GCC welcomes monitoring report finding that it meets all but one of the Standards of Good Regulation

In the monitoring report for 2023-2024 the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) concluded that the General Chiropractic Council (GCC) had met 17 of the 18 Standards of Good Regulation.

In relation to Standard 15, the time to progress fitness to practise investigations, the report stated that the GCC took longer this year to investigate them. Whilst the PSA recognised the challenges faced by the GCC and understood our explanations it concluded that investigations took too long.

The PSA noted that a small number of vacancies can have a big impact in smaller organisations and welcomed the recognition by the GCC of the issues and the actions it took to try to reduce the impact.

Across the remaining 17 standards the PSA recognised the performance of the GCC highlighting areas of good practice, specifically:

• A focus on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), with the GCC providing guidance for education providers and registrants. On this standard the report concluded there were few gaps, with the GCC performing well.
• The pre-consultation work on the ongoing review of the Code of Professional Practice.

Nick Jones, Chief Executive and Registrar said:

The safety of patients is our number one priority. We understand the impact on patients and complainants (as well as the subjects of complaints) of not progressing cases as quickly as we would like. We highlighted to the PSA the challenges we were facing in resourcing timely investigations, and I appreciate the PSA's recognition of this. In the past year we have employed new members of staff, introduced clinical advisors and are investing in a new case management system. While none of these will be an instant fix, we are prioritising our investigations based on the risk to the public and are working towards meeting this standard.

Overall, the report is a testament to the hard work and dedication of colleagues, partners and staff to the safety of patients. We welcome the feedback the report provides and will make sure we use it to deliver the outcomes we all want to see.

Chair of Council, Jonathan McShane said:

Since taking the role of Chair in January I have been struck by the commitment of the Council, executive team, and partners to the safety of chiropractic patients across the UK. This report from the PSA independently assures both the public, and the profession, that the GCC performs to a high standard, and I am delighted the hard work is recognised. We will work hard to maintain these standards and make rapid progress in the areas the PSA have identified as needing additional focus.

Notes to Editors

• The General Chiropractic Council (GCC) is an independent statutory body for the chiropractic profession. Created under the 1994 Chiropractors Act, the GCC’s purpose is to protect, promote and maintain the health, safety and wellbeing of chiropractic patients and the public. 
• The GCC is the smallest of the ten healthcare regulators under the Professional Standard Authority, with 3,800 chiropractors on its register at the end of June 2024.
• The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care oversees 10 statutory bodies that regulate health and social care professionals in the UK.
• More information about the PSA is available at professionalstandards.org.uk
• For more information about the GCC, contact Andrew Fielding (a.fielding@gcc-uk.org) at the General Chiropractic Council.