Category Archives: News

Outcomes for Chiropractic Graduates

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Outcomes for Chiropractic Graduates: Consultation on draft document – now closed

The Forum of Chiropractic Deans (FCD) is a group comprising the leaders of the UK’s chiropractic education programmes, and the Royal College of Chiropractors. It has the primary objective of harmonising chiropractic undergraduate education and training outcomes in the UK.

The FCD has produced a draft document entitled Outcomes for Chiropractic Graduates which seeks to define the knowledge, skills and competencies of newly qualified chiropractors in the UK. This document is intended to:

  • Provide a clear framework for new and established programme providers in terms of core curriculum design, helping them produce graduates whose knowledge, skills and competencies meet the needs of the profession.
  • Enable chiropractic students to understand what they will need to know and be able to do at the point of graduation, thus enabling them to play an active role in directing their own learning.
  • Facilitate the identification of knowledge, skills and competencies that are postgraduate/relate to special interests.
  • Enable patients, the public, health professionals, health & care organisations and commissioners to understand and recognise what chiropractors know and are able to do.
  • Ensure postgraduate trainers and employers have a clear understanding and clear expectations of graduates’ attributes and can support and facilitate a smooth transition to autonomous professional practice.
  • Help enable those returning to practice to identify and address professional learning needs.
  • Help enable overseas graduates to recognise the knowledge, skills and competencies required for professional practice in the UK.

The FCD now wishes to consult widely with the UK chiropractic profession, but is also keen to hear from other health professionals, health & care organisations, commissioners, patients and the public. It particularly wishes obtain views on the following questions:

  1. Have we identified all the core competencies required of a recently graduated chiropractor? If not, what’s missing?
  2. Have we included competencies that you consider are not core? If so, please specify.
  3. Are the core competencies clearly expressed such that chiropractors, other health professionals, health & care organisations, commissioners, patients and public can reasonably be expected to understand what we mean?

The consultation document is available for review here.

To participate in the consultation, please download and complete the

Consultation response form

and return it to admin@rcc-uk.org by the deadline of 5pm on Friday 6th May 2022.

Merger of the Chiropractic Patients Association and the Royal College of Chiropractors

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Merger of the Chiropractic Patients Association and the Royal College of Chiropractors

The Chiropractic Patients Association (CPA) is a patient-led organisation that has always had the best interests of chiropractic patients at its heart. It was registered as a charity in March 1989 (having previously existed as the Chiropractic Advancement Research and Education Trust Fund) in order to represent and support patients, providing them with information about chiropractic care and helping them with any queries. However, the CPA’s wider activities have always included raising awareness of the benefits of chiropractic care, supporting the education of chiropractic students and practitioners, and raising funds to support chiropractic research.

For the past 18 years, the CPA has worked closely with the Lay Partnership Group (LPG) of the Royal College of Chiropractors (RCC), pursuing similar goals and objectives and even sharing personnel. This has recently led to the CPA Trustees making the decision for the CPA to merge into the RCC and form a new patient committee within the RCC’s organisational structure. The Trustees of both the CPA and the RCC have undertaken appropriate due diligence and unanimously approved this merger, which is expected to be finalised in the first quarter of 2022.

This important development will improve administrative efficiency and ensure the patient-centred objectives of the CPA are sustainable in the long-term. It will also lead to a range of exciting developments and opportunities, including:

– Establishment of a larger and more representative national chiropractic patient forum

– New support materials for patients

– Greater opportunities for patient involvement in a range of activities including active input to consultations

– Support for the development of local patient groups

The new committee will take on responsibility for managing the Patient Partnership Quality Mark (PPQM), and assets transferred from the CPA will be ring-fenced to further the objectives that are currently common to both the CPA and the RCC, including financial support for research.

The CPA’s former Trustees will have an active role in the new patient committee, ensuring continuity in the pursuit of the CPA’s objectives but under the auspices, and with the administrative support, of the RCC. It is hoped that the CPA’s members, who are chiropractic patients, will remain associated with the new organisation; there will be no membership fees for these members to pay in the future, but many more resources to support them and more opportunities for them to have a say in issues that matter to them. A major objective of the new committee will be to grow the membership of this patient body.

Further information about how patients can become involved with the new patient committee will be disseminated shortly after the merger is complete.

