The General Chiropractic Council has issued a series of Fitness to Practise learnings to help Chiropractors improve their practise.
Co-operating with an investigation
The PCC was recently asked to consider a complaint where a male chiropractor was alleged to have behaved in a sexually motivated inappropriate way when treating a female patient. The allegations included touching and exposing her buttocks without consent, positioning his crotch in front of her face and engaging in unprofessional conversation where he reminisced about women topless sunbathing.
It was further alleged that the chiropractor had failed to adequately co-operate with the investigation by not providing a transcript of the patient’s records when requested numerous times over a four-month period.
Declaring criminal proceedings
The PCC was recently asked to consider a complaint that a chiropractor had failed to inform the GCC that they had been charged with two criminal offences. The criminal charges were later discharged and no criminal findings were made against the chiropractor.
The case did not consider the nature of the two criminal charges, but focussed on an allegation that the chiropractor had not notified the GCC of the criminal charges .
The Code states that a chiropractor:
- B9: 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.
Making unsubstantiated claims in advertising
A chiropractor made a complaint that another chiropractor (the registrant) was making spurious claims in their advertising material. While the original complaint focused on specific comparisons of approach between the advertiser and other local chiropractors (which were not identified by name), it also came to light during the investigation that the registrant was claiming online that chiropractic treatment was effective for certain conditions outside of those listed in the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) CAP Code guidance.
When the registrant was made aware of the complaint, they immediately removed the relevant claims from their website and social media presence.
Conversations about weight
A patient made a complaint that a chiropractor was inappropriate and insensitive when suggesting they needed to manage their weight.
The patient alleged that the chiropractor:
- Told the patient that they were “too big for their skeleton”.
- Patted the patient’s stomach while telling them to lose weight
- Told the patient to lose weight and skip meals.
- They also suggested that the patient’s weight was responsible for their infertility (which had been disclosed to the chiropractor as part of their pre-treatment screening).
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