On this page you will find information about our current consultations and how you can send us your views.
We are currently consulting on draft revised Osteopathic Practice Standards and seeking your views on our existing range of information leaflets.
Osteopathic Practice Standards consultationWe are inviting your views on the draft Osteopathic Practice Standards, which contains both the Standard of Proficiency and Code of Practice for Osteopaths. These, which are currently published separately, set out the standards of competence and conduct all osteopaths must meet in order to become and stay registered.
We have a duty to keep osteopathic practice standards under regular review and to update them when necessary to ensure they provide adequate public protection and osteopaths are able to comply with them.
Previous consultations on new draft osteopathic practice standards and the Code of Practice were held in 2009 and, as a result, it was decided to bring these together in a single document.
This decision, made by the GOsC Council in January 2010 was informed by the views of osteopaths, expressed during last year’s consultation, which indicated strong support for greater consistency and clarity of language and the avoidance of duplication.
We are now inviting your views on (a) this new, combined format and (b) on the revised standards proposed within it.
The consultation will run for a period of 12 weeks from 1 September to 30 November 2010.
You can send us your views about the proposed Osteopathic Practice Standards by completing the Osteopathic Practice Standards questionnaire, which is an interactive pdf (portable document format).
Please note that to download the consultation document and the interactive pdf questionnaire, you will need Adobe Reader version 7 or later on your computer. Click here to download a free copy of the latest Adobe Reader software.
When you have completed the questionnaire, click on the ‘Submit’ button at the end and the questionnaire will be emailed to osteo_survey@ymail.com. If you do not have time to complete the questionnaire in one session, you can save it to your computer and finish it later, then email it to osteo_survey@ymail.com.
This consultation is an important opportunity to express your views on the documents that will guide osteopaths in everyday practice and we would be very grateful for your involvement and contribution to the final Osteopathic Practice Standards, which will be published in 2011.
The consultation is being conducted on our behalf by independent consultants Hewell Taylor Freed and Associates, who will collate your feedback into a report for the Council. The information you provide will be used by Hewell Taylor Freed and Associates only for the purpose of analysing the consultation responses and will not be accessible to the GOsC. All the information in the final report will be anonymous: no respondent will be identified and no individual personal data will be included.
For further information about the consultation process or to receive a paper copy of the questionnaire, contact Denise Taylor at Hewell Taylor Freed:
Denise Taylor
Hewell Taylor Freed & Associates
PO Box 1210
Hemel Hempstead
HP1 9EY
Tel: 01442 834 021
Email: denisetaylor.htp@virgin.net
We are currently asking for views about our existing range of information leaflets for patients and the public. We are planning to revise these and to publish some additional leaflets. Your thoughts about our existing leaflets will help us to improve them and help to ensure that the new leaflets are as easy to read and as informative as possible.
Click on the name of the leaflet you want to read and then please fill in the form below to send us your comments about it.
Hearings before the GOsC Professional Conduct Committee: information for the public and press
This leaflet describes what happens at hearings concerning an osteopath's fitness to practise.
Making a complaint (about an osteopath)
This explains how we can help you if you have any concerns about an osteopath. There is also a Complaints form.
Making a complaint about a Member of the General Osteopathic Council
The work of the Council, which is made up of osteopaths and lay people (non-osteopaths), focuses on strategy and policy.
Making a complaint about a staff member of the General Osteopathic Council
Publication of hearings, findings and sanctions
This explains how, when and where we publish the dates of forthcoming fitness to practise hearings and the results of those hearings.
Mandatory fields are marked with an (*) asterisk.
