News
Click here for the CNHC leaflet
Click here for the Registration form (AoR Fellow, Full and Associate members only)
Members have been kept fully informed of the role that such a register offers which is essentially for the protection of the Public. The AoR welcomed voluntary regulation as your current and potential Clients can be assured that practitioners on the register operate safely, meet and maintain the national standards of conduct and competence. Registration with CNHC will demonstrate that registrants have nationally recognised skills and knowledge, and that they are regulated through bona fide codes of conduct. This will identify them as professional as opposed to weekend/short course Reflexologists who won't be able to register.
AoR members who wish to register with CNHC can do so at a discounted rate. There is an early bird discount for applicants and the usual £15 administration fee will not apply if the application is made on-line through the AoR. If you do not have your own email address you can use a relative or Friend's address instead.
The register is also open for therapists practising
- Massage Therapy
- Nutritional Therapy
- Aromatherapy
The AoR are in the process of liaising with Professional Associations representing these disciplines to hopefully agree a qualification 'swap' where we provide each other with confirmation of qualifications. This will help members who have more than one of the therapies that the register will cover as they will not have to duplicate applications to CNHC. In the meantime however we will primarily deal with reflexology. Please ensure that you tick all the relevant therapies on the request to register form and the declaration box authorising your approval to contact the other therapy associations to confirm your 'other' qualifications.
What do I do next?
Complete the request to register form available above. The AoR will then forward details to CNHC.
You will then receive an email from CNHC confirming that we have verified the disciplines that meet the CNHC criteria. This email will also invite you to apply to register via the CNHC's website.
You will then complete your application online and pay your registration fee. You will then receive a registration certificate and your details will be added to the CNHC register.
CNHC and the AoR encourage members to act swiftly and the first registrants will be offered an opportunity to raise their profile in your local media.
If you have any queries please contact CNHC on the contact details below;
Email: info@cnhc.org.uk
Website: www.cnhc.org.uk
Address: CNHC, 83 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0HW.
Why should I register?
Registration with CNHC provides you with a nationally recognised quality mark for your work.
By registering with CNHC you will be able to demonstrate to the general public and to other healthcare providers that you conform to national standards of practice in your work.
Practitioners on the CNHC Register will be able to display the CNHC quality mark, which will become the general public's guide to identifying best practice in complementary healthcare provision. The quality mark can be displayed where you practice and in your publicity materials such as leaflets and websites.
Members of the public will be able to confirm your registration via the CNHC website, providing a quick and easy route for them to validate the competence and safety of complementary healthcare practitioners.
We are in discussion with NHS and private healthcare commissioners about the CNHC quality mark becoming the prerequisite for referrals to complementary healthcare practitioners. Many are keen to work with CNHC to use the quality mark as an independent validation of standards.
How long does the "Early Bird" offer last?
Once the Register opens to your discipline, you have 6 months to take advantage of the "Early Bird" offer.
What will it cost me to register with CNHC?
(Early Bird Offer for Reflexology expires on 28th February 2010) £30 for one discipline, £40 for two disciplines, £50 for three disciplines, £60 for four disciplines. From 1st March 2010, the fee will increase to £45 for one discipline, £55 for two, £65 for three, £75 for four)
What will I need to pay upon renewal?
Your registration will be due for renewal one year after you register with CNHC the cost for a further year will be £45, plus £5 for each additional discipline, up to a maximum of £60. You can register for up to 5 disciplines, with no charge for the fifth discipline.
Please note: There will be an additional £10 administration charge for those who do not wish to register on-line.
How can I use the CNHC logo?
If you would like to use the CNHC logo next to your own logo on your headed paper or business cards, we can put you in touch with our designers so that they can advise on how best to present the two logos. Please contact info@cnhc.org.uk for contact details.
How can I use the CNHC quality mark?
Once you are admitted to the CNHC Register, you can download or will be sent a certificate for public display, incorporating the CNHC quality mark. The quality mark provides an independent indications of quality to those wishing to use complementary and natural health services. You will also be able to use the quality mark on websites, promotional literature and elsewhere as confirmation to the public that you meet the standards set by the CNHC. By using the CNHC quality mark you are demonstrating to members of the general public and other healthcare providers that you conform to national standards of practice in your work. Click here for a copy of the quality mark and the terms of use.
