The association has been asked by a student from the Welsh Institute of Chiropractic to assist with his research project. The student proposes to investigate empathy skills within the chiropractic profession and would appreciate your help.

The Survey is composed of 28 questions which require the selection of a single letter for the answer which best represents your response.

If you would like to participate in this survey please click on the link below where you will be connected to a detailed participant information sheet and the main survey:

www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=OC3uKTKmSxALwuiExY5A_2fA_3d_3d

A Comparative Study of the Health Status of Children Raised Under the Health Care Models of Chiropractic and Allopathic Medicine

Journal of Chiropractic Research – Research Forum
Summer 1989; Vol. 5 No. 4, pp. 101-103

To read this article please visit this link:
http://www.united-chiropractic.org/modules/mastop_publish/files/files_4a8cef2f2f1ba.pdf

18th May 2009

GCC PRICE STRUCTURING


Dear Colleague,

I am writing as the President of the UCA in order to ascertain the feeling amongst the membership regarding certain aspects of the GCC pricing. Amanda at the UCA Head office has gathered some information regarding the pricing of regulation among other providers both nationally and internationally. The GCC is by far the most expensive. The very high fee has been an issue for chiropractors since the establishment of the GCC and every survey has reinforced this dissatisfaction. The response from Mrs Coats has always been that it is the fault of the Department of Health, or the privy Council, or some other difficulty in legislation outside the possibility of the General Chiropractic Council to change. In my five years as a member of Council it was never properly discussed although it was raised on many occasions.

At the UCA we have never accepted that explanation, particularly since the General Osteopathic Council with identical legislation lowered its fee by 25% on opening registration and allow registrants to pay on a pro rata basis and give special consideration to new graduates. Legislation is always subject to amendment or revocation, the government is constantly changing legislation; perhapes it is the fees which are difficult for the GCC, not changing the Rules or even applying the Rules flexibly.

We reluctantly accept that it is unlikely that the GCC will accede to a reduction in their £1000 per annum registration fee. They have become very comfortable with the £2 million per annum income, with no strings attached flowing in from chiropractors. There are nevertheless, areas which we feel are so unfair and onerous that action should be taken.

The most obvious of these is the situation into which our students graduate. Most of them graduate in July, not only are they expected to pay a "first-time registration Administration fee" of £250 (the full annual registration fee in some professions) but they are also expected to pay a full 12 months registration, six months of which are already passed. These graduates are not able to enter into full earning capacity in their first years following graduation, and in those first few months they may be on a very low income. Add to this the fact that they have debts accumulated over the four years they have been students, the insurance they must purchase, the costs involved in changing location and other costs of beginning their careers and the GCC fee begins to look extortionate. This is potentially discriminatory (in view of their younger age) and contrary to the recently enacted age discrimination legislation.

The GCC has taken over £20 million in the past 10 years from the profession and the excuse that the high fees were required in the early days should certainly not be now valid. The pretence that somehow the legislation is a valid reason for treating our graduates in this way is contemptible. We would like to go to the GCC and demand that students be given a reduced fee for the first three years following graduation, similar to that of the osteopathic Council and that the £250 "admin fee" should not apply to chiropractors graduating from UK colleges.

The UCA believes that the situation facing doctors on maternity leave and rejoining the register in the middle of the year should be addressed so that the fee becomes pro rata. The government recognises support for new mothers by a period of maternity pay lasting 6 months, therefore mothers should not be penalised by effectively having to pay the full registration fee if their work in chiropractic spans a registration year, rather than coinciding with it. This does not even comply with the GCC’s own Equal Opportunities Policy “When discharging such statutory functions as the drafting of rules or guidance to registered chiropractors, the General Chiropractic Council will attempt to ensure that its actions to do not adversely affect equality of opportunity for recognisable sections of the chiropractic community and will, where necessary, seek the advice of relevant bodies or bring matters to the attention of the relevant statutory authority”

We are pleased that the GCC is finally changing the ridiculous £75 fee which has been charged for simple address changes and hope that the new council will take the necessary steps to remove what we think are other unjust anomalies.

We would like your feedback to ascertain the strength of feeling within the membership regarding these matters so that we can approach the General Chiropractic Council on your behalf. Some of our members have suggested withholding fees until the GCC takes appropriate action. The UCA executive is not recommending such action, although we have taken legal advice regarding the technicalities of placing registration fees in a trust fund. We believe that a mature and unified petition from the chiropractic profession will help the General Chiropractic Council reach an appropriate and just decision. We will be contacting the other associations to ask them to mobilise their membership in this matter. In order to make this petition on your behalf we need to have evidence that the membership as a whole (or at least a very significant proportion) regards this matter as important. For that reason we ask you to make your feelings known through our survey at:

http://tiny.cc/GCC520

Please feel free to write individually to us at the UCA expressing your satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the present circumstances. An electronic version of this letter has been emailed to all members.


Yours in Chiropractic Service

Kevin Proudman

President UCA

A copy of the Comparison table can be viewed by clicking on the following link:

http://www.united-chiropractic.org/modules/mastop_publish/files/files_4a27768a3379d.pdf

Peter Dixon, the Chairman of the GCC has responded to Kevin Proudman regarding the UCA’s letter to the GCC on Price Structuring.

