The law requires licensable activity to take place only under the supervision of the Person Responsible (PR), as named on the clinic’s licence.
An individual can only be appointed as the PR of a licensed clinic with the approval of the HFEA.
Where the PR is unable to carry out their duties for any reason, the holder of the licence must inform the Authority immediately and apply for a licence variation to nominate a substitute PR. This nominated substitute PR cannot take up their post until the Authority decides that they are suitable.
The administrative process to replace a PR can take a few months; therefore, it is important that you start the process as soon as you are aware that the current PR plans to relinquish the role.
The process involves:
- The proposed PR must complete and pass the PR Entry Programme (PREP) test prior to an application being made to vary the PR.
- An application to vary the PR must be submitted from the PR’s clinic portal account.
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HFEA staff must review the application and prepare an executive summary for committee decision.
- The application must be booked into the next available committee agenda.
- Once the committee has considered the application, the minutes must be checked and verified prior to release (this takes two - three weeks).
Until the new PR is appointed (i.e. following the release of the minutes from the committee), the current PR remains legally responsible for the clinic’s activities.
The proposed PR should email HFEACompliance@hfea.gov.uk for login details to access the PREP test. If you are planning on appointing an established PR of a different clinic as PR of your clinic, they will already have a PREP test certificate number.
If a PR of a different clinic is planning on also becoming the PR of your clinic, they must be satisfied that they will be able to effectively manage the workload.
It is possible to take the PREP test at any time and therefore it may be worth considering within your business continuity and succession planning to support further members of staff to undertake the test, as this can speed up the application process in an emergency.
An application to vary the PR must be accompanied by the following information:
- a current CV of the proposed PR listing academic and professional qualifications; work experience and registration details with the relevant professional body;
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the PR Entry Programme (PREP) certificate number confirming satisfactory completion of the PREP.
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