NHS & Osteopathy

Traditionally Osteopathy has not been available through the NHS though this is changing albeit slowly. The Scottish Osteopathic Society are working towards Osteopathy being recognised and included in NHS Scotland services.

This does not mean that you need to see your GP before coming to see an Osteopath.  Osteopaths can and will liaise with your GP or any other healthcare professional if necessary to ensure you receive the care you need.

Allied Healthcare Profession

Osteopathy has had Allied Healthcare Profession (AHP) status withing NHS England since 2017.

The AHP scheme was designed to mobilise trained healthcare professionals to alleviate demands on the NHS system.  There are 14 AHPs of which Osteopathy is one. Between them they are the 3rd biggest workforce in the NHS.

We have high hopes that NHS Scotland may also recognise Osteopathy as a AHP in the future.

What does this mean for you?

This is further recognition and reassurance that Osteopathy is a safe and effective profession. It means that NHS England recognise and trust osteopaths to provide Advanced Clinical Practice and First Contact Practitioner care.  It means that Osteopaths have the knowledge, skills and training to be able to assess, diagnose and treat patients without them needing to see the GP first.

If you’d like to know more about this then visit the NHS England website and search AHP.  

This video also demonstrates how AHPs contribute to the services that the NHS provides.  Osteopathy and several other AHPs unfortunately don’t feature on the video but it gives you a flavour of how the relationship between Osteopathy and the NHS is changing.

Does it work?

The Institute of Osteopathy (iO) is the UKs leading professional membership organisation. The purpose of the institute is to support, unite, develop and promote the osteopathic profession, for the improvement of public health and patient care. The iO website is packed with information about the profession including ‘talking to osteopaths’ where you can learn about the different ways in which osteopaths help patients.

Manual therapy (osteopathy is a type of manual therapy along with physiotherapy, chiropractic) is recommended as part of a treatment package for low back pain by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.