Health Policy Unit
Chair – Stuart Smellie FRCC (Ed), MRCC (Pain)
In the last two decades the chiropractic profession has come a long way towards establishing itself in the UK health care system through the publication of good evidence. This helped with the passage of the Chiropractors Act and setting up of the General Chiropractic Council. The NHS were also involved leading to a greater understanding of chiropractic among other healthcare professions.
The RCC’s Health Policy Unit (HPU) is focused on the continuing development of the profession. The HPU’s Terms of Reference are as follows:
- To develop and define the RCC’s position on key aspects of chiropractic practice, in liaison with the RCC Council, and act as the contact point for the RCC when its views are sought.
- To seek to establish a culture of clinical governance to assure the quality of care provided by chiropractors is constantly improving.
- To work to ensure chiropractic is recognised as a profession that has broad skills and competencies and provides a package of care not limited to manual therapy.
- To foster the widespread collection and utilisation of outcome data relating to clinical effectiveness, cost effectiveness and patient experience and to promote Evidence Based Practice in liaison with the RCC Research committee.
- To develop care pathways, protocols and service specifications and to position chiropractic appropriately within multidisciplinary care pathways.
- To investigate and foster the integration of chiropractic and commissioning of chiropractic services into mainstream healthcare, thus increasing access and reducing long-term healthcare costs.
- To seek to collaborate with other disciplines to identify best practice, to foster patient choice and to help eliminate health inequalities in the MSK field.
- To establish links with key organisations, such as the UK Department of Health and Social Care and relevant NHS groups, and to ensure the chiropractic profession is represented as a stakeholder in terms of health policy decision making.
- To produce the RCC’s responses to relevant consultations in liaison with and on behalf of the Council.
Health Policy Unit Publications
Health Policy Unit Bulletins
Axial Spondyloarthritis (AxSpA) Quality Standard Launch
Posted in Health Policy BulletinThe Royal College of Chiropractors’ Quality Standards are tools designed to help deliver the best possible outcomes for patients. They are a series of specific, concise quality statements with associated measures that provide aspirational, but achievable, markers of high-quality patient care covering the treatment of […]WHO guideline for non-surgical management of chronic primary low back pain
Posted in Health Policy BulletinWHO guideline for non-surgical management of chronic primary low back pain in adults in primary and community care settings This new WHO guideline provides evidence-based recommendations on non-surgical interventions for chronic primary LBP (CPLBP) in adults, including older people, that can be delivered in primary and community […]Navigating-Consent: A Chiropractror’s Guide in Light of the Montgomery Ruling
Posted in Health Policy BulletinConsent has become an even more critical aspect of UK chiropractic practice in light of the Montgomery ruling. The RCC Health Policy Unit has today launched a new advice note for chiropractors explaining that chiropractors must embrace a patient-centred approach, prioritising effective communication, shared decision-making […]New Chiropractic Practice Standard for Communication with Patients
Posted in Health Policy BulletinThe Royal College of Chiropractors’ Chiropractic Practice Standards are a new series of evidence-based documents designed to help chiropractors meet their obligations in the provision of high quality patient care and/or in ensuring good governance of their services. For each area of practice, they: – […]New Chiropractic Quality Standard for Headache
Posted in Health Policy BulletinThe Royal College of Chiropractors’ Health Policy Unit is pleased to announce the publication of a new quality standard which covers the chiropractic assessment and management of adult patients presenting with headache. Headaches are one of the most common health complaints, with most people experiencing […]New Chiropractic Quality Standard for Osteoporosis
Posted in Health Policy BulletinThe Royal College of Chiropractors’ Health Policy Unit is pleased to announce the publication of a new quality standard which covers the chiropractic assessment and management of patients with osteoporosis and those at risk of osteoporotic fracture. This quality standard is specific to the environment in which […]