Osteopathy in the UK


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Dr Foster Complementary Therapists Guide 2004

For Immediate Release - The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) and the General Chiropractic Council (GCC) take strong exception to Dr Foster’s claim that the Complementary Therapist’s Guide 2004 enables the public to “choose wisely”.

In the respect of the Osteopathic and Chiropractic professions, statutorily regulated by Acts of Parliament 1, the Guide is flawed and misleading. 
 
In particular: 
 
• It is not the definitive or authoritative Guide to evaluated professionals it purports to be. The practitioners represented in the Complementary Therapists Guide constitute a relatively small, self-selected proportion of these professions, many practitioners having declined Dr Foster’s offer of a free entry in the 2004 edition the Guide.  
• The Best Practice Markers used by Dr Foster are largely meaningless because they are not derived from national guidelines and statutorily-established standards. 
• Dr Foster is not competent to assess standards of clinical practice by way of a single survey, applying its own arbitrary judgments and drawing sweeping conclusions. 
• Misleading information on the Dr Foster website implies the Guide has been endorsed by the GCC & GOsC, which is not the case. 
 
The GCC & GOsC are concerned about the manner in which Dr Foster has set Best Practice Markers for statutorily-regulated healthcare professionals. It is the role of these bodies to protect the public by setting standards of education, practice and conduct. Doctor Foster’s out-of-context, so-called “best practice markers”, used to assess a self-selected group of professionals, is of no benefit to the public. 
 
Under our respective Acts, all Chiropractors and Osteopaths are required to comply with GOsC and GCC standards of conduct and practice. These standards were statutorily established following consultation with representatives of the public and other interested parties. The documents that set out these standards are available free of charge or can be read on the GOsC and GCC websites. 
 
Both organisations value the provision of factual and accurate information to the public to enable patients to make informed choices about their healthcare. We understand that in producing the Guide, Dr Foster was endeavouring to identify areas of practice that could be improved upon. Unfortunately, as it stands, the Guide fails in its intent. 
 
The Registrars advise that an essential point to remember is the ‘live’ nature of statutory Registers – practitioners change their contact details, choose to stop practising and are removed from the Register. A published Guide is a snap-shot only.  
 
It is important that patients check the searchable Registers on the GOsC and GCC web-sites (on www.osteopathy.org.uk and www.gcc-uk.org or telephone the GOsC on 020 7357 66 55; GCC: 0845 601 1796) to be sure of a practitioner’s current registration status.  
 
1 The Osteopaths Act 1993; The Chiropractors Act 1994 
 
–Ends– 

For further information contact: Communications Department on 020 7357 6655

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