ACP-UK rejects the BPS Guidance ‘Best Practice in Psychology Recruitment’ inasmuch as it recommends that all such appointments, as the default position, should generally consider and potentially recruit any applied psychologist to a clinical psychology post. The reasons for ACP-UK’s stance are as follows:

1. Most applied psychologist roles in the NHS require, specifically, the competencies associated with clinical psychology training including extensive knowledge of the NHS, multidisciplinary working, healthcare profession politics and managerial culture, mental health risk assessment and clinical formulation within these contexts as well as a broad range of therapeutic approaches. Appointing individuals to such posts, on the basis of the generic applied policy mandated by the BPS, fails to recognise competency differences between the different HCPC domains, threatens the welfare of vulnerable client groups, the quality of clinical psychology services and consequently the reputation of the profession.
2. Part of the reason for the present recruitment difficulties within clinical psychology in England is the progressive reduction in senior posts as part of cost-savings in Trusts, resulting in the absence of career pathways and increasing numbers of clinical psychologists leaving the NHS for the private sector. There has been a failure of leadership to address this problem. Generic recruitment will not solve this problem.
3. There are some cases where a post requires a competency set which is not specific to clinical psychology and where it is perfectly appropriate to appoint another applied psychology practitioner. Such cases should be very clearly specified on the basis of competency as agreed with a senior clinical psychologist within the Trust or service in which the post is located.
4. The BPS guidance is aimed primarily at appointments to clinical psychologist posts. We note that appointments of Educational Psychologists, Forensic, Occupational Psychologists and Sport and Exercise Psychologists are not recruited on this basis but on the relevant domain registration with HCPC. As a matter of principle and integrity, we would expect the BPS to be arguing that clinical psychologists are also eligible (without further training) to be appointed to Educational, Forensic, Occupational and Sports and Exercise Psychologist posts. They clearly are not, because the respective BPS Divisions would, rightly, react very badly to such a suggestion.

We consider that the BPS has exceeded the authority given to it by its Royal Charter and Statutes by intervening in the employment practices of the National Health Service and other employers of clinical psychologists. ACP-UK advises NHS Heads of Service and clinical psychology services managers that they are not bound by the BPS Guidance.