Minister clamps down on use of term ‘dietician’
Health minister Simon Harris has inked regulation aimed at protecting members of the public who use dietitians and speech and language therapists
Only qualified registered professionals had permission to use the descriptor since the Health and Social Care Professionals Act was enacted in 2005.
The new regulation irons out a wrinkle whereby the title of ‘dietician’, spelt with the letter ‘c’ (a variant title of dietitian) and the title of speech therapist (a variant title of speech and language therapist) can also only be used by qualified professionals.
“The new regulations, which come into effect today, give further protection to the public,” the Minister said. His decision came on foot of consultations with the relevant registration boards, he explained.