GOsC to increase focus on engagement

We aim to rebalance our approach with an increased focus on listening and engaging, recognising the diversity of osteopaths across the profession, as well as continuing to communicate key information to osteopaths, patients and others. We aim to do this by providing information that is clear, timely and relevant; and enabling a greater emphasis on two-way communication across our engagement.

Our future plans

• Osteopaths will start to see greater use of digital media, and increased opportunities to participate and connect
• We will be looking at ways to listen and learn from osteopaths and patients
• We will work to improve our websites to create a better user experience, informed by user research and testing
• We plan to work with osteopaths and patients to help bring our material to life with a greater focus on personal stories
• We will actively seek feedback from osteopaths and patients to identify any growing concerns and help shape our support and resources for osteopaths
• We will make more use of our staff as the voices and faces of our organisation, through a variety of digital media, so osteopaths will be able to hear from us more directly
• We will build on the success of our first ever Fitness to Practise webinar by holding more of this type of activity to help explain our role, and to increase opportunities for osteopaths to engage with us online, wherever they are
• We will work to expand the number and diversity of patients helping us with our patient involvement forum
• We will support patients so they can contribute fully to a new co-production model of policy making

The Osteopath magazine

To make a start on this new strategic approach, at its meeting on 18 November, Council (which comprises five osteopaths and five lay members) made the decision to discontinue The Osteopath magazine from spring 2021. This will allow our resources to be better utilised on more frequent, more up-to-date communications and engagement.

Osteopaths will still be able to benefit from the breadth of content contained in the magazine through our digital channels.

In making this decision, GOsC considered that growing numbers of osteopaths have been wanting to see more of our content available online and that the magazine content can become out-of-date quite quickly (particularly in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic). Additionally, we recognised that we spend a disproportionate amount of resource on the magazine compared to other methods of engagement, and that discontinuing the magazine will help us to redistribute this resource more effectively. This will also help reduce our environmental footprint – a growing concern among many on the Register and a key area of focus for the GOsC over the coming years.

As a result of the new strategy, it will be easier for osteopaths and patients to engage with the GOsC and will therefore support enhanced collaboration.

Final issue

The next issue of the magazine is due to arrive through osteopaths’ letterboxes this week with a further final issue due to reach osteopaths towards the end of February 2021.

Anyone with an interest can continue to refer back to the latest and previous issues of The Osteopath all the way back to 2010 on our website at: osteopathy.org.uk/the-osteopath

GOsC will be providing more information over the next few months, for example through our regular ebulletin and in the February issue of the magazine, about where you will be able to find the information usually contained in the magazine and about our future plans.

If you have any questions or ideas to help GOsC to engage with osteopaths or patients, please do get in touch with us at: info@osteopathy.org.uk