About
This website presents the Osteopathic Practice Standards in a mobile-friendly format and aims to give quick and easy access to the updated standards and accompanying guidance, presented by theme.
The Osteopathic Practice Standards set out the standards that underpin osteopathic practice and include guidance to assist osteopaths in meeting them. The purpose of the standards is to ensure quality care for patients and to protect them from harm. Every five years, the standards are consulted on to update them in relation to practice, taking into consideration developments in health regulation, research, best practice from other regulators and recent changes in the law.
Following consultation, these standards were published by the GOsC on 1 September 2018 and came into effect on 1 September 2019, as by law the standards must be published one year before officially coming into effect.
These standards are not so different from the previous standards, but have been brought up to date and edited to make them clearer, more accessible, and easier to engage with as a framework to support practice. The standards also provide further detail on important areas of osteopathic practice, including boundaries (emotional and professional, as well as sexual), communication and consent, and the duty of candour.
Under the current CPD scheme, which launched on 1 October 2018, osteopaths need to include CPD activities which link to the four themes of the updated standards across the three years of their CPD cycle. The themes are Communication and patient partnership; Knowledge, skills and performance; Safety and quality in practice; and Professionalism. These have remained the same as in the previous 2012 standards.