General Chiropractic Council reminds Chiropractors they must inform the GCC when they are arrested or charged for any criminal offence. As part of its “Fitness to Practise” learning series, the organisation said:
“Registrants are reminded that they must inform the GCC within 7 days when they are arrested or charged in connection with any criminal offence. They are also reminded that registrants have a responsibility to conduct themselves professionally during an investigation, and the GCC will not hesitate to include inappropriate behaviour or abuse as part of a complaint.”
The advice said:

Criminal Proceedings

At a recent Investigation Committee meeting there were a number of complaints relating to late or incomplete reporting of criminal proceedings being taken against registered chiropractors.

Principle B of The Code states:

You must act with honesty and integrity at all times and uphold high standards of professional conduct and personal behaviour to ensure public confidence in the profession. You must be guided in your behaviour and practise at all times by the principle that the health and well-being of a patient comes first. You must follow procedures set down by the regulator.

Specifically Standard B9 states you must:

follow established procedures for informing the GCC if you are subject to criminal proceedings or a regulatory finding has been made against you anywhere in the world. You must cooperate with the GCC when asked for information.
Registrants should note that if they become the subject of criminal proceedings (in the UK this means at the point of arrest, or notification of charge or prosecution in circumstances where arrest was not necessary) they have seven days to inform the GCC in writing (you can use this form). Registrants also have to inform the GCC within seven days of receiving a criminal conviction, caution, reprimand, warning or fixed penalty notice (other than for road traffic offences). Further details of the process for informing us of an arrest or conviction

Respect for investigations

The GCC would like to remind all registrants that the GCC, as the regulator for the chiropractic profession, is responsible for protecting the public, maintaining public confidence in the profession and upholding professional standards. In this regard the GCC has a statutory duty to investigate all concerns which are raised to it, and a registrant has a duty under The Code to cooperate with any investigation by the GCC and to remain professional. This reminder comes after a recent case in which the committee considered (as well as the two concerns originally raised with the GCC) a third concern into the attitude of the registrant to the investigation (specifically their use of derogatory language questioning the legitimacy of the process). We understand that the investigation process can be a stressful one for registrants, but the final clause of standard B9 (“You must cooperate with the GCC when asked for information”), conveys an expectation of professionalism on the part of both the GCC and the registrant.

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