GOsC’s Council approves Business Plan for 2021-22

Following the Council meeting, which was held on 2 February, Matthew Redford, Chief Executive and Registrar, said: ‘The Business Plan for 2021-22 reflects the GOsC’s approach to regulation which continues to be ambitious and innovative but which remains focused on meeting our statutory responsibilities.

‘The plan sets out our intention to work collaboratively with patients, to provide support to osteopaths, and to ensure we have a greater focus on listening and engaging with our regulatory partners’.

The headline activities relating to each Strategic Goal are:

Goal 1: We will support the osteopathic profession to deliver high-quality care, which will protect patients and the public in the context of changes in the dynamic landscape of healthcare.

• We will engage with, and listen to, our stakeholders, before analysing and responding to their feedback across the full range of our work.
• We will continue to support and empower registrants to meet the requirements of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) scheme.
• We will evaluate CPD implementation data to inform our work.
• We will support new graduates (UK and Internationally qualified) making the transition into practice.
• We will continue to support research including into the concerns prevalent to osteopathic care.
• We will continue to learn from our fitness to practise processes.

Goal 2: We will develop our assurance of osteopathic education to produce high-quality graduates who are ready to practise.

• We will work with the education sector to facilitate strategic thinking and development.
• We will continue to embed the Osteopathic Practice Standards within education provision and within the student communities.
• We will explore issues connected to the future sustainability of the profession.

Goal 3: We will build closer relationships with the public and the profession based on trust and transparency.

• We will ensure patients are at the centre of our regulatory approach across all parts of our business.
• We will introduce new communications around fitness to practise, such as ebulletins and webinars, to demystify and humanise our work in this area.
• We will further enhance our social media presence to include a greater recognition of equality and diversity.

Goal 4: We will be an exemplar in modern healthcare regulation – accessible, effective, innovative, agile, proportionate and reflective.

• We will introduce a new approach to equality, diversity and inclusion.
• We will develop our capacity for using data more effectively.
• We will introduce a new ‘Council Associates’ programme for osteopaths to identify future leaders in governance.
• We will comply with our statutory rules and legislation.

At the same meeting, GOsC’s Council also approved the Communications and Engagement Strategy for 2021-24. GOsC’s Council will next meet in May 2021.

Read the Business Plan 2021-22