You can’t please all of the people all of the time - but you can expect respectful conversation

As I reflect on the responses to the Code of Professional Practice consultation, and review the comments received through our monthly Pulse feedback questionnaire to registrants, it is clear that not everybody within the profession recognises the value of being regulated.

You can’t please all of the people all of the time.

I understand that, for the majority of chiropractors, much of our work goes unseen. Many of the benefits of regulation and registration are not obvious day to day, particularly to those who did not experience practice before regulation.

While I could point to the reassurances that patients draw from registration, or the benefits to the reputation of the profession, perhaps a less often heard argument is to highlight the benefits to you as an individual:

• Your title is protected – only someone registered with the GCC can call themselves a Chiropractor, and nobody can set up a Limited Company with a name that suggests that they are a Chiropractor without our agreement.
• Registration means you are recognised in law as “a registered healthcare professional” which confers a number of legal benefits – including the medical services VAT exemption.
• Health insurance providers check that you are listed on the register before your patients can claim for the care you provide.
• Chiropractors qualify for the Health and Care Worker visa – meaning that you can sponsor a chiropractor from abroad to work in the UK.

There are others who may agree with regulation, but would prefer we do it a different way or who resent the level of fees when compared to other regulators:

• We are small. We work within our means and have never increased our fees. There are pros and cons to being small – we focus exclusively on regulating Chiropractors, and can be agile in some areas of our work – but the negative is we don’t benefit from the economies of scale of being a larger regulator. This impacts our fees, but also our financial ability to improve some of our systems. Much of our costs are associated with the Fitness to Practise process – and this is an area where we have very little flexibility.
• We have statutory duties and responsibilities that we have to abide by – and these may not align with how you would like us to act or, in some case how we would like to act ourselves. And while we hope to change some of these in the long term through regulatory reform, the fact we are small means that we are at the bottom of the Governments list for reform.

While you can’t please all of the people all of the time, we do try to explain our approach and acknowledge differences in opinion.

And in return, where a chiropractor disagrees with us, I am pleased to say it is usually expressed professionally and respectfully.

I am sometimes disappointed by the way that a tiny minority choose to express their disagreement - both through the anonymous feedback channels, and of more concern, when dealing directly with GCC staff.

The nature of regulation means that we may be in contact with you at a time when you are angry, frustrated, stressed or upset. My colleagues understand that, but should not be exposed to abuse.

Likewise, you should not feel afraid of the patients in your practice. One of the strongest bits of feedback to the Code Consultation was about ceasing care where a patient has been abusive towards their chiropractor. We have heard this concern and will be working with the professional associations to look at this further. Nobody should be subjected to abuse in their place of work.

When we all stay respectful in our communication, we foster an environment where ideas can be shared freely without fear of conflict or discomfort. Politeness doesn’t mean we avoid tough conversations or compromise our views — it simply means we choose words and a tone that respect the other person, acknowledging their value in the discussion. Professional courtesy helps build trust, reduces misunderstandings, and ensures that each conversation is constructive rather than confrontational.

I thank you for your help in creating that constructive environment.