A number of professional associations were actively involved in the work of the Federal Working Group, which recommended the establishment of CNHC as a single voluntary regulator for the complementary healthcare field. CNHC is working closely with a number of professional associations to deliver discounted Registration Fees to PA members, via Early Bird agreements. PAs are also involved in developing CNHC's work through their involvement in our Profession Specific Boards.
How is CNHC different from my Professional Association?
Answer: The CNHC is a regulatory body, whose main function is public protection by setting standards for safe practice. The main function of a Professional Association is support for its members.
Should I continue to be a member of a professional association in my field?
Yes, CNHC strongly advises all practitioners to be members of a professional association (PA)as membership of a PA offers a range of services for the benefit of their members, including support for professional development and training, information services, insurance and so on.
Why should I register with CNHC?
How will people know that I am on the CNHC Register?
When you register you will be sent a certificate, incorporating the CNHC quality mark, for public display, showing the details of your entry on the CNHC Register. You will also be able to use the quality mark in your publicity materials. People will also be able to search the Register on-line to check that you are registered.
What are the benefits of being registered?
Registration with CNHC will be seen as the 'gold standard for complementary healthcare practitioners. Members of the public will quickly be able to confirm that a complementary healthcare professional has met CNHC's standards for safe practice. Other healthcare professionals will also use the register as a mark of quality when considering referrals to a complementary healthcare professional.
For those of you who wish to register with a voluntary regualtory body, the AoR are delighted to announce that the CNHC (our recommended regulatory body) opened its register to reflexologists on Monday 24th August! Reflexology is the fourth discipline for which the register has opened this year, joining massage therapy, nutritional therapy and aromatherapy.
As you may already know, regulation is yet another opportunity to assure the public that you meet national standards of conduct and competence. This reassures and protects the public when they are seeking a therapist for treatments. The AoR, in collaboration with other professional bodies, have supported and contributed to regulation being put in place by bodies such as the CNHC to ensure that when the public seek a reflexologist for treatment, they find a competent, insured reflexologist who will give them excellent quality of treatment .
The CNHC is planning to open further registers this year including Yoga therapy, Shiatsu, Alexander technique, Bowen technique,Cranial therapy, Naturopathy and Reiki. For more information on the CNHC, please click here.
We are currently looking at the registration process with CNHC, and hope to offer you the chance to register very soon. Please do keep checking the website and our e-mail updates for further information and announcements regarding registration with the CNHC, which will be coming soon!
The AoR are pleased to announce that the National Occupational Standards are now finished and available online via the Skills for Health website.
Please click here to access them!
You will remember that a number of GCMT Council members notified the CNHC that there was an email petition on the Number 10 site which raised the issue of the CNHC in relation to safety.
Advertising your services is a beneficial activity for your business. A few Association of Reflexologists’ members however have experienced what it is like to deal with a complaint against them via the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Please click the link to read an article in the Daily Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/spaspy/4612113/Spa-Spy-Investigating-the-curative-claims-of-wellbeing-retreats-worldwide.html where they put a spy into a spa resort and had reflexology for Oedema. The treatments worked really well.
For the latest update on the National Occupational Standards from Skills for Health, please click here.
Let's CAMpaign for NHS Funded Treatments!
What’s the campaign about?
A year long project called Get Well UK NI enabled GPs to refer chronically ill patients to complementary therapists for NHS funded treatments. This was the first project of its kind in the UK to measure the impact of complementary therapies on both patients and the NHS service. Practitioners were recruited through a two stage application process to meet Get Well UK’s criteria for practitioners who work with the NHS. They focused on musculo-skeletal conditions and mental health conditions as these two areas are where the NHS needs to try some fresh approaches.
For further information regarding Let's CAMpaign please contact Doreen Baker on 01823 351010.
Click here for a Press Release to send to your local media.
Click here to read the NI Pathways to Health Report
To access this news item, please click here.
Please click here for information on The Israeli Forum of Reflexology's 'The First International Symposium on Reflexology and Cancer'. This is an article that was published in Footprints, the British Reflexology Association's journal. This report is written by Sarah Bain NBRA MAR, one of our members.
Please note: we apologise for the poor picture quality of the article.
Click here to read an article on the Liverpool Echo website about Reflexologist Tracey Turton.
At the Association of Reflexologists, members now have the opportunity to recommend Full or Associate members to us. If your friend then takes out a Full or Associate membership with us, you will receive a £10 Marks and Spencer voucher as a little thank you from us! If you would like more information click here.
