Government publishes plans for health and social care regulation

For immediate use

GOsC responds to Government plans for health and social care regulation

Tim Walker, Chief Executive of the General Osteopathic Council said:

“We welcome today’s publication of the Government’s report Enabling Excellence: Autonomy and Accountability for Health and Social Care Staff – setting out proposals to reform the way health and social care professionals are regulated.

“The Government recognises that effective regulation should support and develop professionalism by promoting self-regulation at an individual level. The role of a national regulator in strengthening an individual practitioner’s personal role in regulation comes to the fore particularly with professionals, such as osteopaths, who work predominantly as autonomous practitioners.

“We support Government plans to simplify our regulatory processes and recognise that increased autonomy to decide how best to meet our statutory duties will need to be balanced by a strengthening of parliamentary accountability.

“The report reaffirms that the purpose of revalidation is to provide significant added value in terms of increased safety and quality of care. The GOsC’s draft revalidation scheme aims to provide practitioners with the guidance and tools to strengthen their own role in regulation. We plan to pilot this scheme with osteopaths from October 2011 to test if it is proportionate and how it can drive up standards of, and confidence in, the quality of osteopathic practice.”

The Government’s report Enabling Excellence: Autonomy and Accountability for Health and Social Care Staff is available from the Department of Health website. www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_124359 

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 2011 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.

In line with all healthcare regulators, the General Osteopathic Council has been developing a draft revalidation scheme. Revalidation is the process by which osteopaths will demonstrate to the GOsC, potentially every five years, that they meet current professional standards and patients’ expectations. For further information: http://www.osteopathy.org.uk/standards/continuing-fitness-to-practise, or you can email us at revalidation@osteopathy.org.uk and/or call 020 7357 6655 x240.