How GCC Chief Executive Margaret Coats tried to cover up a vote of confidence in former GCC chairman Michael Copland Griffiths

On the 12th of December I asked Margaret Coates if the rumour was true that members of the GCC had passed a no confidence motion in another member, because of unprofessional behaviour She responded that this “rumour has no basis of fact”.
This rumour did “have basis of fact”, A vote of confidence did take place.
A partisan split on council must bring into question their ability to regulate the profession impartially.
It seems the GCC is divided along the lines of BCA, SCA , and the Committee chairs for , the UCA McT’s and the four lay members against, definitely not what the Department of Health expected and demanded from the profession at the BCA conference back in 1994.

on January 12 2006, the GCC answered my request for information regarding the GCC vote of confidence under the "Freedom of information act" .

Vote of Confidence

At the closed meeting of Council held on 8 DecemDer2005 a motion of ‘no confidence’ in the Chairman was proposed on the grounds that the proposer and seconder were unhappy with the chairing of meetings. A written ballot was conducted and the decision was that the motion was not carried. Written ballots do not record names.

Your Right of Appeal

You have the right to write to the Chief Executive at GCC offices if you are not happy with my response.

If you are still not satisfied, you then have the right to seek a further review from the Information Commissioner. Please see www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk or contact the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, or telephone 01625 545 700 for details.

Richard Lanigan
Richard Lanigan

Richard Lanigan DC.BSc (Chiro) MSc( Health Promotion) was born in North London 1957 of Irish Parents and was educated in Ireland. Originally trained as a PE teacher, he moved to Denmark 1979, where a serious knee injury got him interested in rehabilitation and training methods. Richard founded Denmarks premier fitness centre "Sweat Shop" in 1982 and travelled all over the world to find how best to prepare athletes for competition. In 1984 he became fitness and rehab consultant to the Danish national badminton teams, handball teams and many football club sides. This approach to optimal performance is normal in 2010, however back in the early 80s it was very revolutionary, when stretching was limited to putting on your socks and knee injuries were immobilised for months in plaster.
Richard developed rehabilitation and fitness programmes for many of Denmark’s top athletes including Kirsten Larsten and Ib Frederickson, all England singles badminton champions in late 80s. "Team Denmark" hired him and his facilities to help prepare many of Denmarks athletes for the LA and Seoul Olympics. In 1990 he worked with Anya Anderson, Olympic gold medallist and voted worlds best female handball player at the Atlanta Olympics.
Richard advised Copenhagen’s main teaching (Rigs) Hospital on starting their rehab facility in 1984. In the same year he started working with Denmarks leading chiropractor; Ole Wessung DC, who demonstrated the effectiveness of Chiropractic in improving athletic performance, so impressed was Richard that in 1990 he moved back to England to study chiropractic at Anglo European College of Chiropractic and was student president for two years between 1993-1995.

Richard was awarded a fellowship by the College of Chiropractors in 2008, however in January 2009 Richard chose to stop using the title chiropractor in the UK because the British regulatory body for chiropractic (The GCC) had not maintained international standards of chiropractic education in the UK and including prescribing medicines in the chiropractic scope of practice, a fig leaf for incompetent UK chiropractors to hide behind. Richard has another clinic in Dublin and is a member of the Chiropractic Association of Ireland and the European Chiropractic Union.
Richard has four children Eloise aged 3, Molly and Isabelle aged five and the eldest Frederik aged twenty one is pursuing a career as a professional tennis player and has represented Norway in the Davis Cup in 2006 & 2007. None of Richards children have ever taken any medicine, www.vaccination.co.uk they eat healthy food, take lots of exercise and have their spines checked every month, www.familychiropractic.co.uk
Richard has had much experience working in the Cuban health service where Doctors are keen to incorporate drug free interventions (acupuncture and chiropractic) and prevention in their health care programmes www.henryreevebrigade.org

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