A few members have contacted us regarding being contacted by the Performing Rights Society asking for payment of a licence fee if that are playing music in their practice. I have spoken to the PRS today (2/9/08) and I have been informed that if you are playing music while a Client is present you are required to pay the fee. For more information please call 0800 648 4828
Business Link provides the information, advice and support you need to start, maintain and grow a business. It provides information and advice to help customers make the most of their opportunities. Rather than providing all the advice and help itself, it fast-tracks customers to the expert help they need.
To find your nearest operator, either search by your postcode click here or call 0845 600 9 006.
The AoR has been advised that the General Regulatory Council for Complementary Therapies (GRCCT) has issued a press release to therapists, NHS healthcare commissioners and providers that is regarded by the AoR as highly inaccurate. The AoR wishes to inform its membership that it disassociates itself from this press release and its content.
The AoR has a responsibility to bring to the attention of its members all information relating to the voluntary regulation of the 12 complementary therapies in an unbiased and transparent manner. However where the Association believes that the information generated is inaccurate, misleading or defamatory it will take steps to ensure that its members are protected from its content.
The head of the UK's first regulator for complementary medicine has promised to get tough with the industry and drive out cowboy therapists.
Patients who opt for complementary healthcare need to know their practitioner is properly trained, understands the limits of his or her competence, and will treat them safely.
Members will be aware that we have been updating you on a regular basis on the progress and development of voluntary regulation and so the announcement in January from one of the regulators (Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council – CNHC) should have not come as a surprise.
The AoR has for the past two years have been involved in developments and have been monitoring the formation and development of the various emerging regulators.
So….What is this all about?
The main function of a regulator is to protect the Public and practitioners are able to voluntary register with any of the three regulators. Information on all three including structure and costs are available on the website or by calling the Taunton office.
Do I have to register?
Individual practitioners are able to voluntary register on the schemes. Please note that all three are entirely voluntary schemes and it is your choice as to whether you wish to join.
Is this a good thing?
The AoR is committed to supporting regulation for complementary healthcare and this has been demonstrated by our full participation in the Reflexology Forum and our considered response to the Federal Working Group Progress Report. We believe that there are a number of benefits such as:
• Belonging to such a register offers enhanced credibility with Clients
• Will increase public confidence in practitioners
• The medical professional bodies respect such schemes
• As yet there is no evidence to suggest that joining any regulatory board will facilitate employment within the NHS although this will be considered by the Regulators and would be a definite benefit to registrants.
Will the AoR recommend a specific Register?
The final choice of who to register with is obviously yours and we hope that the information provided will enable you to make an informed choice. The AoR however has established a good relationship with CNHC who launched its register in January this year. Having studied the structure and processes of all three regulators we feel that CNHC is probably the regulator that may be more suited to our members needs.
How and when will the CNHC register be available to Reflexologists?
At the time of writing the register is not yet open for reflexology and we hope to be in a position to inform members shortly.
What will it cost?
The proposed fees will depend on (1) whether you can take advantage of an arrangement we may make with CNHC as a Professional Association, (2) whether you are able to claim an Early Bird discount when reflexology becomes eligble to register, and (3) the number of disciplines or therapies you want to register. If you can join via an arrangement ww may have the cost in the first year will be £30 for your first discipline/therapy plus £10 for each subsequent discipline, up to a maximum of £60. When you renew your Registration, the cost will be £30 plus £5 for each additional discipline, up to a maximum of £50. If you cannot take advantage of an arrangement with a Professional Association, you can still apply on-line. The fee will be a £15 Application Fee, followed by an annual Registration Fee of £30, plus £10 for each additional discipline/therapy, up to a maximum of £60. When you renew your Registration, the cost will be £30 plus £5 for each additional discipline, up to a maximum of £50. If you are applying within the Early Bird period (within six months of the Register opening to your discipline)the cost is £30 for the year. After that, the cost of initial registration is £45.
What shall I do now?
The AoR advises members to wait for further information and guidance prior to joining a Register. We will keep members updated via:
• The website
• Information to Area Groups and Accredited Centres
• Reflexions
• Emails to members.
Fore those of you who wish to be updated by post please call the Taunton office.
Finally!
Please remember that this is an exciting period of development for our profession and we will continue to represent the interests of both our members and the profession in a supportive and dynamic way.
Doreen Baker MCIM
Chief Executive AoR
A Japanese study into reflexology has made a significant breakthrough in establishing a scientific link between reflexology areas in the foot and parts of the human brain.
Disruptive schoolchildren in south London will be given foot massages by therapists to help get their aggreesiveness under control.
