The General Chiropractic Council (GCC) has “demonstrated a clear commitment to tackling issues around Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)”, according to its latest performance review by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).

However, the PSA noted in its report that “the GCC has had to deal with the ongoing and wide-ranging effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

It continued:

This continues to have a major impact on the GCC’s ability to progress complaints through its fitness to practise system. The time taken to progress cases to resolution has increased significantly this year – particularly for the most serious cases that reach the Professional Conduct Committee. The GCC has therefore not met Standard 15 for this review period. We will look in more detail at the GCC’s plans to improve performance in our next review.

We are concerned that the GCC may not have the legal powers it needs to manage high-risk fitness to practise cases effectively. Compared to other regulators, the GCC can use interim orders to restrict the practise of registrants for a relatively short period of time. This is a risk to patients and the public, and we will be investigating this further over the coming months.

Commenting on the report, Nick Jones, GCC Chief Executive and Registrar, said,

“We are pleased to see this overall assessment of our performance in meeting 17 Standards.

“The GCC views equality, diversity and inclusion as an essential and integral thread through everything it does, from public and patient engagement to developing the chiropractic profession.

“For us, EDI is more than a tick-box exercise or project but something that the GCC and its stakeholders understand and advocate. This deliberate position ensures that EDI is seen as a norm, not an exception.

“The PSA highlights the slow progression of the more serious Fitness to Practise complaints (typically about ten per year) as a concern, which we share. Like the cases, the reasons are complex, and we will continue to work hard to reduce the overall time taken to conclude these complaints, although it will take time for the results to work through.”

 

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