Joint Statements

This joint statement regarding reflective practice has been agreed by all nine regulators overseen by the Professional Standards Authority.

We believe there are many benefits to becoming a reflective practitioner and the statement sets out our common expectations for health and care professionals.

Being a reflective practitioner benefits people using health and care services by:

• Supporting individual professionals in multi-disciplinary team work
• Fostering improvements in practice and services
• Assuring the public that health and care professionals are continuously learning and seeking to improve.

As well as expecting the people we regulate to be reflective practitioners, we also have a duty to consider our own actions, and their effect. We are committed to improving how we provide assurance and protection to the public. We do this continuously in our work, through evaluation, to reflect and make changes in what we do and how we work.

The statement reflects the principles set out in each regulator’s individual code of practice, professional standards or guidance on reflective practice.

Our joint statement with other healthcare regulators explains the expectation that all healthcare professionals should act openly and honestly with their patients in the event things go wrong (a duty of candour). We have not received any complaints that a chiropractor has ever breached this principle.

This is already an implied requirement of the Code, for which we have published guidance on complying with candour requirements.

The Joint Statement (2014) can be found here.

Our joint statement sets out the expectations of how healthcare professionals should act in relation to avoiding, declaring and managing actual or potential conflicts of interest across all healthcare settings. It supports the Code.

The Joint Statement (2017) can be found here.

It has been agreed by all nine regulators overseen by the Professional Standards Authority.

You may also wish to review this illustrative scenario developed jointly by the General Chiropractic Council and the General Dental Council.  It gives an example of a conflict of interest and how it might be managed.

Other illustrative scenarios from different regulators can be found below:

• General Osteopathic Council: Making referrals to a colleague
• General Medical Council: Disclosure
• General Medical Council/General Pharmaceutical Council/Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland: Prescription direction
• Health and Care Professions Council: NHS and private treatment

A mandatory duty to report female genital mutilation (FGM) cases to the police came into effect in England and Wales on 31 October 2015. It applies to all registered healthcare professionals, including chiropractors.

The duty applies:

• where a chiropractor, in the course of their work, is informed directly by a girl that an act of FGM has been carried out on her
• where a chiropractor observes physical signs which appear to show an act of FGM has been carried out and has no reason to believe that the act was necessary for the girl’s physical or mental health or for purposes connected with labour or birth
• to girls who are under 18 at the time that FGM is observed or disclosed. It does not apply if the health professional only suspects that FGM may have been carried out.

While the duty is limited to the specific circumstances described above, chiropractors should consider their wider safeguarding responsibilities in line with the standards outlined in the Code.

All chiropractors should familiarise themselves with the government’s guidance and resources here. Under the legislation, failure to comply with the duty may result in an investigation of your fitness to practise.

Although the duty does not apply to Scotland and Northern Ireland, chiropractors should still follow local safeguarding procedures. Scottish legislation is outlined here. Information for those based in Northern Ireland is available here.