REPORT OF NORTHERN IRELAND COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 6 FEBRUARY 2013

Welcome and Introduction

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting the Minister for Health, Mr Edwin Poots MLA, who was accompanied by Mr Peter Gregg, DHSSPS Human Resources Directorate; Mr Ronan Henry, DHSSPS Principal Information Officer;Mr Philip Weir, Special Advisor to Minister Poots; and Ms Pamela McIlwrath, Secretary to Minister Poots.

A special welcome was given to the new BMA Northern Ireland Secretary, Claire Armstrong, who conveyed her gratitude to staff and members she has met with to date, and looked forward to meeting and working with everyone on all the varied issues for BMA.

Address from the Minister for Health for Northern Ireland, Mr Edwin Poots MLA.

The Chairman invited the Minister for Health, Mr Edwin Poots MLA, to address Northern Ireland Council.

Presenting on how he envisioned the future development of the Health Service in Northern Ireland through Transforming Your Care (TYC), the Minister emphasised the diversity of the challenge ahead in implementing TYC, and highlighted the importanceofinnovation, and recognition of clinical excellence through clinical excellence awards (CEAs);of leadership and the vision for service delivery and improvement in social care, inferring that Transforming Your Care will have implications for every single member of the workforce who are required to adapt and change in order to deliver great healthcare.He further invited opinion and input from the profession on the future delivery of healthcare in Northern Ireland, and welcomed a continued constructive relationship with the BMA. In response to questioning, the Minister acknowledged the importance of facilitating leave for Junior Doctor and Consultant Staff involved in the process of contract negotiations as and when required.

The Minister’s address was well received and was followed by a question and answer session encompassing the difficulties for GPs associated with the GMS contract proposals, Consultant and Junior Doctor contract negotiations, junior doctor training, clinical excellence awards, medical leadership, SAS development funding and EWTD.

Additional questions that were not posed to the Minister at the meeting due to time constraints, will receive a written response from the Minister’s office.

Subsequent discussion following the Minister’s departure yielded additional questions focusing on innovation and CEAs, and the view of the Health Committee in respect of the health and safety regulations enshrined within UK law in the European Working Time Regulations, both in general and in relation to healthcare professionals specifically doctors.

Contract Negotiations

Members received details of the proposed changes to the GMS contract in NI for introduction from 1 April 2013designed to extract much more work from GPs. The changes coupled with proposed annual health checks and the ‘shift left’ envisaged in TYC, are of major concern to NIGPC. The Department has offered to have further discussions on the proposed contract changes. In the absence of an acceptable agreement being reached, and subject to considering the outcome of the consultation which will close on 22 March, it is proposed to introduce the changes. The NI Health Minister wrote to the DDRB on 31.1.13 advising that as it has not been possible to reach an agreeable settlement in the negotiations with NIGPC, the DDRB is requested to make a recommendation on the uplift of GMS contracts in NI for 2013/14. The NIGPC Chair is currently presenting to GPs here on the implications of the proposals at an LMC roadshow.

The Chair of NI Consultants Committee advised that the DDRB had been asked to produce a report on CEAs by the Government which was completed in July 2011. The release of the report in December 2012 was accompanied by a Ministerial Statement that the English Department of Health would be seeking parallel negotiations on the consultant contract.The DDRB report suggests that performance related pay should continue, although has not prescribed what form this should take. Far reaching changes for CEAs have been proposed. The UKCC Executive has met and agreed to attend the offered meeting of February 21st with NHS Employersto discuss the proposalsand then give further consideration as to whether to commit to a more sustained series of meetings. At present, it is expected that NI will be offered a place on thenegotiation team..

The NI Junior Doctors Committee Chair reported that the Junior Doctors contract negotiations are at the same stage as consultants, namely discussions rather than negotiations. A heads of agreement group has been formed and is starting to move forward. Further to completion of training,a formal negotiations committee will be established with representation from each of the devolved nations.

Pensions

The NI Executive has not reached a consensus and consequently NI Legislation would have to be drafted (once the Public Service Pensions Bill is passed in the Commons) which could take up to 2 years. The BMA is liaising with other unions to consider issues of commonality and lobbying strategy. BMA(NI) has met with other unions and MLAs and there would appear to be common sympathy towards the ‘working age’ issue. Further meetings with political representatives will be organised with a view to collectively lobbying all members of the Assembly to determine if there is any leverage.

Members were reminded that the NI pensions consultation on increased member contribution rates closes on 21 February 2013, and can be responded to via the BMA online tool.

Revalidation

Members received reports on meetings of the Confidence in Care NI Revalidation Delivery Board on 30 January and the Remediation Task and Finish Group on 4 February 2013. BMA representatives sought clarification from the RDB on issues of primary concern which included:

Patient Feedback – Particularly relating to the distribution of questionnaires to patients, and their analysis. In Scotland, these questionnaires are being distributed by hospital administration and nursing staff at patient settings. The key issue however is the assessment of the weight that appraisers give to patient feedback information and how they deal with this information. Patient feedback remains the biggest practical problem, where Trusts are attempting to implement systems with no resource whatsoever.

Employer Liaison Advisor independence – A particular concern was that the ELA might develop too close a relationship with ROs in Northern Ireland. The GMC informed the RDB that the Liaison Officers across the UK met fortnightly to undergo peer review of their work and that they felt that there was no real risk of bias.

Reconfiguration and retraining -Any change in a doctors role arisingfrom redeployment due to reconfiguration is a matter to be dealt with under job planning, retraining if necessary and a proper induction process. It is not a matter for remediation. This issue had been raised in the Remediation Task & Finish Group and, in line with the expectation when any employee’s role changes significantly the employer should support the employee in adjusting to the new role.

The Remediation Group will also be considering a policy document and a remediation survey aimed at Responsible Officers.

Public Affairs

The Patient Liaison Group met on Tuesday 29 January to develop and consider policy on Paediatric Palliative and End of Life Care. This was extremely well attended and it is envisaged that a policy document will be developed in line with the outcomes of this workshop.

The Assembly and Research Officer invited nominations for a Round Table Discussion on Organ Donation, on 25 February 2013, at which the Minister and his Specialty Advisor will be in attendance.

Other Subjects Discussed

  • Reports from Branch of Practice Committees, RLNC and Divisions
  • Forthcoming Events

Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting of NI Council will be held on Wednesday 27 March 2013 at 2.30pm in BMA House, Belfast.

For further information please contact Ms Patricia Mills, Executive Officer at BMA NI, Tel: 028 90269658. Email: