A campaign by Fórsa has led to improved protections for people using the services of dietitians and speech and language therapists.

On foot of representations by the union and professional associations, the health department has tightened the rules governing the use of these professional titles.

Under previous rules, only qualified and registered professionals could call themselves dietitians or speech and language therapists. This has now been extended to those calling themselves dieticians – spelt with a ‘c’ rather than a ‘t’ – and speech therapists, rather than speech and language therapists.

Fórsa welcomed the change, now in place, which will strengthen protections for service users. The union’s deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan tweeted that it was a “significant development” for Fórsa members working in the professions.