Peter Dixon’s letter can be viewed by clicking on the following links:

http://www.united-chiropractic.org/modules/mastop_publish/files/files_4a1e402dcc11b.pdf

http://www.united-chiropractic.org/modules/mastop_publish/files/files_4a1e427d8112b.pdf

Kevin Proudman, President of the UCA has responded to Peter Dixon’s letter dated 21 May 09 regarding GCC Price Structuring.

Kevin’s response can be viewed by clicking on the following link:

http://www.united-chiropractic.org/modules/mastop_publish/files/files_4a1e43d1c3cd7.pdf

One of the underpinning principles of Chiropractic for more than 100 years is the fact that we provide care to allow the body to heal itself without the use of drugs or surgery.

On this basis we do not support the seeking of prescribing rights as we feel this is in contradiction to the identity and practice of Chiropractic both in the U.K and internationally.

A petition to the Prime Minister is currently running to oppose the adoption of the Codex Alimentarius (WHO/UN) proposals which aim to restrict the availability of herb/vitamin/mineral food supplements.

Margaret Rothwell, the petition creator has written:

"The principle of self medication with herbal/vitamin/mineral food supplements would be restricted to 'prescription only' status, if the Codex Alimentarius is applied in this country.

Since the NHS priorities are ill health diagnosis and treatment, the good health preservation that supplements provide will be inaccessible to the majority of our population and the cost to the NHS will increase, and the health of the population will decline."

If you feel guided to sign the petition, please go to:

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Vitamins/



UCA Statement

Vitamins, herbs, food supplements and ice packs are currently a service that many Chiropractors make available to their patients/clients. The UCA executive are worried that if the Codex Alimentarius proposals were adopted as suggested that this would have a detrimental effect on patients and on the way many of us choose to practice. We encourage the membership to support this petition.

Safety of Chiropractic Manipulation of the Cervical Spine: A Prospective National Survey.

Health Services Research

Spine. 32(21):2375-2378, October 1, 2007.
Thiel, Haymo W. DC, PhD *; Bolton, Jennifer E. PhD *; Docherty, Sharon PhD *; Portlock, Jane C. PhD +
Abstract:
Study Design. Prospective national survey.

Objective. To estimate the risk of serious and relatively minor adverse events following chiropractic manipulation of the cervical spine by a sample of U.K. chiropractors.

Summary of Background Data. The risk of a serious adverse event following chiropractic manipulation of the cervical spine is largely unknown. Estimates range from 1 in 200,000 to 1 in several million cervical spine manipulations.

Methods. We studied treatment outcomes obtained from 19,722 patients. Manipulation was defined as the application of a high-velocity/low-amplitude or mechanically assisted thrust to the cervical spine. Serious adverse events, defined as "referred to hospital A&E and/or severe onset/worsening of symptoms immediately after treatment and/or resulted in persistent or significant disability/incapacity," and minor adverse events reported by patients as a worsening of presenting symptoms or onset of new symptoms, were recorded immediately, and up to 7 days, after treatment.

Results. Data were obtained from 28,807 treatment consultations and 50,276 cervical spine manipulations. There were no reports of serious adverse events. This translates to an estimated risk of a serious adverse event of, at worse [almost equal to]1 per 10,000 treatment consultations immediately after cervical spine manipulation, [almost equal to]2 per 10,000 treatment consultations up to 7 days after treatment and [almost equal to]6 per 100,000 cervical spine manipulations. Minor side effects with a possible neurologic involvement were more common. The highest risk immediately after treatment was fainting/dizziness/light-headedness in, at worse [almost equal to]16 per 1000 treatment consultations. Up to 7 days after treatment, these risks were headache in, at worse [almost equal to]4 per 100, numbness/tingling in upper limbs in, at worse [almost equal to]15 per 1000 and fainting/dizziness/light-headedness in, at worse [almost equal to]13 per 1000 treatment consultations.

Conclusion. Although minor side effects following cervical spine manipulation were relatively common, the risk of a serious adverse event, immediately or up to 7 days after treatment, was low to very low.

(C) 2007 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.

