Richard Brown Chiropractic Consultancy
Management | Strategy | Policy | Expert witness
Welcome
Welcome to Richard Brown Chiropractic Consultancy. Our mission is to deliver excellence in consultancy services related to the chiropractic profession across a range of areas, including organisational management, expert witness consultancy and professional advice. With over 30 years of experience in the chiropractic industry, we prize humanity, humility and integrity as key attributes in leadership and service delivery.
About Richard Brown
Richard Brown qualified as a chiropractor in 1990 from AECC University College in the United Kingdom. He worked in private practice in London and Bristol before establishing the Lansdown Clinic, a multidisciplinary health facility in Stroud, a market town in the Cotswolds, and additional practices in Gloucester and Ledbury, Herefordshire.
The Lansdown Clinic was the first chiropractic clinic in the UK to be awarded the Investors in People Award. It was also the recipient of the Patient Partnership Quality Mark (PPQM) and the Clinical Management Quality Mark (CMQM) from the Royal College of Chiropractors, reflecting excellence in people-centred care and organisational management.
In practice as a chiropractor, Richard developed a special interest in sports medicine and spent time working with professional football clubs, including Wolverhampton Wanderers, Cheltenham Town and Forest Green Rovers. He also worked in motor racing to World Moto GP level and was the chiropractor to a number of elite athletes. He served as a member of the medical services team at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
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Combining his expertise in biomechanics, human functioning and musculoskeletal disorders, Richard has provided ergonomic consultancy to businesses seeking to optimise health and minimise injuries in the workplace. He is experienced in display screen equipment (DSE) assessment, automotive ergonomics and other workplace analyses.
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For almost 30 years, Richard has worked as a chiropractic expert witness. With a Master of Laws degree from Cardiff University, he has provided written and oral testimony in personal injury, clinical negligence and coronial matters, accepting instructions from solicitors in both the UK and Republic of Ireland. Since the opening of the chiropractic register in 1999, Richard has served as an expert witness in hearings of the Professional Conduct Committee of the General Chiropractic Council (GCC). He has also provided consultancy in matters relating to professional standards and the development of statutory regulation in Africa, Asia, Australasia and Europe.
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Richard has held a number of leadership roles in the chiropractic profession. He served as President of the British Chiropractic Association between 2009 and 2013, having been vice-president for two years (2007-2009). He sat on the General Council of the European Chiropractors' Union (ECU) before being elected Secretary on its Executive Committee. In 2013, he was appointed as the ECU's first Secretary-General. He was the Secretary-General of the European Academy of Chiropractic (EAC) from 2010-2015. In 2011, he founded the Chiropractic Research Council, a UK-registered charity, and was its first Chair of Trustees.
In the area of education, Richard has served on the Board of Governors of AECC University College and was a senior lecturer at the University of South Wales' Welsh Institute of Chiropractic. He is a guest lecturer at educational institutions around the world, where his main area of interest is ethics and professional standards. In 2022, he was awarded a Visiting Professorship at AECC University College.
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Richard has participated in a number of research projects and is named as a co-author on a range of publications in international, peer-reviewed journals.
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Since 2015, Richard has held the office of Secretary-General of the World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC), a global, not-for-profit organisation headquartered in Toronto, Canada. In this capacity, he acts as the Chief Executive Officer and is responsible for overseeing matters of governance, strategy and policy development. He also serves as a global ambassador for the profession and represents the WFC at the World Health Organization. Representing the WFC and independently, he has delivered keynote lectures on every continent.
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Richard has volunteer experience as a chiropractor in Botswana, working with underserved communities in both hospital and remote environments. He is the current vice-president of World Spine Care, a global not-for-profit organisation committed to delivering evidence-based, integrated spine care in multiple locations worldwide.
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Richard retains full UK practising registration with the General Chiropractic Council (registration no. 00027). He has been awarded Fellowships of the British Chiropractic Association, Royal College of Chiropractors, European Academy of Chiropractic, AECC University College and International College of Chiropractors. He is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Chiropractor of the Year award from both the British Chiropractic Association and American Chiropractic Association.
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Our services
Expert witness consultancy
Richard has decades of experience preparing expert witness reports in matters relating to personal injury, clinical negligence and regulatory fitness to practise proceedings. He has given hundreds of hours of oral testimony in civil proceedings, regulatory hearings and coronial inquests. He receives many positive comments in relation to the clarity of his reports and evidence and is able to draw upon his many years as a registered chiropractor and his understanding of ethics and professional standards.
