Code of Ethics and Standards for Clinical Physiologists in West Africa

The West African College of Clinical Physiology Sciences (WACCPS) is committed to promoting and upholding the highest standards of clinical physiological practice.

As registrants of WACCPS, it is essential to familiarize yourself with these standards and continually meet them.

Our Standards

1. Promote and Protect the Interests of Service Users and Carers:
• Treat service users and carers with respect, privacy, and dignity.
• Work in partnership with service users and carers, involving them in decisions about care, treatment, or other services.
• Encourage and help service users maintain their own health and well-being.
• Obtain consent from service users or appropriate authorities before providing care, treatment, or other services.
2. Communicate Appropriately and Effectively:
• Be polite and considerate.
• Listen to service users and carers and take account of their needs and wishes.
• Provide service users and carers with the information they want or need in a way they can understand.
• Make arrangements to meet service users' and carers' language and communication needs.
3. Work Within the Limits of Your Knowledge and Skills:
• Keep within your scope of practice by only practicing in areas you have appropriate knowledge, skills, and experience for.
• Refer service users to another practitioner if the care, treatment, or other services they need are beyond your scope of practice.
• Keep your knowledge and skills up to date and relevant to your scope of practice through continuing professional development.
4. Delegate Appropriately:
• Delegate work only to someone who has the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to carry it out safely and effectively.
• Continue to provide appropriate supervision and support to those you delegate work to.
5. Respect Confidentiality:
• Treat information about service users as confidential.
• Disclose confidential information only with permission, if the law allows it, or if it is in the service user's best interests or in the public interest.
6. Manage Risk:
• Take all reasonable steps to reduce the risk of harm to service users, carers, and colleagues as far as possible.
• Do not do anything or allow someone else to do anything that could put the health or safety of a service user, carer, or colleague at unacceptable risk.
7. Report Concerns about Safety:
• Report any concerns about the safety or well-being of service users promptly and appropriately.
• Support and encourage others to report concerns and do not prevent anyone from raising concerns.
8. Be Open When Things Go Wrong:
• Be open and honest when something has gone wrong with the care, treatment, or other services you provide.
• Inform service users or their carers, apologize, take action to put matters right if possible, and provide a full and prompt explanation of what has happened and any likely effects.
9. Be Honest and Trustworthy:
• Make sure your conduct justifies the public's trust and confidence in you and your profession.
• Be honest about your experience, qualifications, and skills.
• Declare issues that might create conflicts of interest and ensure they do not influence your judgment.
10. Keep Records of Your Work:
• Keep full, clear, and accurate records for everyone you care for, treat, or provide other services to.
• Complete all records promptly and as soon as possible after providing care, treatment, or other services.
• Keep records secure by protecting them from loss, damage, or inappropriate access.

Fitness to Practice

WACCPS expects its registrants to possess the skills, knowledge, character, and health necessary to practice their profession safely and effectively. We will consider concerns raised about a registrant's fitness to practice and take action when necessary to protect the public and maintain the integrity of the profession.

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