(1) On an application made by the osteopath concerned, in a case falling within section 24(1)(a), an interim suspension order may be revoked by the Committee which made it on the ground that a change in the circumstances of the case has made the order unnecessary.
(2) Where an osteopath has made an application under subsection (1) which has been refused, he may appeal to the appropriate court against the refusal.
(3) Where, in relation to an interim suspension order—
(a) an appeal has been made under section 24(6) against the making of the order, or
(b) a further application for the order to be revoked has been made after an unsuccessful appeal under this section against the refusal of an earlier application,
leave of the appropriate court shall be required for any appeal under subsection (2) in relation to that order.
(4) Except in a case falling within subsection (5), no application under subsection (1) shall be entertained by the Committee concerned if it is made before the end of the period of six months beginning—
(a) with the date on which the order was imposed; or
(b) where an unsuccessful appeal against the order has been made under section 24(6), the date on which the appeal was dismissed.
(5) Where a previous application has been made under subsection (1) in relation to an interim suspension order, no further such application shall be entertained by the Committee concerned if it is made before the end of the period of six months beginning with the date on which the previous application was finally disposed of.
(6) Any appeal under subsection (2) must be brought before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which notice of the refusal is sent to the osteopath.
(7) On an appeal under subsection (2) the court may terminate the suspension.
(8) On such an appeal the decision of the court shall be final.
(9) In this section “the appropriate court” has the same meaning as in section 24.
(1) The General Council shall make rules as to the procedure to be followed by the Professional Conduct Committee or the Health Committee in considering any allegation under section 22 or 23.
(2) The rules shall, in particular, include provision—
(a) empowering each Committee to refer to the other any allegation which it considers would be better dealt with by that other Committee;
(b) requiring the osteopath to whom the allegation relates to be given notice of the allegation;
(c) giving the osteopath an opportunity to put his case at a hearing if—
(i) before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which notice of the allegation is sent to him, he asks for a hearing; or
(ii) the Committee considers that a hearing is desirable;
(d) entitling the osteopath to be legally represented at any hearing in respect of the allegation;
(e) securing that—
(i) any hearing before the Professional Conduct Committee is held in public unless the Committee decides that it is in the interests of the person making the allegation, or of any person giving evidence or of any patient, to hold the hearing or any part of it in private; and
(ii) any hearing before the Health Committee is held in private unless the Committee considers that it is appropriate to hold the hearing or any part of it in public;
(f) requiring the osteopath to be notified by the Committee of its decision, its reasons for reaching that decision and of his right of appeal;
(g) requiring the person by whom the allegation was made to be notified by the Committee of its decision and of its reasons for reaching that decision;
(h) empowering the Committee to require persons to attend and give evidence or to produce documents;
(i) about the admissibility of evidence;
(j) enabling the Committee to administer oaths.
(3) No person shall be required by any rules made under this section to give any evidence or produce any document or other material at a hearing held by either Committee which he could not be compelled to give or produce in civil proceedings in any court in that part of the United Kingdom in which the hearing takes place.
(1) The General Council shall appoint persons to be legal assessors.
(2) They shall have the general function of giving advice to—
(a) any person appointed in accordance with rules made under section 20(4),
(b) the Investigating Committee,
(c) the Professional Conduct Committee, or
(d) the Health Committee,
on questions of law arising in connection with any matter which he or (as the case may be) the committee is considering.
(3) They shall also have such other functions as may be conferred on them by rules made by the General Council.
(4) To be qualified for appointment as a legal assessor under this section, a person must—
(a) have a 10 year general qualification (within the meaning of section 71 of the [1990 c. 41.] Courts and Legal Services Act 1990);
(b) be an advocate or solicitor in Scotland of at least 10 years' standing; or
(c) be a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland or solicitor of the Supreme Court of Northern Ireland of at least 10 years' standing.
(5) The General Council may pay such fees, allowances and expenses to persons appointed as legal assessors as it may determine.
(6) In the case of a legal assessor who is also a member of the General Council or of any of its committees, any such payment made to him in his capacity as a legal assessor shall be in addition to any to which he is entitled as such a member.
(1) The General Council may appoint registered medical practitioners to be medical assessors.
(2) They shall have the general function of giving advice to—
(a) any person appointed in accordance with rules made under section 20(4),
(b) the Investigating Committee,
(c) the Professional Conduct Committee, or
(d) the Health Committee,
on matters within their professional competence arising in connection with any matter which he or (as the case may be) the committee is considering.
(3) They shall also have such other functions as may be conferred on them by rules made by the General Council.
(4) The General Council may pay such fees, allowances and expenses to persons appointed as medical assessors as it may determine.
(5) In the case of a medical assessor who is also a member of the General Council or of any of its committees, any such payment made to him in his capacity as a medical assessor shall be in addition to any to which he is entitled as such a member.
