Is This A Proper Job For GrownUps?
When the GCC was formed it had a golden
opportunity to unite an invaluable profession while embracing its diversity. How
well is it doing?
When the General Chiropractic Council was formed
it was supposed to unite and regulate the chiropractic profession in the UK. In
the run up to registration there were six educational establishments, four
chiropractic groups with different philosophies and techniques and a host of
brickbats that flew with monotonous regularity back and forth between the
various factions. The Privy Council warned the profession that they hadn't a
snowball's chance in hell of getting registration if they didn't behave
themselves, stop the hissy fits and unite to form one body. This they did
grumbling the while until they all got a nice shiny new professional
registration body and they all lived happily ever after......or did
they?
Probably not is the short answer.
If you're all sitting comfortably we'll try and explain what's going on. If at
any stage in this endless saga you feel the urge to knit your own entrails
please resist and play Solitaire, the chyme will gum up your keyboard and in the
universal scheme of things there's more relevance in the steam from a cow pat
than in the somewhat small-minded shennanigans of shiny-shoed buereaucrats. In
the interests of information dissemination, however, we feel the necessity to
vent a little spleen, so here goes.
The
GCC is a registration and regulation body for chiropractors in the UK. The
beautifully printed folders they send out have the following phrases -
Protecting Patients - Setting Standards - Promoting the Profession. Now the
observant among you and those of you who have studied the history of
professional bodies may think that there's been a misprint and that the word
'Protecting' should replace the word Promoting in this mini mission statement
and you'd probably be right because surprise, surprise that's exactly what
they've been doing.
The rather handsome
registration fee is being used (in your name GCC registrants ! ) in the
following rather attractive ways:
1.
'Briefing' the Association of Chief Police Officers on the Chiropractic Act and
what it means to the public. No wonder the police have such difficulty catching
criminals if they need to have this fairly simple closed shop agreement
explained to them. The graduate police programme is obviously in deep trouble.
Pretty tame stuff you think but this
tame stuff has already been responsible for one practitioner of previously
unblemished record who chose not to register having a visit from the local
police after a neighbouring chiropractor (registered presumably or there'd be no
point - not that there was much point anyway ) acted as agent provocateur and
gleefully reported said practitioner ( who no longer uses the term chiropractor
) to the plod. It all came to nothing of course - no case to answer. The
practitioner concerned underwent a lot of stressful days waiting for the
clearance though and it does illustrate the kind of 'colleagues' we have/had.
Most chiropractors have far too much to do to get involved with this kind of
thing.
2. 'Briefing' the insurance
companies via their brokers that 'non-registered' practitioners are being
investigated with a view to prosecution under the aforementioned Act.
Interestingly when asked to define what is and is not acceptable to the GCC by a
practitioner they were unable to do so saying 'it was not for them to interpret
the Act'. Seemed perfectly able to do it when they wanted to pressurise the
insurers though ( off the record of course ). Ugly stuff is'nt
it?
Do you recognise the scenario
though? Isn't this what the MDs have been up to with chiropractors for years?
Trying everything to corner the market - every surreptitious trick in the book.
Somebody in Wicklow Street has done their homework. They obviously
have
learnt the lessons of history but perhaps not the ones they should
have.
Our question to those of you
reading this who are registered is was this how you expected your subscription
to be used? Do the elected officers know that this is going
on?
We'll be back with more skinny on
the situation in due course.
Till then
- plain one, purl two!! Entrails make such an attractive pattern and you've
yards to go yet.
Posted: Sat
- July 17, 2004 at 12:12 AM