With over 133,000 unfilled full time equivalent staff vacancies in the NHS (September 2022), a vacancy rate of 9.7%, perhaps it is time for the NHS to look at professions such as Osteopathy to help fill this void. There are over 5,000 Osteopaths registered in the UK, under the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC), a statutorily regulated medical body.

The NHS body, Health Education England (HEE), in conjunction with the Institute of Osteopathy have recently produced “A quick guide to osteopathy as a workforce supply solution”.

In order to register with the GOsC, an osteopath must complete a Recognised Qualification (RQ) degree level training programme. They must also undertake regular Continuous Professional Development once qualified in a variety of priority areas including communication, consent, safety and quality in practice, professionalism, objective feedback on practice as well as knowledge, skills and performance.

Osteopaths are highly trained Allied Health Professionals, AHPs, who are well known for expertise in the evaluation, diagnosis and management of the entire musculoskeletal (MSK) system and its relationship with other systems in the body.

Osteopaths provide a patient-centred package of personalised care which will vary depending on the individual needs of the person being treated. This will often include manual therapy, where indicated as well as rehabilitation exercises, self- management, screening and general health promotion advice

Many qualified osteopaths will already operate a portfolio career working in several part-time roles to make up the working week. As such, osteopaths can offer flexibility to NHS service provision by offering part or full-time cover depending on service need.

It is estimated that between 25 – 30% of GP consultations in primary care relate to MSK presentations. However, the GP workforce is under pressure due to our aging population and a potential workforce shortage with some Clinical Commissioning Groups predicting that up to 26.1% of full-time equivalent GPs are due to retire in the next five years.

First Contact MSK Practitioners (FCP) have been introduced to provide a streamlined and cost-effective service, promoting self-management, enhancing patient care and reducing the strain on GP colleagues.

“Certainly, osteopathy is a workforce that the NHS has not tapped into sufficiently given the pressure that the NHS is under currently. It’s a workforce that’s well trained, well qualified and very experienced.”

Christine Faulconbridge, former NHS Commissioner

My own view is well known, and I believe the scope of osteopathic practice is a much broader than just dealing with musculoskeletal problems (MSK). However, a good starting point is probably MSK, as that is what the majority of the profession in the UK tends to concentrate on.

Osteopathy came to the United Kingdom around 1911 and we finally achieved the Osteopathic act in 1993, which allowed us to achieve a statutorily regulated medical register (for my sins I was a Privy Council appointee to the 1st GOsC). Despite this, almost 30 years later, there are still very few Osteopaths working within the NHS. Perhaps the HEE document is now well timed and will allow the powers that be within various NHS commissioning groups to start seeking partnerships with local Osteopaths to utilise their excellent skill set and patient management skills.

Below is a link to the Guide