Source:
World Federation of Chiropractic Website
http://www.wfc.org

Finally, 33 years after the founding of the Associazione Italiana Chiropratici (AIC), and 17 years after the presentation of the first law proposal for professional recognition, on December 21, 2007, chiropractic was recognized by the Italian Parliament as a primary health care profession!
After years of unsuccessful attempts at professional recognition, an amendment concerning chiropractic, inserted into the annual budget law, finally opened the door of Italy’s nationalized healthcare system to Doctors of Chiropractic. In a country that has the highest ratio of MDs to patients in the world (roughly 400,000 medical doctors in a population of less than 57,000,000) and boasts less than 300 Chiropractors, this was certainly no easy feat. The amendment was presented by Senator Luigi Lusi from the Margherita party of the majority, who almost singlehandedly guided it out of the Senate’s Budget Committee and assured its acceptance by the Senate itself. In the Camera, which is the lower house of Italy’s bi-cameral Parliament, the amendment’s passage was the target of a extensive lobbying attack on the part of the Italian Medical Association, who was trying to monopolize nonconventional medicine through their own legislation, and the Italian Health Minister who was opposed to recognizing chiropractic as a primary contact profession.
The AIC responded blow by blow with its own lobbying efforts through the bi-partisan support of several parliamentarians favorable to chiropractic, and again, Senator Lusi was indomitable in his untiring support of chiropractic by explaining the cost-effectiveness advantages to his colleagues in the House Budget Committee, convincing them that chiropractic was a good investment for Italy’s financially burdened healthcare system. Bi-partisan support matured through the dedication and skillful working of the Deputy, On. Manuela Di Centa, from the opposition party Forza Italia, and this collaboration between majority and opposition Parliamentarians proved to be the winning combination that enabled chiropractic to overcome the resistance of the medical lobby and navigate its way through the insidious risks present in the Italian Parliament.
When Senator Lusi presented us with this opportunity, the AIC organized an impromptu lobbying center in Rome connected in real time with the secretaries at the AIC headquarters in Genoa, to coordinate and promote the passage of this amendment.We all worked hard to arrive at this result, but the real difference between this successful campaign and the many failed attempts of the past, lies in the commitment demonstrated by Senator Lusie On. Di Centa. Senator Lusi was motivated by his personal conviction of the merits of chiropractic, while On. Manuela Di Centa is an ex-world champion of cross country skiing, whose career was helped and prolonged by chiropractic and who openly declared her desire to repay this positive experience with chiropractic by helping to recognize the profession in Italy.
The appreciation and gratitude of the Associazione Italiana Chiropratici and indeed the entire chiropractic profession goes to Senator Lusi and On. Di Centa for a job well done -Thank You.
The AIC will be celebrating this extraordinary victory for chiropractic from June26-28, in Rimini, Italy while hosting Parker Seminars’ return to Europe, and you’re all invited to help make this a memorable event for the entire profession. For more information, please consult our website www.chiropratica.it.
Dr. John G. Williams
President Associazione Italiana Chiropratici (AIC)

Source:
Caroline Alfonso
Saturday's Globe and Mail
January 19, 2008 at 12:53 AM EST

TORONTO — A Canadian study indicates there is no increased risk related to chiropractic treatment in the heated debate about whether neck adjustments can trigger a rare type of stroke.
Researchers say patients are no more likely to suffer a stroke following a visit to a chiropractor than they would after stepping into their family doctor's office.
The findings, published today in the journal Spine, help shed light on earlier studies that had cast a cloud on the chiropractic profession and suggested that their actions resulted in some patients suffering a stroke after treatment.
“We didn't see any increased association between chiropractic care and usual family physician care, and the stroke,” said Frank Silver, one of the researchers and also a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and director of the University Health Network stroke program.
“The association occurs because patients tend to seek care when they're having neck pain or headache, and sometimes they go to a chiropractor, sometimes they go to a physician. But we didn't see an increased likelihood of them having this type of stroke after seeing a chiropractor.”
A rare cause for stroke, arterial dissection occurs when one of the neck arteries supplying blood to the brain is torn. A stroke can occur when a clot, formed on the torn membrane, is dislodged and subsequently travels to the brain, blocking circulation.
The two neck arteries are susceptible to compression with neck rotation. But it is rare. It occurs spontaneously, or after minimal neck movements, such as looking backward to reverse a car.
Critics charge that the twisting and pulling of the neck frequently done by chiropractors can damage arteries, leading occasionally to stroke.
However, a research paper published in 2001 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found there is only a one-in-5.85-million risk that a chiropractic neck adjustment will cause a stroke.
In this study, the Canadian team looked at nine years of data in Ontario, and found only 818 patients with this kind of stroke. Unlike the previous study in 2001 that investigated the relationship between chiropractic visits and vertebral artery stroke, researchers in this study also studied visits to family doctors that preceded this kind of stroke.
Dr. Silver said researchers were looking for an increased association between chiropractic care and stroke. Although they found this association, they also discovered it to be the same as when patients visited a family doctor.
The researchers say the association is likely explained by patients seeking medical or chiropractic services for their neck pain rather than these services causing the stroke. In other words, patients had already damaged the artery before seeking help from either a medical doctor or a chiropractor, and then the stroke occurred after the visit.
The research paper says the results should be interpreted cautiously. Although the study provides the best data to date on the relationship between neck manipulation and vertebral artery stroke, researchers have not ruled out that in rare circumstances neck manipulation can be a potential cause of some strokes.
Co-author David Cassidy, a senior scientist at the University Health Network and a professor of epidemiology at the University of Toronto, said: “If someone says ‘Has it ever happened that a chiropractor has caused a stroke?' I can't say it's never happened. But if it's happening, it's not happening at a greater risk than when it is in a GP office.”
Looking for symptoms of a stroke caused by a tear inside a neck artery can be difficult. Just because a person has a neck pain or headache doesn't mean it's going to lead to a stroke, Dr. Silver cautioned. Some of the symptoms include double vision associated with pain, droopy eyelids, numbness down one side of the body and dizziness.