Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Adult at risk
- An adult who, because of needs for care or support, may be less able to protect themselves from abuse, harm or neglect.
- Bank worker
- A member of staff who works flexible or ad hoc shifts as and when needed, rather than to a fixed contract.
- Best interests
- A decision made for someone who cannot decide for themselves, choosing the option that is best for them.
- Capacity (mental capacity)
- Whether a person can understand and make a particular decision for themselves at the time it needs to be made.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Chaperone (impartial chaperone)
- A trained member of the clinical team present during an intimate procedure to support the patient and act as an independent safeguard for both patient and practitioner.
- Companion
- A family member, friend, partner or carer the patient brings for personal reassurance, who is not a trained, impartial chaperone.
- Cosmetic Practice Standards Authority (CPSA)
- The body that sets the clinical standards for cosmetic and aesthetic practice that underpin the JCCP register.
- Cryolipolysis
- A non-surgical fat-reduction treatment that uses controlled cooling to break down fat cells under the skin.
- Decolletage
- The upper chest and neckline area, often exposed during certain skin treatments.
- Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
- A criminal-records check showing whether a person is suitable to work with patients or vulnerable people.
- Domiciliary setting
- Care or treatment provided in a person's own home rather than in a clinic.
- Duty of candour
- The legal duty to be open and honest with a person and their family when something goes wrong with their care.
- Equality Act 2010
- The law protecting people from discrimination based on characteristics such as age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, religion or race.
- Fundamental standards
- The minimum standards of safety and quality below which care must never fall.
- General Dental Council (GDC)
- The body that registers and sets standards for dentists and dental care professionals in the UK.
- General Medical Council (GMC)
- The body that registers and sets standards for doctors in the UK.
- General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
- The body that registers and sets standards for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Great Britain.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations setting the fundamental standards that providers of regulated care must meet, enforced by the Care Quality Commission.
- Informed consent
- Agreement to treatment given freely after the risks, benefits and alternatives have been clearly explained.
- Intense pulsed light (IPL)
- A device that uses broad-spectrum light pulses for treatments such as hair removal and skin rejuvenation.
- Intimate or sensitive procedure
- Any examination, photograph or treatment that exposes or involves close contact with private areas of the body, or that a patient may reasonably find embarrassing or distressing.
- Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners (JCCP)
- The independent body that holds voluntary registers of cosmetic practitioners and sets a code of practice for the sector.
- Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)
- The local-authority officer who oversees concerns or allegations that a person working with children may pose a risk to them.
- Locum
- A practitioner who stands in temporarily to cover the work of another, usually on a short-term basis.
- Lone or solo practitioner
- A practitioner working without other staff readily available on site to act as a chaperone.
- Mental Capacity Act 2005
- The law that protects and supports people who may be unable to make particular decisions for themselves.
- Nominated Individual
- The senior person responsible to the regulator for supervising how a service is provided.
- Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
- The body that registers and sets standards for nurses and midwives in the UK.
- Practising privileges
- An arrangement allowing a self-employed practitioner to treat patients at a clinic without being directly employed by it.
- Protected characteristic
- A personal attribute, such as age, disability, sex, race or religion, that the Equality Act 2010 protects from discrimination.
- Reasonable adjustments
- Changes a service makes so that disabled people, or those with communication or language needs, are not put at a disadvantage.
- Registered Manager
- The person registered with the regulator as responsible for the day-to-day running of a service.
- Regulated activity
- A type of care or treatment the law requires a provider to register with the regulator to deliver.
- Risk assessment
- A structured check identifying what could cause harm and what is being done to prevent it.
- Safeguarding
- Protecting people's health, wellbeing and rights and keeping them safe from abuse, harm or neglect.
- Sexual Offences Act 2003
- The law defining sexual offences in England and Wales, including those involving abuse of a position of trust or care.
- UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
- The UK's main data-protection law governing how personal information is collected and used.
- Well-led
- One of the regulator's five key questions, asking whether a service's leadership, management and culture deliver high-quality, safe care.
- Whistleblowing (speaking up)
- Raising a concern about wrongdoing, risk or malpractice at work, protected by law.