Chiropractic Patients Association have no confidence in the GCC

What the CPA thinks of the GCC and what the GCC thinks of their opinion

by on Fri 08 Dec 2006 07:52 PM GMT

On Friday December 8^th The Chiropractic Patients Association (CPA) had a meeting with the GCC. I made a freedom of information request for the GCC notes of the Meeting and was told they had none.

In my experience the GCC only takes minutes that the have complete control over how the information will be presented. The CPA was not being complementary to the GCC and so it was not something they would want to report to the CHRE. Margaret Coats took the minutes of all GCC meetings I ever attended and in general people were not happy with how she minuted those meetings. These are the CPA notes for the meeting.

The points raised by the CPA were;

• That the GCC appears to be taking the attitude that a chiropractor is guilty and has to prove their innocence. “This is against natural justice”
• The GCC is spending a disproportionate amount of money on prosecution in comparison with other regulatory bodies. In the same period Osteopaths spent £300,000 compared with the GCC’s £1,200,000. and there are more Osteopaths to regulate.

In addition to this point a freedom of information request to the Council for Health Care Regulatory Excelence (CHRE) Pointed out that between January 2004 and January 2007 they had received five complaints against the Ostepathic council, compared with eleven complaints against the GCC during the same period.

• The GCC has on its council a significant number of lay people who have no experience of being a chiropractic patient.
• The CPA said if asked the would have agreed with the sentiments expressed in the Bankside law survey that 77% of the chiropractic profession had no confidence in the GCC.

When I was on council I suggested getting the CPA involved in the initial complaints procedure for small chiropractic practices. Margaret Coats felt they would not be suitable because the CPA is too “pro chiropractic” to watch the interests of patients.