About every three months the General Osteopathic Council meet around a big round table – it’s probably actually something like a dodecahexagon  to be precise – to discuss and decide important and official things which affect osteopaths throughout the UK.   These meetings are open to members of the GOsC, but don’t just rock up to Tower Bridge road at five to ten and demand entry.  You need to phone and get permission, from Marcia on 0207 357 6655 (ext) 246.  If you do attend you will get a warm welcome, a cup of coffee, and will learn quite a lot about the governance of the profession.  Most of the public business is done in the morning session, and then there is a lunch break and a bit more public meeting before it goes private by about 3pm.  I have managed to catch the super-off-peak pre-rush hour train back to sunny Hove with time to buy a Private Eye and a caramel shortbread for the journey.

I went to my first meeting simply to get something to write about on my blog, and because I am generally a curious individual, but I found it more interesting than I expected.  However I understand that most osteopaths are busy slaving over a treatment table, more concerned with earning a crust and alleviating suffering than gadding about South London researching the corridors of power.  I also realise that most osteopaths live nowhere near Tower Bridge road and it could be quite a time-consuming and expensive journey to get there. So here are links to the (very unofficial and unreliable) reports I have written about my visits.

July 2015

November 2015

February 2016