Private healthcare in the UK involves several professions, each with a different regulator. Almost all publish a searchable register, free and public.
Doctors
The General Medical Council holds the medical register. Check registration status, licence to practise, Specialist Register or GP Register entry, and any restrictions. How to read a GMC entry covers this in detail.
Dentists
The General Dental Council registers dentists and dental care professionals including hygienists and dental therapists. Dentistry on Harley Street is as common as medicine, and the GDC register works the same way — search by name or registration number.
Psychologists and allied professions
The Health and Care Professions Council regulates practitioner psychologists, physiotherapists, dietitians, occupational therapists, paramedics, radiographers, speech and language therapists and several other professions.
The protected titles matter here. Clinical psychologist, counselling psychologist, forensic psychologist and the other practitioner psychologist titles are protected and require HCPC registration. Psychologist on its own is not protected.
Nurses and midwives
The Nursing and Midwifery Council holds the register for registered nurses, midwives and nursing associates. Some nurses are independent prescribers, which the register records.
Opticians and optometrists
The General Optical Council registers optometrists, dispensing opticians and optical businesses.
Pharmacists
The General Pharmaceutical Council registers pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in England, Scotland and Wales, with a separate body in Northern Ireland.
Counsellors and psychotherapists
These titles are not protected by statute in the UK. Anyone may use them without any qualification at all.
Many practitioners belong voluntarily to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy or the UK Council for Psychotherapy, both of which set training standards and operate complaints procedures. Membership of one of those is the nearest equivalent to a register, and it is worth asking which body someone belongs to and checking directly with that body rather than taking a logo on a website at face value.
Clinics and providers
In England, the Care Quality Commission registers organisations providing regulated clinical activity, publishes inspection reports and gives ratings. A clinic providing treatment in England without CQC registration is a serious question.
In Scotland it is Healthcare Improvement Scotland, in Wales Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, and in Northern Ireland the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority.
A note on logos
Regulator logos on a website are not evidence of anything. They are images. The check that counts is searching the regulator’s own register for the individual’s name or number.