The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, announced today (April 19) that a full accreditation status has been granted to the Hong Kong Institute of Speech Therapists (HKIST) under the Pilot Accredited Registers Scheme for Healthcare Professions (AR Scheme), authorising the institute as the accredited healthcare professional body responsible for administering a register for the speech therapy profession. Speech therapy is the first profession accredited under the Pilot AR Scheme.

     Speaking at a reception held for healthcare professions, Professor Chan recognised the importance of the AR Scheme in ensuring the professional standards of healthcare professionals and protecting the well-being of the public by providing information for them to make informed decisions.

     "Under the principle of professional autonomy, the Government launched the AR Scheme, which aims to enhance the existing society-based registration arrangements of healthcare professions currently not subject to statutory registration, with a view to promoting good service standards for the professions and providing more information to members of the public," Professor Chan said.

     According to the assessment of the independent Accreditation Agent of the Pilot AR Scheme, the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (JCSPHPC), the HKIST has met the accreditation standards covering governance, operational effectiveness, risk management and quality improvement, standards for registrants, educational and training requirements, and management of the register. Upon recommendation of the JCSPHPC, the Department of Health (DH) granted full accreditation status to the HKIST.

     As the accredited healthcare professional body, the HKIST is authorised by the DH to use an Accreditation Mark on its website and issues Certificates of Registration to its members for easy identification by the public. Members of the HKIST can use the title "Member of Register of Speech Therapists accredited by Department of Health" on their name cards.

     In addition to administering a register for the profession, the HKIST is also responsible for improving the professional competency of the speech therapist profession and handling complaints against its members.

     To ensure continuous enhancement of operation, the HKIST will be reviewed by the Accreditation Agent at the end of the first year of accreditation on its implementation actions for recommendation to continue with full accreditation status for three years.

     More information about the HKIST and its register of members is available on the websites of the HKIST (www.hkist.org.hk) and the DH (www.ars.gov.hk).

     Under the Pilot AR Scheme, four other healthcare professions, namely audiology, clinical psychology, dietetics and educational psychology, have also been preliminarily assessed to meet the criteria for an accreditation survey to be conducted in phases. The JCSPHPC has been providing training for these professions and the accreditation process is expected to commence in phases in 2018, depending on the readiness of each profession.

     The Government will continue to forge ahead with the Scheme with a view to paving the way for mapping out a statutory registration regime for these professions.

Ends/Thursday, April 19, 2018
Issued at HKT 19:40

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