Safe In Their Hands

Use complementary care with confidence - make sure you find a practitioner with the right qualifications and insurance.

With more and more people taking responsibility for their own health and well-being, it is now common place to seek the help of a Natural Therapist practising Complementary Medicine, perhaps an Aromatherapist, Sports Therapy Practitioner, Reflexologist, Nutritionist or Chiropractor to name just a few. Many of these gentle therapies are now available in local clinics whilst the public sector and fund-holding practices refer patients on an ever-increasing scale.

The general public knows that when they visit their GP, their Doctor is properly qualified, so the first question to be asked when visiting a Practitioner of natural therapy must surely be "is he / she properly trained and fully qualified and is he / she fully insured ?"

The first check is to make sure they are members of a reputable professional association. The practising Members will be fully qualified and have undertaken training that meets the exacting standards for the particular therapy concerned. The Guild of Complementary Practitioners are one such professional association who require proof of competency from all members and in addition, actively check out the standards of schools and examination boards before recognising a particular qualification.

The Guild maintains a public referral register of their qualified therapists. To be a member, the practitioner not only has to prove their level of training and competence, they are also obliged to abide by the stringent Code of Conduct as an integral condition of membership. The Code of Conduct is backed up by Disciplinary Procedures, which can result in a member being struck-off if found to have behaved in a manner that brings disrepute to the association and perhaps more importantly, to themselves. A vital and necessary safeguard for the general public.

A further condition of membership is the requirement to be fully insured and the Guild offer their members an excellent Professional Indemnity insurance scheme, embracing Malpractice and Public Liability. Aromatherapists and Nutritionists for example, also have Products Liability insurance for the substances they are using and these are typically essential oils, herbal remedies, food supplements etc.

The initial checks are all very well but having joined the Guild, the therapists are encouraged to undertake regular post graduate training and attend national and local conferences, seminars and informal peer groups to discuss current developments in their own fields. Just one other way of ensuring therapists appearing on the referral register are kept fully up to date.

The Guild, better known as the GCP, is the fastest growing multi-disciplined association in the UK and one of its strengths is the formation of local peer groups or support groups. These informal groups, and there are now fifty, spread all over the country, arrange informal evenings to discuss matters of common concern and to learn more about the range of other therapies practised by fellow members. This gives greater knowledge to all those that attend, enabling a greater degree of referrals to other disciplines, which the therapist considers, may be more beneficial to the client.

There is a very lively and active local group, "Kent (Bromley to Medway Towns)" and all therapists, whether GCP members or not, are invited to participate in the sharing of knowledge. The local Kent group (Bromley to Medway Towns) Co-ordinator, Edith Maskell, can be contacted on 0800 093 1178 or 01689 879280. If you belong to another association, you will be most welcome to participate and there is no obligation to join the GCP.

Having set high standards for eligibility to join the GCP, the Guild has joined the major umbrella organisations to subject itself to control and audit. The GCP actively participates in the affairs of the Aromatherapy Organisations Council, the Reflexology Forum and the Council for Nutritional Therapy, as well as the newly emerging Councils for CarnioSacral Therapy and Kiniesiology. We are represented on all these Councils (Edith Maskell represents us on the Reflexology and also the CranioSacral Forum) and in addition actively support the Parliamentary Group for Alternative and Complementary Medicine. The GCP has a representative on the Board of the Independent Care Organisations and through this Body, direct access to the Government appointed Health Care National Training Organisation. Close contact with these and other Bodies, keeps the GCP up to date with standards and legislation, which are passed on to the members through the quarterly news letters and local groups.

The Message is clear, if you want the best treatment and advice, consult a properly trained Practitioner who has the support of a professional association. The GCP's logo or initials are your safeguard in your choice of a therapist.
You are safe in their hands.

The Guild of Complementary Practitioners can be contacted at:

Liddell House, Liddell Close, Finchampstead, Berkshire, RG40 4NS.

Telephone 0118 973 5757 or Fax : 0118 973 5767

www.gcpnet.com

Tuesday, 1 January 2002

© 2002 Bromley Health Management