In the King’s speech this week the a theme of trust came out, to quote King Charles III “My Government will take steps to help rebuild trust and foster respect. Legislation will be brought forward to introduce a duty of candour for public servants.”
A clear message that emphasises the importance of those is public service maintaining professional standards and ethics.
The Prime Minister in his introduction to that speech also stated: “The fight for trust is the battle that defines our political era. It is only by serving the interests of working people, and delivering real change that transforms lives, that we can begin to restore people’s faith that politics can be a force for good.”
It certainly does feel like there is a need for trust to be re-established. But this is much more here than just the political arena.
As I have previously blogged in https://mindfulmindset.co.uk/trust-and-the-dilemma-of-self-regulation/ this is something that challenges us wherever we work. That blog was inspired from aspects of public importance of public trust arising in presentations as diverse as World Horse Welfare/HETI on Social License to practice and the Professional Standards Authority in the context of public health care. In working with the Accredited Practitioner Register the important theme of trust is front and centre of every activity.
I heard a great Caribbean piece of wisdom the other day, “trust grows slowly like the coconut tree but is lost at the speed at which the coconut drops.” For all our efforts trust in each one of us is only as robust as other people’s perception of our degree of self-interest, even well earned trust is easily lost.
Loss of trust in an individual in a small community can also impact trust in that whole community. In part, every time we act we are acting for all. There is a responsibility here. For example, what if we are promoting services that we are not qualified to provide, in so doing we are placing the public at risk; or what if a membership body that purports to govern out practice allows such misrepresentation to go unaddressed. Or what if that regulator itself misrepresents its own authority and responsibility.
Who loses? Well simply, everyone. The public are put at risk of malpractice, the practice is called into disrepute, and the meaning and value of regulation is lost. We face those “Daily Mail” moments of exposure and public outrage, and suddenly we are all damned.
This is so important in the Equine Facilitated Interactions/Equine Assisted Services marketplace. This is why in creating the Accredited Practitioner Register with the Athena® team it was so important to obtain the genuinely independent regulation that exists under the umbrella of the Professional Standards Authority’s accredited register programme.
This is about establishing a transparent awareness of service provision as a means of building real, meaningful and sustainable public trust. This requires a clear framework of professional ethics and practice, and ongoing compliance therewith.
Trust is earned, trust was never achieved by telling people to “trust us” so it is good to see our King and His government placing trust at the heart of their agendas. We hope that this worthy intention ripples through communities as well as those that are providing services to them.
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