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Much of his work in recent years has focused on regulatory proceedings involving the Investigating Committee (IC) and Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) of the General Chiropractic Council (GCC). He receives instructions from both the GCC and Registrant legal teams and provides opinions at the pre-IC, pre-PCC and live hearing stages.
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He has undertaken work for the police in matters including a high profile case involving a chiropractor arrested for gross negligence manslaughter and also gave evidence to the subsequent inquest and PCC Hearing.
Expert evidence has also been provided in matters relating to consent, alleged sexual misconduct, record keeping, and advertising matters. In respect of advertising and marketing, he provided expert evidence on the instructions of the GCC in the case of a mass complaint against chiropractors.
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In civil negligence matters, Richard has given written and oral evidence on a range of areas including those involving cauda equina syndrome and cervical artery dissection.
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As an expert, Richard has supported national associations seeking statutory regulation for the chiropractic profession. This has involved drafting codes of practice and codes of disciplinary procedure in Singapore, Botswana and Ireland. He provided expert advice to the Department of Health in Zambia prior to inclusion of chiropractic in its Allied Health Professions Council regulations.
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Richard has Terms and Conditions for all matters involving chiropractic expert witness work, which are available on request.
Speaking engagements
As an experienced public speaker, Richard is in considerable demand as a keynote lecturer. He has spoken on the global stage at numerous national and international events and at the World Health Organization. With a range of topics, his portfolio of presentations is diverse and has included keynote addresses on the subjects of leadership, practice and organisational management, sport, communication and musculoskeletal health. He is often utilised as a panellist and moderator in debates and panel discussions.
Richard has delivered inspiring commencement addresses at chiropractic graduation ceremonies in the United States, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom. He is also regularly invited to speak as a guest lecturer at chiropractic educational institutions, which have included Universidad Central del Caribe (Puerto Rico), Parker University (Dallas, USA), Cleveland University (Kansas City, USA), Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (Toronto, Canada), Université de Québec a Trois Rivières (Trois Rivières, Canada), AECC University College (Bournemouth, United Kingdom), University of South Wales (Pontypridd, United Kingdom), Logan University (St Louis, USA), Northwestern Health Sciences University (Minneapolis, USA) and Palmer College of Chiropractic (Port Orange, USA).
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Richard is a Eurospine committee member and a member of the speaker faculty for the Eurospine Diploma in Interprofessional Spine Care (EDISC). He chairs the interprofessional collaboration module.
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In 2022, Richard convened a high-level discussion and delivered two keynote addresses at the World Congress of Sports Medicine, held in Guadalajara, Mexico, attended by multiple sports ministers and high-ranking figures from the world of sport.
Chiropractic event consultancy
Richard has extensive experience of the planning, organisation and execution of national and international events hosted in cities around the world. These have included world congresses, global educational conferences, regional seminars and board meetings. Organisational activities have included the coordination of congress bids, venue requests for proposals, academic programmes, scientific tracks, exhibitors and sponsors, and social events.
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Congresses have incorporated scientific sessions with abstract submission, peer review, platform and poster presentations, and research award competitions. Richard has coordinated events both with and without the assistance of a professional convention organiser, serving as the onside point of contact and troubleshooter.
During the pandemic, the World Federation of Chiropractic biennial congress pivoted to an online format, with equal success. This involved the hosting of sessions using a new platform across multiple time zones.
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With broad experience and contacts throughout the world of chiropractic, Richard is able to assist in the development of academic programming, theme planning and session design.
Ergonomic assessment
As an experienced chiropractor, Richard has expertise in human factors, occupational injury and workplace ergonomics. He has undertaken both display screen equipment assessment and analyses of ergonomics related to workshop and factory floor environments. He has provided services both in the UK and internationally and consulted on the design of workplace assessments.
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Richard recognises the importance of human factors both in the workplace, in home working environments and in motor sport, where ensuring that the ergonomics of rider and machine can be the difference between a podium position and finishing the race.
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By understanding the potentially devastating effects of poor ergonomics on human health, absenteeism and productivity, Richard is able to support individual workers and the organisations they work for.
Organisational consultancy
Richard has worked with multiple organisations related to the chiropractic profession. These include the European Chiropractors' Union and, currently, the World Federation of Chiropractic, where in both capacities he has served as the Secretary-General. He has advised numerous national associations in relation to organisational governance, bylaws and operational strategy. He is frequently called upon to facilitate sessions during national summits, where he is said to be able to cut to the real issues and inspire audience participation.
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With experience in building national and international organisations, Richard has supported the growth of chiropractic associations in their self-evaluation, policy and advocacy efforts. He has served as a consultant to health regulators and has provided advice to national professional standards bodies.