GOsC welcomes positive performance review by regulator

GOsC welcomes positive performance review by regulator

The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) welcomes the positive endorsement of its work by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) – the body responsible for monitoring the performance of UK healthcare professional regulators.

The annual Performance Review Report 2012/13 concludes that the GOsC continues to maintain its effectiveness as a regulator. Key achievements noted by the PSA over the last year include:

• GOsC activity to raise and test awareness of new Osteopathic Practice Standards, which came into effect from 1 September 2012 
• the establishment of a Patient and Public Partnership Group to provide patient and public perspectives about standards and guidance and assist in the development of communication materials
• the creation of a steering group (with professional, educational and osteopathic research bodies in the UK) to promote professional standards and values across the profession 
• and collaboration with the National Council for Osteopathic Research (www.ncor.org.uk) and the British Osteopathic Association (www.osteopathy.org) to establish a repository of information about risks in osteopathic care, to help inform the development of additional standards and guidance.

Tim Walker, the GOsC’s Chief Executive, said:

“We are very pleased with the PSA’s continued support for our work as an active regulator seeking to ensure the highest standard of osteopathic practice and patient care for the benefit of patients.”

In common with all the health professions’ regulators, the performance of the GOsC is reviewed annually by the PSA to check it is effectively protecting the public, promoting confidence in the osteopathic profession and that the system of regulation works. All regulators’ performance is measured against a set of standards that cover different areas of work including guidance and standards, education and training, registration and complaints
handling.

The full performance review report is available on the PSA’s website at: www.professionalstandards.org.uk/docs/scrutiny-quality/performance-review-report-2012-13.pdf?sfvrsn=0. The GOsC’s review can be found in section 14 on pages 61-66.

ENDS

For further information, contact:
The GOsC Press Office
Tel: 020 7357 6655 x245
Email: pressoffice@osteopathy.org.uk 

NOTES TO EDITORS

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 practice 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. 
• The 2013 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 

The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care is the body charged by Parliament with overseeing the work of the nine healthcare regulators. It carries out an annual performance review of all the regulators’ work and publishes this review on its website (www.professionalstandards.org.uk/).

The nine healthcare regulators are: 

• General Chiropractic Council 
• General Dental Council 
• General Medical Council 
• General Optical Council 
• General Osteopathic Council 
• General Pharmaceutical Council 
• Health and Care Professions Council 
• Nursing and Midwifery Council 
• Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland