur in connection with such views, opinions, advice, reviews, ratings or comments, including in relation to their accuracy, truthfulness or completeness.
21.4. We do not give any warranty or guarantee that this website, any third-party website or any information, content, material or data on this website or any third party website is free from viruses, spyware, malicious software, Trojans worms, logic bombs or anything else which may have a contaminating, harmful or destructive effect on any technology. You must ensure that you use appropriate virus checking software. We are not responsible or liable for any loss or damage you may suffer or incur in this regard were caused by any third party.
21.5. We are not responsible or liable for any loss or damage you may suffer or incur in connection with your use of this website which is caused by any event beyond our reasonable control including the electronic transmission of information, content, material and data over the internet and the interception or description of it by others.
21.6. We are not responsible or liable for any indirect loss or damage you may suffer or incur in connection with your use of this website including any loss of savings you expect to make, loss of business or business opportunity or loss of profit or revenue or for any loss or damage you may suffer or incur in connection with your use of this website which was not foreseeable by us when you used this website.
21.7. We are not responsible for any loss or damage of any kind, however arising and whether caused by tort (including negligence), breach of contract or otherwise, even if foreseeable, provided that this condition shall not prevent claims for loss or damage to your tangible property or any other claims for indirect financial loss that are not excluded by any of the categories set out above.
21.8. Where our site contains links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources, and we expressly exclude liability for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them. You use any third-party sites and resources at your own risk, and you are responsible for assessing the suitability of any goods or services advertised by such third parties before signing up or placing an order for such goods or services.
21.9. Where you contract with a third party, they will be providing goods and services to you on their own Terms and Conditions. You must ensure you understand and agree to these Terms and Conditions before entering into a contract to obtain that product or service. We are not responsible or liable for any loss or damage you may suffer or incur in connection with the Terms and Conditions applying to any contract entered into by you with any third party in relation to any product or service or any acts, omissions, errors or defaults of any third party in connection with those Terms and Conditions.
22. Associated Organisations
22.1. By granting a third party organisation associate status, you agree to their making use of your information in the manner they deem fit. This includes but is not limited to the sharing and recording of clinical, operational, correctional, educational, complimentary and complaint-based information in relation to you. This information will be permanently recorded in the events segment of your profile, some or all of which may be made visible to other third-party organisations to whom you grant associate status.
22.2. Please be aware that, with the exception of private messages, all content you post on our site is available to view by organisations you grant associate status, which means that it is visible to all organisational users of our site to whom you grant associate status. Please do not disclose any personal information on our site which you do not wish to make public. A limited version of your information will also be publicly available to view, which means that it is visible to public users of our site. This includes if your profile is deregistered, suspended or has been restricted in any manner HPAC administration.
22.3. If you would like to restrict how much of your profile information can be seen by other users, you can do so by editing your associated organisations in your profile settings section of this website.
23. Jurisdiction and applicable law
23.1. The English Courts will have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim arising from or related to, a visit to our site although we retain the right to bring proceedings against you for breach of these conditions in your country of residence or any other relevant country.
23.2. These terms of use and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales.
24. Variations
24.1. The content of the pages of this website is for general information and use only. We may revise these terms of use at any time by amending this page. You are expected to check this page from time to time to take notice of any change we have made, as they are binding on you. Some of the provisions contained in these terms of use may also be superseded by provisions or notices published elsewhere on our website.
25. Use of HPAC banners and logo
25.1. If you would like to link to our site, please read the following conditions. The use of the HPAC banner and/or logo is subject to you agreeing to these terms:
25.2. Health Practice Associates Council are the sole owners of the HPAC logo. Your use of the logo acknowledges the Health Practice Associates Council ownership of the logo.
25.3. HealthPractice Associates Council reserves the right to take action against any use of the logo that does not conform to any of the conditions herein, or that infringes any intellectual property or other rights of Health Practice Associates Council or violates applicable law. All use of or the goodwill associated with the HPAC logo will convey to the benefit of the Health Practice Associates Council.
25.4. Use of the HPAC logo does not indicate or create any endorsement, approval, sponsorship or affiliation of or with your website by Health Practice Associates Council.
