The friendly face of the hpc... not

I am indebted to a colleague for digging out this gem. When a government gives an organisation lots of power and asks them to do an impossible job, you can expect them to resort to rudeness and force fairly quickly, I guess, especially when they have been set up on the assumption that professionals are not trustworthy. Unintended consequences of a poorly thought through law? Self fulfilling prophecy more like:

"....You will soon receive your [HPC] registration renewal form. Remember, if you do not, it is your responsibility to contact the HPC to request one. In 2005, the HPC deregistered over 900 SLTs; many because of problems with the registration process - some had not given the HPC their new address and some did not sign the form. If you are deregistered it can take up to a fortnight before you can get back on the HPC register. You will not be able to work as an SLT during this time. Consequently, you risk suspension from work or having to work as an assistant, on an assistant's pay, until you are back on the register...."
(Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists' Bulletin, May 09 - Issue 685; p7)