Practitioners on accredited registers have potential to make 'significant contribution' to public health - report
BANT welcomes Royal Society for Public Health recognition of practitioners registered with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council.
The British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy (BANT) welcomes the news that the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) has recognised that practitioners registered with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) support public health in the UK, by encouraging their positive lifestyle changes that could improve their health and wellbeing.
A report, released by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) and RSPH looked at the potential impact that the ‘untapped resource’ of practitioners on Accredited Registers (Ars) could have on the nation’s public health. Practitioners on accredited registers, such as BANT members, have the potential to make a significant contribution to public health – one which, according to RSPH Chief Executive Shirley Cramer and PSA Chief Executive Harry Cayton, we can “ill afford to ignore.”
The PSA/RSPH report made a key recommendation that AR practitioners have the authority to make direct NHS referrals, in appropriate cases, to ease the administrative burden on GP surgeries.
CNHC Chair Mike Watson commented: “We take special pride in the role CNHC has played in making this report happen. The report found that because practitioners on accredited registers build relationships of trust with their client and have comparatively long appointments, they are uniquely suited to offer brief interventions and ‘effective signposting’ for health concerns.”
A typical consultation with a Nutrition Practitioner tends to take an hour. This longer time helps build relationships of trust with clients. This confirms that BANT nutrition practitioners are recognised by the Professional Standards Authority to be as competent as other traditional healthcare providers. It has been recognised that they can make a difference by working together with healthcare providers as part of multidisciplinary teams under NHS commissioning.
BANT Chair Miguel Toribio Mateas commented: “I would like to congratulate the CNHC on behalf of BANT Council. It is notable that of the 23 Accredited Registers in existence when the project began, CNHC is the only one to be quoted in the RSPH report (please see page 8, link to the full report below). Additionally, of eight individual practitioners who are quoted, five are CNHC registrants, and one is a member of BANT. It highlights the fact that what BANT members do goes far beyond the provision of dietary advice.
BANT Nutrition Practitioners practise lifestyle medicine, described as the application of behaviour changes to benefit health and prevent disease, based on the knowledge of how diet, nutrition and the environment interact with our genes to promote long-term stability and resilience at cellular level. Registered Nutrition Practitioners are the key workforce asset to harness 21st century lifestyle medicine to tackle the rising tide of obesity, type 2 diabetes, dementia and other chronic diseases of ageing, and other CNHC registrants further support the changes needed for an individual to stay healthy.”
BANT-member Registered Nutritional Therapists are regulated by the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC). The CNHC holds an Accredited Voluntary Register (AVR) for the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA). The PSA oversees statutory bodies and accredits organisations holding voluntary registers for health and social care occupations in the UK. By choosing BANT nutrition practitioner, registered with the CNHC, you can be confident that they are properly trained, qualified and insured.
BANT recommends that you choose a Registered Nutritional Therapist who has undertaken training at an accredited course thereby ensuring necessary training to understand the theory and practice of nutritional therapy.
Nutritional therapy is the application of nutrition science in the promotion of health, peak performance and individual care. It is a progressive approach to health optimisation. BANT Registered Nutrition Practitioners take into account individuality that enables personalisation of dietary advice based on the most up-to-date research available. They do not suggest ‘one-size-fits-all’ advice following the health trend of the moment.
Looking for a BANT Registered Nutritional Therapist is easy; just click on the link for a full listing of our Registered Nutritional Therapists area by area: http://bant.org.uk/bant/jsp/practitionerSearch.faces.
For a full copy of the report, click here.
