Clare Canale, PMG Chair, joins the Healthcare and Assistive Technology Society Advisory Board

The Healthcare and Assistive Technology Society (the Society) is a body created to provide accreditation for people working in the assistive technology sector who are not allied to a professional body. The British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA) has long supported the development of a register of accredited individuals, initially with the BHTA Registration Scheme, followed by the Assistive Technology Practitioners Society (ATPS) which was rebranded in 2014 as the Healthcare and Assistive Technology Society. BHTA remains the parent company and provides financial support, but is not involved in the day to day running or decision making of the Society.

The Society is aiming to hold the Professional Standards Authority Register, and requires an Advisory Board as a means of maintaining public trust and confidence in those working within the sector. The Advisory Board is led by the Society’s Patron, Baroness Glenys Thornton, and has responsibility for endorsing the training and education policy, credentialing opportunities, and overseeing the disciplinary process.

The Society is made up of eight elected members representing the sector, the public, educators, clinicians and the public sector, plus the Patron and the Chair of the Society Council.

Advisory Board members:
Baroness Glenys Thornton, Patron
Kay Purnell, Chair of the Society Council
Darren Awang, Coventry University
Dr Sally Gosling, Chartered Society of Physiotherapists
Ian McCreath, Alzheimer’s Society
Alison Somek, Somek and Associates
Prof Duncan Eaton, All Party Parliamentary Health Group
Julia Scott, British Association of Occupational Therapists
Clare Canale, Posture and Mobility Group

The Society is expected to meet twice a year in London.