SYNOPSIS OF THE MEETING OF
THE JOINT MEDICAL CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL (JMCC)
ON WEDNESDAY 25 MAY2011
Clinical Excellence Awards
Dr Lindsell, Advisory Council for Clinical Excellence Awards (ACCEA) Medical Director, informed Council that the 2011-12 round of funding was continuing and scoring of review applications was taking place.ACCEA had recently provided evidence to the Doctors and Dentists’ Review Board (DDRB).
Council heard that the DH was consulting on aspects of the CEA scheme which it was felt were anomalous. The three specific areas the Department of Health (DH) was consulting on were; the length of the awards (with a proposal of non-pensionable annual awards), use of non-financial reward methods and accrued rights. ACCEA were lobbying for the protection of accrued rights for existing award holders and pay.
Another proposal being considered by the DH was to move bronze awards into the local scheme as part of an annual renewal round. There were serious concerns around this, not least the potential implication for silver awards to be perceived as unobtainable by consultants in the future. This could lead to a significant decrease in applications.
Members raised concerns regarding the potential for reducing motivation for consultants, since the financial incentive for achieving excellence was under threat. Although this was only one motivational factor in a raft of reasons for achieving beyond contractual obligations, reducing spending but cutting excellence awards would only serve to devalue the work of consultants, demoralise the workforce and drive down quality and improvement.
The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC)also informed Council that it was the DH’s intention to remove College work from CEA reward criteria. Members agreed that removing the incentive to undertake College work and drive up professional standards / quality would be a counterproductive move for the NHS and the profession.
Revalidation
Council received an update from Una Lane on the Good Medical PracticeFramework for appraisal and revalidation, whichhad been developed for use on a day to day basis. The final version and supporting information were due to be published on the GMC website imminently and the framework aimed to translate the competencies set out in the GMP for the purpose of an appraisal.
Feedback so far had included criticism levelled at the supporting information for not being robust enough and too generic. The GMC felt that it was necessary for the information to be generic as a significant number of registered doctors were not seeing patients every day. Furthermore, the GMC simply wanted doctors to be able to use what is available in Trusts (i.e. necessary evidence) for appraisal and revalidation.
Council heard that the Secretary of State (SoS) for Health was planning to run an assessment of readiness prior to revalidation being officially introduced in 2012, and the GMC was duty bound to comply with this process.
The AoMRC announced that it was developing specialty specific guidance based on the new GMC framework and supporting information. The Royal Colleges were in the process of populating this guidance document.
A question remained on how the appraisal process would be informed, so that it was consistent across the UK. This would involve appraisers being properly trained and supported at a national level. Good quality assurance packages would also be required to ensure Responsible Officers’ decisions were accurate.
The Junior Doctors Committee also commented that rota gaps existing in Northern Ireland were being filled by juniors on rotas outside of their specialties. Guidance for doctors undertaking these locum placements was still unavailable. Una Lane confirmed that the situation would not change for locums. Supporting evidence from locum placements would be considered during annual appraisals with the Responsible Officer within the main employing organisation.
Finance and Functionality of the JMCC
Council discussed the value and purpose of the JMCC and members agreed that liaison and knowledge sharing between partners, the importance of the medical profession maintaining a strong voice and the JMCC acting as the mouthpiece, consideration of joint working that needs to be taken forward by the JMCC and liaison with / lobbying of DH representatives were very important functions. Meetings were also useful for constituent bodies to come together and coordinate independent working on areas of shared interest. Such areas of work may be carried out individually by constituent bodies, but having the opportunity to hear about how the different organisations are taking things forward was helpful for all members.
Time Off for Professional Duties
Council discussed the wider benefits of College work / professional duties. It was noted that employers were increasingly restricting time off for professional duties to the NHS overall (including ensuring high standards / patient safety).
The AoMRC reported that it had recently written to the Secretary of State (SoS) for Health to make the point explicitly that doctors were increasingly being prevented from carrying out these essential activities by their employing organisations. It was felt that further lobbying of the DH would be needed to resolve this issue. It was noted that the Academy was undertaking a project to demonstrate the ‘value’ of College work.
In addition to this, the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) was developing guidance on the definitions of professional activities on behalf of the Academy.
Benefits of Consultant Delivered Care – Academy of Medical Royal Colleges
Council heard that the Academy was in the process of undertaking a study on the benefits of consultant delivered care. Led by Professor Terence Stephenson, the Vice-Chairman of the Academy and President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, evidence was being gathered on the benefits to patients of secondary medical healthcare in the NHS being delivered primarily by consultants. Further information is accessible via the Academy’s website:
Other matters considered
Reports from Constituent Bodies
GMC Good Management Practice: guidance for all doctors
Liberating the NHS: Developing the Healthcare Workforce
Strategic Plan 2010-11 Update
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