(1) Where the Registrar—
(a) refuses to register an applicant for registration under this Act,
(b) registers such an applicant with provisional or conditional registration,
(c) refuses to renew any registration,
(d) removes the name of a registered osteopath from the register on the ground that he has breached one or more of the conditions subject to which his registration had effect (otherwise than under an order of the Professional Conduct Committee), or
(e) refuses to grant an application for the conversion of a conditional, or provisional, registration into full registration,
the person aggrieved may appeal to the General Council.
(2) Any such appeal shall be subject to such rules as the General Council may make for the purpose of regulating appeals under this section.
(3) An appeal to the General Council must be made before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which notice of the Registrar’s decision is sent to the person concerned.
(4) Any person aggrieved by the decision of the General Council on an appeal under this section may appeal, on a point of law, to the appropriate court.
(5) Any right of appeal given by this section shall be in addition to any right which the person concerned may otherwise have to appeal to a county court or, in Scotland, to the sheriff; but only one such right of appeal may be exercised in relation to the same decision.
(6) In this section “the appropriate court” means—
(a) in the case of a person whose registered address is (or if he were registered would be) in Scotland, the Court of Session;
(b) in the case of a person whose registered address is (or if he were registered would be) in Northern Ireland, the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland; and
(c) in any other case, the High Court of Justice in England and Wales.
(1) Any person with respect to whom a decision of the Health Committee is made under section 23 may, before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which notification of the decision is sent to him, appeal against it in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(2) An appeal under subsection (1) shall lie to an appeal tribunal, consisting of a chairman and two other members, established for the purposes of the appeal in accordance with rules made by the General Council for the purposes of this section.
(3) The General Council shall make rules as to the procedure to be followed by an appeal tribunal hearing an appeal under this section.
(4) The rules may, in particular, make similar provision to that made by virtue of section 26(2)(d), (f), (g), (h), (i) or (j).
(5) No decision against which an appeal may be made under this section shall have effect before—
(a) the expiry of the period within which such an appeal may be made; or
(b) the appeal is withdrawn or otherwise disposed of.
(6) The chairman of an appeal tribunal—
(a) shall be selected in accordance with rules made by the General Council; and
(b) shall be qualified as mentioned in section 27(4).
(7) Each of the other two members of an appeal tribunal shall be selected in accordance with rules made by the General Council—
(a) one of them being a fully registered osteopath, and
(b) the other being a registered medical practitioner.
(8) The rules may not provide for the selection of any member of an appeal tribunal to be by the General Council.
(9) The chairman of an appeal tribunal shall appoint a person approved by the members of the tribunal to act as clerk of the tribunal.
(10) Subject to any provision made by the rules, an appeal tribunal shall sit in public and shall sit—
(a) in Northern Ireland, in the case of an osteopath whose registered address is in Northern Ireland;
(b) in Scotland, in the case of an osteopath whose registered address is in Scotland; and
(c) in England and Wales, in any other case.
(11) On any appeal under this section—
(a) the appeal shall be by way of a rehearing of the case;
(b) the General Council shall be the respondent; and
(c) the tribunal hearing the appeal shall have power to make any decision which the Health Committee had power to make under section 23.
(12) An appeal tribunal shall have the same powers of interim suspension as the Health Committee has under section 24(1)(b) and that section shall have effect in relation to suspension orders made by appeal tribunals with the necessary modifications.
(13) No person shall be required by any rules made under this section to give any evidence or produce any document or other material at a hearing held by an appeal tribunal which he could not be compelled to give or produce in civil proceedings in any court in that part of the United Kingdom in which the hearing takes place.
(14) An appeal tribunal shall have power to award costs.
(15) Any expenses reasonably incurred by a tribunal, including any incurred in connection with the appointment of a clerk, shall be met by the General Council.
(1) Any person with respect to whom—
(a) a decision of the Professional Conduct Committee is made under section 22, or
(b) a decision is made by an appeal tribunal hearing an appeal under section 30,
may, before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which notification of the decision is sent to him, appeal against it in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(2) No such decision shall have effect—
(a) before the expiry of the period within which an appeal against the decision may be made; or
(b) where an appeal against the decision has been duly made, before the appeal is withdrawn or otherwise disposed of.
(3) An appeal under this section shall lie to Her Majesty in Council.
(4) An appeal under subsection (1)(b) may only be on a point of law.
(5) Any such appeal shall be dealt with in accordance with rules made by Her Majesty by Order in Council for the purposes of this section.
(6) On an appeal under this section, the General Council shall be the respondent.
(7) The [1833 c. 41.] Judicial Committee Act 1833 shall apply in relation to the Professional Conduct Committee, the Health Committee and the General Council as it applies in relation to any court from which an appeal lies to Her Majesty in Council.
(8) Without prejudice to the application of that Act, on an appeal under this section to Her Majesty in Council, the Judicial Committee may in their report recommend to Her Majesty in Council—
(a) that the appeal be dismissed;
(b) that the appeal be allowed and the decision questioned by the appeal quashed;
(c) that such other decision as the Professional Conduct Committee or (as the case may be) Health Committee could have made be substituted for the decision questioned by the appeal; or
(d) that the case be remitted to the Committee or appeal tribunal concerned to be disposed of in accordance with the directions of the Judicial Committee.
(1) A person who (whether expressly or by implication) describes himself as an osteopath, osteopathic practitioner, osteopathic physician, osteopathist, osteotherapist, or any other kind of osteopath, is guilty of an offence unless he is a registered osteopath.
(2) A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with any requirement imposed by—
(a) the Professional Conduct Committee,
(b) the Health Committee, or
(c) an appeal tribunal hearing an appeal under section 30,
under rules made by virtue of section 26(2)(h) or under any corresponding rules made by virtue of section 30(4) is guilty of an offence.
(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level five on the standard scale.
(1) In this section “regulatory provision” means—
(a) any rule made by the General Council;
(b) any provision of the Code of Practice issued by the Council under section 19; and
(c) any other advice or guidance given by the Council, any of its committees or any sub-committee of such a committee.
(2) Schedule 8 to the [1973 c. 41.] Fair Trading Act 1973 (powers exercisable when making certain orders) shall, for the purposes of a competition order, have effect in relation to a regulatory provision as it has effect in relation to an agreement, but with the necessary modifications.
(3) A competition order may be made so as to have effect in relation to a regulatory provision even though that provision was properly made in exercise of functions conferred by this Act.
(4) In this section “a competition order” means—
(a) an order under section 56 of the Act of 1973 (orders following reports on monopoly references); or
(b) an order under section 10 of the [1980 c. 21.] Competition Act 1980 (orders following reports on competition references).
(5) For the purposes of any order under section 56 of the Act of 1973 or section 10 of the Act of 1980, section 90(4) of the Act of 1973 (power to apply orders to existing agreements) shall have effect in relation to a regulatory provision as it has effect in relation to an agreement.
(1) If it appears to the Privy Council that the General Council has failed to perform any functions which, in the opinion of the Privy Council, should have been performed, the Privy Council may give the General Council such direction as the Privy Council considers appropriate.
(2) If the General Council fails to comply with any direction given under this section, the Privy Council may itself give effect to the direction.
(3) For the purpose of enabling it to give effect to a direction under subsection (1), the Privy Council may—
(a) exercise any power of the General Council or do any act or other thing authorised to be done by the General Council; and
(b) do, of its own motion, any act or other thing which it is otherwise authorised to do under this Act on the instigation of the General Council.
(1) The approval of the Privy Council shall be required for any exercise by the General Council of a power to make rules under this Act.
(2) Any rules made by the General Council or by Order in Council under this Act may make different provision with respect to different cases, or classes of case and, in particular, different provision with respect to different categories of osteopath or registered osteopath.
(3) Any Order in Council made under section 10(8)(b) or 31(5) shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
(4) Nothing in any rules made under this Act shall be taken to oblige or entitle any person to act in breach of the law relating to confidentiality.
(1) Where the approval of the Privy Council is required by this Act in respect of the making of any rules by the General Council, it shall be given by an order made by the Privy Council.
(2) Any power of the Privy Council under this Act to make an order shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.
(3) Any order approving rules made under section 5, 8(8), 17 or 30 shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
(4) For the purposes of exercising any powers conferred by this Act (other than the power of hearing appeals) the quorum of the Privy Council shall be two.
(5) Any act of the Privy Council under this Act shall be sufficiently signified by an instrument signed by the Clerk of the Council.
(6) Any document purporting to be—
(a) an instrument made by the Privy Council under this Act, and
(b) signed by the Clerk of the Privy Council,
shall be evidence (and in Scotland sufficient evidence) of the fact that the instrument was so made and of its terms.
(1) The General Council may by rules make provision requiring—
(a) registered osteopaths who are practising as osteopaths, or
(b) prescribed categories of registered osteopaths who are practising as osteopaths,
to secure that they are properly insured against liability to, or in relation to, their patients.
(2) The rules may, in particular—
(a) prescribe risks, or descriptions of risk, with respect to which insurance is required;
(b) prescribe the amount of insurance that is required either generally or with respect to prescribed risks;
(c) make such provision as the General Council considers appropriate for the purpose of securing, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the requirements of the rules are complied with;
(d) make provision with respect to failure to comply with their requirements (including provision for treating any failure as constituting unacceptable professional conduct).
(1) In section 2(1) of the [1990 c. 23.] Access to Health Records Act 1990 (definition of health professionals), after paragraph (f) there shall be inserted—
“(ff) a registered osteopath;”.
(2) The following instruments shall be amended as mentioned in subsection (3)—
(a) the [S.I. 1987/1903.] Data Protection (Subject Access Modification) (Health) Order 1987;
(b) the [S.I. 1989/206.] Access to Personal Files (Social Services) Regulations 1989;
(c) the [S.I. 1989/251.] Access to Personal Files (Social Work) (Scotland) Regulations 1989;
(d) the [S.I. 1989/503.] Access to Personal Files (Housing) Regulations 1989; and
(e) the [S.I. 1992/1852.] Access to Personal Files (Housing) (Scotland) Regulations 1992.
(3) In each case, at the end of the Table in the Schedule there shall be inserted—
| “Registered osteopath | Osteopaths Act 1993, section 41.” |
(4) The reference in section 2(1) of the [1988 c. 28.] Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 to the order mentioned in subsection (2)(a) shall be read as a reference to that order as amended by this section.
(5) The amendments made by this section shall not be taken to prejudice the power to make further orders or (as the case may be) regulations varying or revoking the amended provisions.
(1) In this section—
“the 1975 Order” means the [S.I. 1975/1023.] Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (professions etc. with respect to which provisions of the Act of 1974 are excluded); and
“the 1979 Order” means the [S.R. 1979 No. 195.] Rehabilitation of Offenders (Exceptions) Order (Northern Ireland) 1979 (professions etc. with respect to which provisions of the [S.I. 1978/1908 (N.I. 27).] Rehabilitation of Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 are excluded).
(2) In Part I of Schedule 1 to the 1975 Order, there shall be inserted at the end—
“11 Registered osteopath.”
(3) In Part I of Schedule 1 to the 1979 Order, there shall be inserted at the end—
“10 Registered osteopath.”
(4) In both the 1975 Order and the 1979 Order, in each case in Part IV of Schedule 1, there shall be inserted in the appropriate place—
““registered osteopath” has the meaning given by section 41 of the Osteopaths Act 1993.”
(5) The amendment of the 1975 Order and the 1979 Order by this section shall not be taken to prejudice the power to make further orders varying or revoking the amended provisions.
(1) The General Council shall keep proper accounts of all sums received or paid by it and proper records in relation to those accounts.
(2) The accounts for each financial year of the General Council shall be audited by persons appointed by the Council.
(3) No person may be appointed as an auditor under subsection (2) unless he is eligible for appointment as a company auditor under section 25 of the [1989 c. 40.] Companies Act 1989 or Article 28 of the [S.I. 1990/593 (N.I. 5).] Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1990.
(4) As soon as is reasonably practicable after the accounts of the General Council have been audited, the Council shall—
(a) cause them to be published, together with any report on them made by the auditors; and
(b) send a copy of the accounts and of any such report to the Privy Council.
(5) The Privy Council shall lay any copy sent to them under subsection (4) before each House of Parliament.
In this Act—
“conditionally registered osteopath” means a person who is registered with conditional registration;
“fully registered osteopath” means a person who is registered with full registration;
“the General Council” means the General Osteopathic Council;
“interim suspension order” has the meaning given in section 24(3);
“opening of the register” means the date on which section 3 comes into force;
“prescribed” means prescribed by rules made by the General Council;
“provisionally registered osteopath” means a person who is registered with provisional registration;
“recognised qualification” has the meaning given by section 14(1);
“the register” means the register of osteopaths maintained by the Registrar under section 2;
“registered” means registered in the register;
“registered address”, in relation to a registered osteopath, means the address which is entered in the register;
“registered osteopath” means a person who is registered as a fully registered osteopath, as a conditionally registered osteopath or as a provisionally registered osteopath;
“the Registrar” has the meaning given in section 2(2);
“the required standard of proficiency” means the standard determined by the General Council under section 13;
“the statutory committees” has the meaning given by section 1(6);
“unacceptable professional conduct” has the meaning given by section 20(2);
“visitor” means a person appointed under section 12.
(1) This Act may be cited as the Osteopaths Act 1993.
(2) This Act shall come into force on such day as the Secretary of State may by order appoint.
(3) The power conferred by subsection (2) shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.
(4) Different days may be appointed by an order under subsection (2) for different purposes and different provisions.
(5) Any order under subsection (2) may make such transitional provision as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
(6) The transitional provisions of Part III of the Schedule shall have effect.
(7) This Act extends to the United Kingdom except that—
(a) section 38(1) and section 39(2) extend only to Great Britain;
(b) section 38(2)(c) and (e) extends only to Scotland;
(c) section 39(3) extends only to Northern Ireland; and
(d) section 38(2)(b) and (d) extends only to England and Wales.