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What is the General Chiropractic Council (GCC)?

The GCC is an independent body, accountable to Parliament and subject to scrutiny by the Professional Standards Authority (previously CHRE). The statutory duty of the Council is to develop and regulate the profession of chiropractic. The Council is made up of 14 members, seven lay (non chiropractors) and seven registrants (professional chiropractors). In the UK there are 9 General Councils - you may have heard of the General Medical Council (GMC) who have a similar duty to regulate doctors. Julia Sayers of Essential Chiropractic was appointed to the General Chiropractic Council in 2012 for a four year term.

In the grand scheme of things chiropractic is a relatively young healthcare discipline, it was established towards the end of the nineteenth century in America, at a similar time to osteopathy, but the legislation underpinning the profession in the UK only received Royal assent in 1994. The Chiropractors Act 1994 is a comprehensive and detailed piece of legislation which determines how chiropractors must conduct themselves in practice. Essential Chiropractic's Julia Sayers was appointed to the General Chiropractic Council in 2012 for a four year term.

Protection of the public and maintenance of standards

The General Chiropractic Council produces the Code of Practice and the Standard of Proficiency which sets out for patients the quality of care they are entitled to receive from chiropractors. For chiropractors, they are the benchmarks of conduct and practice against which they are measured.

Anyone who calls themselves a chiropractor in the UK must be registered with the GCC, otherwise they are committing a criminal offence. Once an individual is registered as a chiropractor they must maintain and update their knowledge and skills by undertaking monitored Continuing Professional Development.

It is worth noting that the law "does not define the scope of practice" this means that there is no one way to deliver chiropractic care. As long as a chiropractor delivers chiropractic care that promotes patient health and well being, according to the Code and the Standard mentioned earlier, they are able to do so as they wish. It is one of the strengths of the profession that there is a medley of choice and care.

Julia Sayers GCC reg no 01919
(Source: www.GCC-UK.org)