In Council: brief report of 12 April Council meeting.

The agenda and all related papers can be found on the Meetings page of the public website.

Enabling Excellence – autonomy and accountability for healthcare workers, social workers and social care workers

This command paper sets out the Government?s proposals for healthcare professional regulation with the tone and emphasis of the document seeking „to create a better balance of responsibilities between the state, business, civil society and individuals? and take an approach to professional regulation that is „proportionate and effective, imposing the least cost and complexity consistent with securing safety and confidence for patients, service users, carers and the wider public.? Council discussed, in detail, the issues set out in Chapter 2 of the paper around reducing the costs of regulation and considered some of the options available to the GOsC.

Members’ remuneration and expenses for 2011-12

Council agreed that in the current economic climate there should be no increase in Council members? honoraria, committee members? allowances or expenses in 2011/12.

Osteopathic Practice Standards

Following the conclusion of the Osteopathic Practice Standards consultation Council agreed the content of the new Osteopathic Practice Standards, which will be published at the end of July 2011 and come into effect on 1 September 2012. The time between publication and implementation allows for the profession to become familiar with the new standards and for the osteopathic educational institutions to map their curricula to the new standards. The GOsC?s response to the consultation will also be published.

Revalidation

Council agreed the revalidation pilot specification and the characteristics of osteopaths to be involved in the pilot sample. Council also agreed the recruitment and selection strategy for the revalidation pilot assessors, including job descriptions and person specification. Finally, Council agreed to the publication of KPMG?s report on the methods used to identify costs, benefits, financial and regulatory risks – this report will assist the Council in assessing the impact of the draft revalidation scheme.

Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence – statutory levy

In October 2010, the Government announced that from 2012, the costs of paying for the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) should fall on the nine regulatory bodies that it oversees. The CHRE published its proposals for calculating the statutory levy for its activities from 2012 and Council considered how the GOsC should respond to the proposals. Three options for calculating the levy are proposed but, while satisfying the principles that they are practical and easy to explain, they nevertheless do not appear to be equitable or transparent as there is no explanation of the CHRE?s costs. The GOsC would be responding to the proposals in the strongest of terms to satisfy itself that was getting the best deal for the profession.

Osteopaths’ advertising

Work continues with the issuing of individual letters to osteopaths advising them to check the content of their websites to ensure that they comply with the ASA Code of Advertising Practice. Our work in this area has been supported by the BOA with whom we have shared the drafts of letters and Q&A material. A meeting with the Chief Executive of the ASA and CAP has helped develop our understanding of how the ASA and CAP work and how we can help osteopaths comply with advertising regulation.

Online registration renewals

The new online renewals process has been implemented with more than 380 registrants making use of this service, to date.

Fitness to practise

A recent audit by the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence of the initial stages of the fitness to practise process concluded that “the GOsC has a robust initial stages casework system leading to good decisions that are properly recorded and communicated? and „a well managed system of casework with no evidence of significant risks to patients or to the maintenance of public confidence.”

Investment strategy

Council approved transfer of a substantial proportion of its reserves from lower yielding investments to a fund provided by Newton Investment Management to help ensure the assets do not unnecessarily depreciate. The investment decisions will be reviewed after twelve months as the GOsC also develops an ethical investment policy.

Student fitness to practise

New draft student fitness to practise guidance for osteopathic educational institutions and for students was agreed for formal consultation. Council also received an update on the development of guidance for the osteopathic educational institutions about the management of health impairments and disability which should be completed by autumn 2011. Communications and Engagement Strategy Council approved a new GOsC Communications and Engagement Strategy which included the GOsC?s approach to communication and engagement, and a work plan.

Future Council meetings

14 July 2011

11 October 2011

26 January 2012

17 April 2012