CHRE adds advice on boundaries

The Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence has urged healthcare professionals to take care not to stray into unacceptable sexual behaviour with patients in its latest guidance.

The health profession's watchdog has published three documents on clear sexual boundaries between healthcare professionals and patients, having been commissioned by the Department of Health, in consultation with regulators including the GOC.

CHRE chief executive Harry Cayton said: 'We hope that this common sense guidance will bring clarity to a difficult area, helping those who work in regulation and healthcare to prevent sexual boundary breaches by healthcare professionals.'

He added that the first document was guidance for regulators on the responsibilities of healthcare professionals. 'We will be asking the professional regulatory bodies to issue their own guidance, specific to their registrants, on the basis of the principles that we set out.'