Osteopath
- Regulators
-
- General Osteopathic Council
- Nations
- United Kingdom
- Sectors
-
- Health and care
Regulatory or professional bodies
Primary regulator
- Regulatory authority
- General Osteopathic Council
- Address
-
Osteopathy House, 176 Tower Bridge Road
London
SE1 3LU - Email address
- registration@osteopathy.org.uk
- Website
- https://www.osteopathy.org.uk
- Phone number
- +44 (0)20 7357 6655
Regulation
Regulation summary
Osteopathy is a system of diagnosis and treatment for a wide range of medical conditions. It works with the structure and function of the body and is based on the principle that the well-being of an individual depends on the skeleton, muscles, ligaments and connective tissues functioning smoothly together.
The General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) is the regulator for the osteopathy profession in the UK. The GOsC was set up by The Osteopaths Act 1993.
The Osteopaths Act 1993 is an Act of Parliament which sets out the powers of the GOsC. Our role, constitution and key duties, and those of our statutory committees, are governed by the Osteopaths Act and a number of additional pieces of legislation, known as ‘secondary legislation’.
The Act and the other pieces of legislation are all available on the GOsC website.
Regulation type
Reserved activities
Defined by Osteopaths Act 1993 - practise as an osteopath
Protected titles
From the Osteopaths Act 1993, Section 32:
A person who (whether expressly or by implication) describes himself as an osteopath, osteopathic practitioner, osteopathic physician, osteopathist, osteotherapist, or any other kind of osteopath, is guilty of an offence unless he is a registered osteopath.
- More about regulated activities and titles
- https://www.osteopathy.org.uk/about-us/our-work/protecting-the-osteopathic-title-policy/
Qualifications and experience
New professionals
- Routes to qualification
-
If training in the UK you will need to obtain a Recognised Qualification from an Osteopathic Education Institution.
Training courses generally lead to a bachelor’s degree in osteopathy (a BSc Hons, BOst or BOstMed) or a masters degree (MOst). Courses usually consist of four years of full-time training, five years part-time or a mixture of full or part-time. There are also courses with accelerated pathways for doctors and physiotherapists.
A degree course includes anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, nutrition and biomechanics, plus at least 1,000 hours of clinical training.
- More about qualification
- https://www.osteopathy.org.uk/training-and-registering/becoming-an-osteopath/
Professionals from outside the UK
- Recognition for professionals outside the UK
- All - there are routes to recognition for professionals from all countries
- Summary of routes
-
The GOsC will assess the training and experience of any overseas qualified professional to ensure they are equivalent to the UK standards, the Osteopathic Practice Standards.
- More about recognition for professionals outside the UK
- https://www.osteopathy.org.uk/training-and-registering/how-to-register-with-the-gosc/i-trained-outside-the-uk/
Registration
- Registration requirements
-
To complete your registration application you will need to provide: a completed registration application form a health reference a character reference an enhanced check for regulated activity an entry fee
Legislation
- Title of relevant act or charter
-
Osteopaths Act 1993
- Website link to legislation
- https://www.osteopathy.org.uk/about-us/legislation/