o zone login
  1. You are at:
  2. Home
  3. Resources
  4. News
  5. New Council Associates Programme gets go ahead

New Council Associates Programme gets go ahead

22 July 2021

The GOsC’s Council has approved a new Council Associates Programme – an initiative to identify and develop future governance leaders within the profession.

As part of the programme, two talented osteopaths will be chosen to become Council Associates from April next year. They will be given the opportunity to shadow Council and develop new skills with the aim of enabling them to undertake future non-executive roles either at the GOsC or elsewhere.

The Council Associates Programme was approved during Council’s summer meeting held on 20 July.

During the online meeting, chaired by Dr Bill Gunnyeon, Council also approved the following:

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Framework 2021-24

Council approved the new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Framework 2021-24, which has been refined following feedback from the profession and from patients. This framework will ensure that GOsC continues to enhance and develop its work in this important area.

Annual Report and Accounts 2020-21

Council approved the Annual Report and Accounts 2020-21, which this year was prepared against the backdrop of the global pandemic. It provides details of our work against our Strategic Goals, our work across the four countries of the United Kingdom, and our value proposition – which indicates where our regulatory activities add value. The report was signed by the Chair of Council, Dr Bill Gunnyeon, and will now be presented to both Houses of Parliament. The report will also be made available on our website after publication at: osteopathy.org.uk/annual-reports

Council also considered a number of key reports from external organisations to help ensure its own thinking is informed by evidence and insights from the wider health and societal context.

Council received a summary of recently published reports from external bodies including the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care, The King’s Fund and NICE, the insights and reflection from which may help inform future activity. The reports covered topics including:

  • COVID-19 review: learning from the crisis (a case study review)
  • Ethics in extraordinary times: practitioner experiences during the pandemic
  • Cognitive biases in fitness to practise decision making: from understanding to mitigation
  • My role in tackling health inequalities: A framework for Allied Health Professionals
  • Shared decision-making guidance

The July meeting of Council was observed by Maurice Cheng, Chief Executive of the professional membership body the Institute of Osteopathy, together with a representative of the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care.

Council will next meet on 25 November 2021 and we would encourage anybody interested in attending the virtual meeting to do so.

Read more