IPC Guidance Update

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IPC Guidance Update

Government guidance on infection prevention and control for seasonal respiratory infections including SARS-CoV-2 was updated on 24th November 2021. The update includes significant changes to the guidance on PPE (Section 6.5), although chiropractors should continue to have robust, risk-assessed, infection prevention and control measures in place, and continue to monitor any updates to the IPC guidance.

NICE Publishes Workplace Health Quality Standard

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NICE Publishes Workplace Health Quality Standard

A NICE quality standard on Workplace Health (QS202) has been published on the NICE website.

This quality standard covers how to help people return to work after long-term sickness absence, reduce recurring sickness absence, and help prevent people moving from short-term to long-term sickness absence. It covers everyone aged over 16 in full-time or part-time employment (paid or unpaid), and describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement.

CMQM Applications for the Period 2022 – 2024 now open

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Clinical Management Quality Mark (CMQM) – The call for CMQM applications for the 2022-2024 period is now open.

The application form, conditions of award and detailed advice and guidance for producing a successful application (in the form of an online learning module), can be accessed here.

Further details about the awards and list of current award holders are available here for the PPQM, and here for the CMQM.

For queries, email: admin@rcc-uk.org

IPC Guidance

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IPC Guidance

Although infection prevention and control (IPC) guidance agreed by the four UK nations remains under constant review, it has not been updated following the lifting of legal restrictions around COVID-19 that commenced today, Monday 19th July 2021. This means that the guidance, as issued on 1st June 2021, is still current and that, to ensure patient and staff safety is maintained, practising Chiropractors should continue to have robust, risk-assessed, infection prevention and control measures in place. Chiropractors should also monitor any updates to the IPC guidance.

PPQM Applications for the Period 2022 – 2024

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Patient Partnership Quality Mark (PPQM) – The call for PPQM applications for the 2022-2024 period is now open.

The application form, conditions of award and detailed advice and guidance for producing a successful application (in the form of an online learning module), can be accessed here.

Clinical Management Quality Mark (CMQM) – The call for CMQM applications for the 2022-2024 period will open shortly.

Further details about the awards and list of current award holders are available here for the PPQM, and here for the CMQM.

For queries, email: admin@rcc-uk.org

Research Grant Awards 2021

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Research Grant Awards 2021

The RCC is pleased to announce the availability of a grant to support staff costs in relation to a research project commencing during 2021. Applications are invited from UK institutions to fund the costs of personnel undertaking research in the UK, but may relate to projects that involve collaboration with partner/s overseas.

Innovation Grant – £15k for 1 year:

Applications will be considered for projects in any area of research relevant to neuro-musculoskeletal health. Priority will be given to projects that adopt an innovative approach and attract matched funding.

[N.B. RCC Innovation Grant holders will be eligible for NIHR Clinical Research Network Support if their project is of clear and demonstrable value to the NHS.]

The deadline for receipt of applications for projects commencing in 2021 is Friday 23 July 2021.

Please visit this page for full details, including an Application Form and Conditions of Award.

RCC Research Committee Bulletin

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RCC Research Committee Bulletin

Global summit on SMT

A new RCC Research Committee Bulletin, available here, summarises a recent study that reviewed the evidence for the efficacy and effectiveness of Spinal Manipuative Therapy (SMT) for the treatment of non-musculoskeletal conditions. The findings and limitations of the study are discussed.

New National Restrictions

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New National Restrictions (to reduce the spread of coronavirus)

The new national restrictions that apply in England from today until Wednesday 2 December 2020 are designed to reduce the spread of coronavirus and thus reduce pressure on the NHS, whilst allowing schools and universities to remain open and as many people as possible to continue to work. During this period, people are being asked to stay at home and avoid meeting people they do not live with. Some businesses are required to close, but Chiropractic clinics are permitted to remain open, along with other healthcare services (p32 #47).

To ensure patient and public safety is maintained, Chiropractors who continue to provide care during this time should do so with robust risk-assessed procedures in place that take into account the use of appropriate Personal Protective Equipment.

The General Chiropractic Council has outlined its expectations of registrants in its November newsletter and the RCC recommends that Chiropractors follow the detailed advice provided by their Professional Association.