GOsC launches initiatives to improve quality of osteopathic care

The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) has today launched two important initiatives to support the demonstration of continuing standards of care for patients of osteopathy: a pilot revalidation scheme and a discussion paper on continuing professional development (CPD).

In line with all other healthcare regulators, the GOsC has been developing a revalidation scheme that, if implemented, could help osteopaths to demonstrate to themselves, their patients and to other healthcare professionals that they are continually improving the quality of their practice and the care they provide.

Nearly 500 osteopaths are enrolled on the Pilot to test the self-assessment stage of the proposed scheme – more than 10% of the profession. Participants will be assessing a wide range of aspects of their practice against recently revised Osteopathic Practice Standards using structured templates. The self assessment and templates will be independently moderated to explore the robustness of the process. All those involved in the Pilot will evaluate the process of self-assessment and provide feedback at regular intervals to help the GOsC understand whether this proposed revalidation scheme provides significant added value in terms of increased safety or quality of care for patients.

Tim Walker, GOsC Chief Executive and Registrar, said: “We are committed to ensuring that Revalidation provides benefits to osteopaths and their patients, and this year-long Pilot will be invaluable in helping us do that. We are very encouraged by the enthusiastic response from the profession for helping us to get the right systems in place.”

On the same day of the launch of the Revalidation Pilot, the GOsC has published a CPD Discussion Document which seeks to generate debate and invite thoughts on the purpose and aims of osteopathic CPD and ways in which the scheme might be improved. At present osteopaths are obliged to keep their skills and knowledge up to date through fulfilling 30 hours of mandatory CPD every year to maintain their registration with the GOsC. The CPD Discussion Document considers the effectiveness of the current scheme, ways in which it might be improved and how it can complement emerging thinking and learning from the Revalidation Pilot.

Tim Walker continued: “It is essential that CPD and any revalidation scheme are complementary, so that together they help osteopaths to develop their practice in a way that best suits them and to demonstrate they are meeting current standards and patient expectations.”

ENDS

For further information contact:
The GOsC Press Office
Tel: 020 7357 6655 ext. 245
Email: pressoffice@osteopathy.org.uk 

Notes to Editors

The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) has a statutory duty to regulate the practice of osteopathy in the UK. Osteopaths must be registered with the GOsC in order to practise in the UK. We work with the public and the profession to promote patient safety by:

• registering qualified professionals
• setting, maintaining and developing standards of osteopathic practice and conduct
• assuring the quality of osteopathic education
• ensuring continuing professional development
• helping patients with concerns or complaints about an osteopath.

The statutory Register of Osteopaths provides a geographical index of all practising osteopaths, and is available to the general public and to healthcare providers online at: www.osteopathy.org.uk/register-search 

Revalidation is defined as a „mechanism that allows health professionals to demonstrate that they remain up to date and can demonstrate that they continue to meet the requirements of their professional regulator?. 

The year-long Revalidation Pilot launched by the GOsC – and funded by a grant from the Department of Health (England) – will test Stage One of a four stage scheme to see if it adds significant added value in terms of increased safety or quality of care for osteopathic patients, by considering the benefits and the costs of the scheme, the risks involved and its proportionality. Once the Pilot has finished, the feedback from participants and assessors, along with the conclusions of an evaluation and impact assessment conducted by independent consultants KPMG will be analysed. All this will inform the further development of the proposed Revalidation scheme for osteopaths. The Revalidation scheme that emerges from this development process will be subjected to further consultation with osteopaths, patients and the public, probably in 2013. On this timetable it is unlikely that a formal scheme of Revalidation for osteopaths will be introduced before 2014 at the earliest. 

During the Revalidation Pilot, the GOsC has also launched a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Discussion Document to seek views from osteopaths and other interested parties on the purpose and structure of the GOsC?s current CPD scheme, together with possible options for change. The Discussion Document is available to download from the live consultations page of the GOsC public website. 

The current CPD scheme was launched as a pilot in 2004/05 and the requirements consolidated in legislation in March 2007. The scheme is set out in the Continuing Professional Development Guidelines for Osteopaths and requires osteopaths to:

• Complete a minimum of 30 hours of CPD per year at least 15 hours of which must be learning with others.
• Submit an Annual Summary Form explaining the nature of the CPD and the relevance to the osteopaths practice.
• Keep a CPD Record Folder containing evidence of completed CPD activities which should be submitted to the GOsC on request for audit.