New members appointed to the General Osteopathic Council

The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) is pleased to announce the appointment of three new osteopath members to the Council – Mr John Chaffey, Dr Jorge Esteves and Mr Haidar Ramadan. All three Council members have been appointed by the Appointments Commission for a four-year term from 1 April 2012.

• John Chaffey leads a large osteopathic practice in Essex and is Session Head Clinical Tutor at the European School of Osteopathy.
• Jorge Esteves is Head of Postgraduate Studies and Student Research at the British School of Osteopathy.
• Haidar Ramadan is Course Leader/Senior Lecturer at Oxford Brookes University and practises as an Advanced MSK Osteopath for the Central London Community Health NHS Trust.

Council members play a key role in setting strategy and policy to ensure the GOsC fulfils its statutory duties to regulate standards of osteopathic care in the UK.

Alison White, who succeeds Professor Adrian Eddleston as GOsC Chair from 1 April this year, commented: “These new appointments bring considerable strength and depth of osteopathic practice, education and research, and stakeholder engagement to Council. I am sure they will all make an excellent contribution to the Council’s work and I am very much looking forward to working with them.”

All appointments to the GOsC Council are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if any declared) to be made public. The new members have declared no political activity and do not hold any ministerial appointments.

They will receive remuneration of £6,630 per year for the appointment.

ENDS
Notes to Editors

1. For information about the GOsC Council please see: www.osteopathy.org.uk/about-us/the-organisation/council

2. 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.

3. 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

The GOsC Press Office
Tel: 020 7357 6655 x245
Email: pressoffice@osteopathy.org.uk