We have published our annual performance review of the General Chiropractic Council (GCC). During 2023/24, we conducted a monitoring review of the GCC’s performance against the Standards of Good Regulation (the Standards).
For this period, the GCC has met 17 out of the 18 Standards. Our report explains how we made our decision.
The performance review is our check on how well the regulators have been protecting the public and promoting confidence in the health and care professions.
This year, we used a new approach to assessing regulators against our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Standard. In order to meet the Standard, regulators must assure us they are delivering the four high-level outcomes supported by our new evidence matrix. The GCC met the Standard. It performed well and demonstrated good practice in several ways. Its Education Standards have a clear focus on EDI and it has produced helpful guidance on EDI for education providers and registrants. The GCC launched a project to review decisions made by its Professional Conduct Committee to identify and address any possible equality issues, building on an earlier review of cases closed by its Investigating Committee. Although we noted some gaps in the GCC’s fitness to practise guidance documents regarding allegations of racism or other discriminatory behaviour, the GCC had identified this gap and has plans to address it. We will monitor the work it does in this area.
The GCC is updating its standards for registrants, The Code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethic for chiropractors. It conducted a considerable amount of pre‑consultation work throughout the year to review existing evidence and gather stakeholders’ views. This work informed the proposals in its public consultation, which launched shortly after our review period. We will monitor the outcome of the consultation.
The GCC took longer to investigate fitness to practise investigations this year. The GCC reported plausible explanations for the increase in its timeliness; staffing issues had an impact due to the small size of the investigations team, plus the closure of some of its oldest cases. We recognised the challenges faced by the GCC as a small organisation but concluded investigations were taking too long this year. We decided Standard 15 was not met.
We identified opportunities for improvement within the GCC’s interim order process and decision-making guidance. The GCC was receptive to our feedback and has committed to reviewing its process and updating its documents. Given the risks involved with these types of cases, we expect the GCC to resolve the concerns we have identified promptly. We will monitor any changes the GCC makes.
The judgements we make against each Standard incorporate a range of evidence to form an overall picture of performance. Meeting a Standard means that we are satisfied that a regulator is performing well in that area. It does not mean there is no room for improvement. Similarly, finding that a regulator has met all of the Standards does not mean perfection. Rather, it signifies good performance in the 18 areas we assess.
Our reviews do not stop when we press the publish button. They are an ongoing, continuous process and, where we’ve identified areas for improvement, we pay particular attention to these as we continue to monitor the regulator’s performance.
You can find out more about the GCC’s review in the full report. You can find out more about how we review the regulators here.
ENDS
Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care
Contact: media@professionalstandards.org.uk
Notes to the Editor- The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care oversees 10 statutory bodies that regulate health and social care professionals in the UK.
- We assess their performance and report to Parliament. We also conduct audits and investigations and can appeal fitness to practise cases to the courts if we consider that sanctions are insufficient to protect the public and it is in the public interest.
- We also set standards for organisations holding voluntary registers for health and social care occupations and accredit those that meet them.
- We share good practice and knowledge, conduct research and introduce new ideas to our sector. We monitor policy developments in the UK and internationally and provide advice on issues relating to professional standards in health and social care.
- We do this to promote the health, safety and wellbeing of users of health and social care services and the public. We are an independent body, accountable to the UK Parliament.
- Our values are – integrity, transparency, respect, fairness and teamwork – and we strive to ensure that they are at the core of our work.
- More information about our work and the approach we take is available at www.professionalstandards.org.uk