25.5. The HPAC logo is provided without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including without limitation, warranties of the title of non- infringement. Use of the logo is solely at your own risk.
25.6. Health Practice Associates Council hereby grants you a license to use the HPAC logo, provided that you agree:
25.7. The logo will be used solely for the purpose of linking to the HPAC website.
25.8. The link will always be an active link.
25.9. The HPAC logo will always stand alone and will not be combined with any other graphical elements.
25.10. The HPAC logo will not be altered in any manner, including its proportions, font, design, arrangement, colours or elements or animated, morphed or otherwise distorted in perspective or appearance.
25.11. The HPAC logo will not appear more prominently than your personal, company, product or service website name.
25.12. The HPAC logo will be displayed in a positive manner and will not be used in any way that adversely affects Health Practice Associates Council credibility.
25.13. You will not transfer, assign, sell, reproduce, distribute or otherwise exploit your link to us or your use of our logo.
25.14. The HPAC logo will appear as provided by Health Practice Associates Council.
25.15. The HPAC logo will not appear on any pages of websites including content or advertising for alcoholic beverages, tobacco, religious or political material or firearms.
25.16. The HPAC logo will not appear on pages including content, which Health Practice Associates Council finds in its sole discretion to be objectionable or which includes obscene, pornographic, violent, intolerant, tasteless, denigrating or sexually-oriented content or materials.
25.17. The HPAC logo will not create or give the appearance of creating an endorsement, approval, sponsorship, affiliation or recommendation of any product or service by Health Practice Associates Council
25.18. The use of phrases on your own website, online forums or on promotional material of any kind which imply endorsement of any kind by HPAC/Health Practice Associates Council must be approved in writing by Health Practice Associates Council.
25.19. The HPAC logo will not be used or displayed in any way that disparages Health Practice Associates Council or its software provider, infringes any intellectual property or other rights of Health Practice Associates Council, violates any national or international law, or diminishes or otherwise damages health Practice Associates Council goodwill in the logo.
25.20. Health Practice Associates Council reserves the right to make any change to the information and/or license provided herein at any time for any reason. You acknowledge and agree that you are responsible for keeping up with any such changes.
25.21. Health Practice Associates Council also reserves the right to revoke the logo license for any reason, in which case you agree to remove the link and stop the use of the logo within 2 business days of notice of revocation. In such a case, you will be prohibited from reinstating the link or using the logo without further written permission from Health Practice Associates Council.
26. Agreement to HPAC terms and policy
26.1. If you select free or paid for registration to our website, we do insist that all users abide by our rules and policies. When you register with our site, you confirm that you accept and agree on the terms of our website Use, our Privacy Policy, our Acceptable Use Policy and our Cookie Policy.
26.2. The continued use of our Site constitutes your agreement and understanding, and your use of this site is subject to the aforementioned policies and that you understand what conduct and content is and is not acceptable on our site.
27. Miscellaneous
27.1. HPAC makes no warranty or representation that any product or service referred to on this website or any service we provide is available or otherwise appropriate for use outside of the United Kingdom. If you choose to use this website from locations outside the United Kingdom, you do so at your sole risk, and you are responsible for compliance with all applicable local laws.
27.2. If any provision of these terms is held to be unlawful, invalid or unenforceable, that provision shall be deemed deleted from these terms and the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions of these terms shall not be affected.
27.3. these terms constitute the entire agreement between you and us relating to your access to and use of this website and supersede any prior agreements (including any previous terms of use of this website).
28. Provision of false or misleading information is an offence
28.1. Any registrants identified as having purposefully supplied false or misleading information in respect of their identity, DBS, clinical qualifications or blue light driving entitlement either preceding registration acceptance or post-acceptance will be reported to the relevant authorities on grounds of fraud as well as public endangerment and legal action may be taken against them by Health Practice Associates Council CIC.
28.2. In line with the safeguarding act 2014, any registrants found to have provided false or misleading information will be subsequently reported to associated organisations both nationally and internationally.
28.3. A suspension notice will be applied to your public profile and remain live for a minimum of five years.
28.4. For clarification the presence of an interim suspension, expired or inactive notice on a registration is not an indication that a registrant is guilty of any offence.
