FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ’S) RE: MEMBER FEE INCREASE

Q1. How much are the annual membership fees?
A. With effect from 1st October 2022 the annual membership fees are:

• Full Member              £150.00 (£12.50 per month)
• Student Member      £42.00 (£3.50 per month)
• Associate Member  £68.00 (£5.66 per month)              

New members joining from 20th September 2022 will pay the above fees due to their subscription being effective from 1st October 2022 or later.

Student Members upgrading to Full membership may be eligible for a 50% discount on their Full membership fees for 6 months.*

Q2. Why have the fees been increased?
A. The College has not adjusted its fees since 2017.  We have long prided ourselves on being the best value-for-money organisation out of all the professional bodies that were not Trade Unions.  There had also been a collective decision not to incorporate any increase due to the cost-of-living which would have resulted in increased fees year-on-year, however we chose to absorb these in a bid to reduce the burden on members. 

COMPARISON OF PROFESSIONAL BODY FEES

Furthermore, during the College’s recent financial discussions around fees, which have been led by members of our Council, a breakdown of costs has shown that member benefits have made up 35% of our costs, with salaries making up 41%, with the remaining 24% split between compliance and governance costs, technical development of our membership database and Direct Debit system and sundry costs.

All College costs have increased as you would expect, insurance for our medical indemnity and public liability; our Fitness to Practise costs – while still excellent value – have risen; College rent and rates have increased, as have all our additional operating costs. We know from speaking to insurers that to individually have the same personal cover would cost in excess of £550 per person which is an example of the benefits we can bring to you directly.  Since the introduction of the Fitness to Practise scheme in 2018, the College has supported in excess of 200 cases, including student registration issues.  Many of these cases take time, sometimes a number of years, to resolve and whilst the pandemic has seen most cases run virtually, the costs have risen by 50% in some cases due to legal technicalities which require the proceedings to stop and parties on both sides needing to confer with Counsel more often.  The College strongly objected against making this a standard practice for the HCPC in their recent consultation and we are pleased to see that they will offer the registrants the choice, rather than making it mandatory to have all hearings conducted virtually.

Whilst we appreciate and understand that this is an extremely challenging time for our members, and indeed all healthcare professionals, to ensure that the current benefits of membership are maintained, that the College continues to evolve and excel, and that the organisation increases in its reach and resilience, we must take meaningful steps to stabilise and protect our financial position in order to continue to support the profession.

Q3. When will my fees increase?

A. New members joining from 20th September 2022 will pay the above fees due to their subscription being effective from 1st October 2022 or later.

Existing members will see an increase in their membership fee upon their membership annual renewal i.e. If your membership renewal is due on 1st March 2023, your fees will remain unchanged until 28th February 2023. If you are unsure when your renewal date is you can see this on the Renewals Tab in your Membership Profile when logged on to the College website. Alternatively, you can download your Membership certificate.

Q4. Do I need to take any action? 
A. Direct debit payers do not need to take any action. 

If you pay your membership fees by card, you will receive an email from us prior to your renewal date asking you to log on to the website to pay your membership fees. Should you wish to change to direct debit payments at that stage please contact us with details of your bank, sort code and account number.

Q5. As a Student member, when I upgrade my membership, will I be eligible for the Discounted Full Member rate? How to I apply for the discount? Will I have the option to pay monthly?
A. For existing Student members, the discounted Full members rate will be applied upon upgrade to Full where members fulfil the following criteria: 

• Have been a Student member of the College for at least 6 months before registering with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
• Upgrade to Full membership within 3 months of registering with the HCPC

* A discount of 50% of the Full member fee will be applied for 6 months (£6.25 a month, or £37.50 for the 6-month period). Where members fulfil these criteria, the College will automatically apply this discount. Members do not need to take any action. The discounted rate will not apply to any members not fulfilling this eligibility.

At the time of upgrading membership from Student to Full, members who pay annually can continue to pay annually, or can request to pay fees monthly.

Q6. What are the benefits of being a member of the College of Paramedics?
A. The College engages and collaborates with key stakeholders to promote the paramedic profession and helps to shape and influence important changes which benefit not only our members, but the patients you care for, with one key example of facilitating the introduction of independent prescribing for paramedics. We know this is important to you following your responses to the recent membership survey, and from the monthly snapshot questions you completed. You told us that you value the College’s stance on strategic messaging and positioning of paramedics at the table for decisions on policy, workforce and career opportunities. Over 59 percent told us that you valued the College acting as advocates for the profession and many of you valued our strong position on primary research led by paramedics. The College has responded to over 40 consultation documents pertaining to practice across the UK and continue to ensure the voice of the profession is heard (Statements and Consultations).

You also confirmed the areas of work you want us to focus on – supporting and promoting best practice, representing your views, particularly in light of the recent Med3 legislation change and our long-standing controlled drugs and exemptions situation, something we have been jointly supported with by the Royal College of General Practitioners. We will continue to support and, and lobby for changes in key areas of your practice environments, and we will improve on our CPD activities, including more localised offerings. The 2021 Membership Engagement Survey found that CPD provision is the most valued member benefit.

The College does a great deal of work to promote the profession amongst the public and particularly with young people who may one day want to join the profession. Our strategic partnerships are stronger than ever, and we hope that these can support us to work more closely with our Trade Union colleagues to support fair pay and conditions, wherever you work.

We aim to get more of you involved than ever before – many of you contact us offering to help and we are always grateful and have found the input to be extremely beneficial. Increasing our capacity within the College leads to increasing engagement and project delivery, and we need you to work with us. There are often opportunities, for example joining our Specialist Interest Groups or standing for election to Student or Council positions in the future, and we advertise for paid project support for some of the bigger workstreams.

You also told us about making more of the Associate membership category and we plan to run a number of CPD sessions which will cover much more for those of you in this category.

Of course, we know from facilitating the recent International Paramedics Day in July, that you have pride in what you do and how you care for those with whom you work, be that patients, students, clients or your colleagues. The College will continue to provide the resources and support to enable you to continue delivering paramedicine to the best standards you can, with increased CPD, more access to resources, information and research, assistance with the regulator and discounts and other membership benefits.

The College is already investing in a new Events Team structure which will allow us to further develop CPD events both online and face-to-face. College of Paramedics CPD events are provided at low cost to members to support your professional development, wherever you work. We will continue to provide this benefit in the future.