GOsC shares views on regulating standards in osteopathic education

As the statutory regulator for osteopathic education in the UK, GOsC is the only organisation that can recognise qualifications in osteopathy, enabling an osteopath to register with the GOsC and practise in the United Kingdom in accordance with the law.

As our statutory duties complement those of the OfS, which is the statutory regulator for higher education in England, we welcomed the opportunity to respond to the OfS consultation on quality and standards conditions in order to:

• explain the osteopathic sector and our overarching statutory responsibilities, including that of registering osteopaths
• explain our statutory education function including setting standards and guidance, and our extensive quality assurance process to raise awareness of the statutory regulatory activity already ongoing in this sector
• place emphasis on our role in patient safety
• highlight the importance of the OfS and the GOsC operating proportionately and pragmatically in a joint regulatory space in accordance with the Regulators’ Code, which is a framework for how regulators should engage with those they regulate
• confirm our intention to co-operate with OfS so that we can both deliver our statutory responsibilities efficiently and effectively from our own perspectives and that of our providers, students, and patients

Fiona Browne, GOsC’s Director of Education, Standards and Development said: ‘Like other health professional regulators, we are keen to work closely with OfS to ensure that our role in setting and maintaining standards of osteopathic education, maintaining the integrity of the Register and patient safety are well understood’.

• Read the OfS consultation
• Read GOsC’s response to the consultation
• Read the supplement to the consultation response