28.5. HPAC accepts no liability for loss of earnings or reputation during this period, if you do not agree to these terms, please do not register. Please ensure you have read our full terms and conditions before registering, thank you.
Privacy Policy
HPAC ("us", "we", or "our") operates the www.hpa-uk.org website (the "Service").
This page informs you of our policies regarding the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information when you use our Service.
We will not use or share your information with anyone except as described in this Privacy Policy.
We use your Personal Information for providing and improving the Service. By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. Unless otherwise defined in this Privacy Policy, terms used in this Privacy Policy have the same meanings as in our Terms and Conditions, accessible at www.hpa-uk.org
Information Collection And Use
While using our Service, we may ask you to provide us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify you. Personally, identifiable information may include but is not limited to, your email address, name, phone number, postal address, other information ("Personal Information").
Log Data
We may also collect information that your browser sends whenever you visit our Service ("Log Data"). This Log Data may include information such as your computer's Internet Protocol ("IP") address, browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages and other statistics.
Cookies
Cookies are files with a small amount of data, which may include an anonymous unique identifier. Cookies are sent to your browser from a website and stored on your computer's hard drive.
We use "cookies" to collect information. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our Service.
Service Providers
We may employ third party companies and individuals to facilitate our Service, to provide the Service on our behalf, to perform Service-related services or to assist us in analysing how our Service is used.
These third parties have access to your Personal Information only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.
Security
The security of your Personal Information is important to us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. As such, we make no warranties as to the level of security afforded to your data, except that we will always act in accordance with the relevant UK and EU legislation.
Links To Other Sites
Our Service may contain links to other sites that are not operated by us. If you click on a third party link, you will be directed to that third party's site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit.
We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.
Children's Privacy
Our Service does not address anyone under the age of 13 ("Children").
We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your Children has provided us with Personal Information, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Information from children under age 13 without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers.
Changes To This Privacy Policy
We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page.
You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.
If we make any material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you either through the email address you have provided us or by placing a prominent notice on our website.
Jurisdiction
This Policy shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.
Further Terms and Conditions ("Terms")
Please read these Terms and Conditions ("Terms", "Terms and Conditions") carefully before using the www.hpa-uk.org website (the "Service") operated by HPA ("us", "we", or "our").
Your access to and use of the Service is conditioned on your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms. These Terms apply to all visitors, users and others who access or use the Service.
By accessing or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you disagree with any part of the terms, then you may not access the Service.
Accounts
When you create an account with us, you must provide us with information that is accurate, complete, and current at all times. Failure to do so constitutes a breach of the Terms, which may result in immediate termination of your account on our Service.
You are responsible for safeguarding the password that you use to access the Service and for any activities or actions under your password, whether your password is with our
Service or a third-party service.
You agree not to disclose your password to any third party. You must notify us immediately upon becoming aware of any breach of security or unauthorized use of your account.
Links To Other Web Sites
Our Service may contain links to third-party websites or services that are not owned or controlled by HPA.
HPA has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party websites or services. You further acknowledge and agree that HPA shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such web sites or services.
We strongly advise you to read the terms and conditions and privacy policies of any third-party websites or services that you visit.
Termination
We may terminate or suspend access to our Service immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason whatsoever, including without limitation if you breach the Terms.
All provisions of the Terms which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.
We may terminate or suspend your account immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason whatsoever, including without limitation if you breach the Terms.
Upon termination, your right to use the Service will immediately cease. If you wish to terminate your account, you may simply discontinue using the Service.
All provisions of the Terms which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.
Governing Law
These Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the United Kingdom, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.
Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of those rights. If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court, the remaining provisions of these Terms will remain in effect. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between us regarding our Service, and supersede and replace any prior agreements we might have between us regarding the Service.
Changes
We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. If a revision is a material, we will try to provide at least 60 days notice prior to any new terms taking effect. What constitutes a material change will be determined at our sole discretion.
By continuing to access or use our Service after those revisions become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised terms. If you do not agree to the new terms, please stop using the Service.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us by email [email protected] or by phone 0208 0048226.
Intellectual Property and Copy Rights reserved (2014 – 2021) Terms updated 28/05/2021