A communication from the General Medical Council
January 2005, Issue 9

Welcome

Welcome to the first edition of our reforms e-bulletin for 2005.

As the New Year begins the GMC is preparing for an exciting and challenging year. This issue will provide an update on the latest information on the Shipman Inquiry and the review by the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, of Dame Janet’s 5th Report. As always will continue to keep you abreast with developments following the postponement of the Licensing for England and Revalidation process.

Also in this issue is an update on public and patient involvement, an update from the Education section, and the latest news on the new publications including the revised New Doctor publication and public and patient information leaflets from the Fitness to Practise section.

Please continue to send us your feedback, questions and ideas for topics you would like to see covered in future editions.

Shipman Report & Department of Health Review

The GMC welcomes the announcement made by the Department of Health concerning the terms of reference of the review to be conducted by Sir Liam Donaldson. The review was announced in December 2004, following the publication of the Shipman Inquiry’s fifth report: "Safeguarding Patients: Lessons from the past – Proposals for the Future".

In her report, Chairman of the Shipman Inquiry, Dame Janet Smith, recognised that the GMC’s reforms have already brought about significant change. We believe the Government’s decision to take a strategic, rather than a piecemeal, approach to all the relevant issues is the right way forward, and we look forward to contributing to Sir Liam Donaldson’s review.

All our proposals have been developed in cooperation with the Government including our plans for revalidation, which rely on effective local clinical governance and appraisal. Dame Janet questioned whether the local procedures that are currently in place are working effectively, and whether they have the ability to provide the information required. We are pleased that Sir Liam’s review will consider these important issues carefully.

For further information please log onto the Shipman Inquiry website.

House of Lords

A senior GMC delegation, including GMC President, Sir Graeme Catto, hosted a parliamentary reception on Wednesday 26 January. The purpose of the reception was to outline our continuing commitment to implement our reforms programme, to work closely with the Department of Health and to contribute to Sir Liam Donaldson’s Review following the publication of the Fifth Shipman Report. The reception was well attended, with over 35 parliamentarians and guests and was sponsored by Lord Walton of Detchant, former President of the GMC.

Sir Graeme Catto addressed the guests welcoming Sir Liam Donaldson’s Review and stating that the Government’s decision to take a strategic, rather than a piecemeal, approach to all the relevant issues was the right way forward. He welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the Review and emphasised the key role the GMC continues to take in medical education and standards. He referred to the review of our key guidance, "Good Medical Practice", and our continued work on data exchange and information sharing between European Member States, enhancing patient safety.

Fitness to Practise

Publications

New leaflets explain FTP procedures

On 1 November 2004, the GMC issued new guidance to help explain the new Fitness to Practise (FTP) procedures.

The procedures have been developed so that we can respond quickly and efficiently to concerns about doctors. The former three-stage processes of conduct, health and performance have been replaced with two stages: 'Investigation' and 'Adjudication'.

When a patient has concerns about a doctor or a healthcare worker, the processes involved in dealing with such matters can seem quite daunting. Our guidance helps to signpost the patient to the relevant organisation if they have a complaint, and explains what is involved when they approach the GMC.

If the concerns cannot be resolved locally, by talking to the doctor or healthcare worker directly or by local investigation, then the complainant can either approach the NHS or other bodies, or the GMC if the matter is about a doctor.

The new publications are:

1. Referring a doctor to the GMC: A patient's guide

If patients have a complaint about a doctor, then they need to contact the General Medical Council. This leaflet explains the processes involved.

2. A guide for doctors referred to the GMC

Doctors need to understand the new FTP procedures involved if a complaint is made against them. This explains how the GMC deals with concerns about doctors that have been referred to us by patients, employers, the police and other bodies. However, this is only a guide to our procedures. It is not a substitute for doctors obtaining their own advice from their defence organisation or solicitors.

3. Referring a doctor to the GMC: A guide for individual doctors, medical directors and clinical governance managers

This leaflet advises medical directors, trust chief executives and clinical governance managers on what to do if they are concerned about a doctor.

It explains when they should refer a doctor to the GMC. It then tells them what happens when they do refer a doctor.

The New Doctor revised

The New Doctor has been extensively revised to reflect proposed changes to Pre-Registration House Officer (PRHO) training. One of the fundamental changes is that the GMC defines the outcomes doctors have to demonstrate during the PRHO year and these outcomes must be assessed.

As the changes are extensive, they will require legislation and significant preparation by all those involved in PRHO training. As a result, the new arrangements will not come into effect until August 2007 to allow training programmes and assessment procedures to develop.

Education

Disability Seminar

The GMC Education Committee is hosting a seminar on the 2 February 2005 in conjunction with the Disability Rights Commission, which will explore the implications of the Disability Discrimination Act in relation to medical education. In particular, the seminar will outline duties of Medical Schools to provide teaching and learning that is free from disability discrimination, and that promotes best practice in areas of admission, exclusion and student services. The seminar will feature legal presentations, examples from policy and practice, the experience of disabled doctors and students and include video and workshop activities to stimulate understanding and debate.

Principles of Good Medical Education and Training

Following a three-month consultation period, the GMC and the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB) have agreed to jointly publish the guidance. The guidance is designed for those who put together training programmes within medical education to ensure that programmes are fair, open, robust and valid. The joint publication by the GMC and the PMETB highlights the commitment both organisations have to the continual development of all stages of postgraduate medical education.

Research Board

The Education Committee’s Research Board has recently commissioned two pieces of short-term consultancy to identify various areas of research relating to the effectiveness of the Education Committee’s educational interventions. The NHS Education for Scotland (Gellisse Bagnall) and the Northern Deanery England (Jan Illings) research team was selected to investigate the implications of "The New Doctor". A collaborative team from the Medical Education Unit, University of Leeds (Trudie Roberts) and the Open University Centre for Education in Medicine (Janet Grant) were asked to investigate the long-term consequences of "Tomorrow’s Doctors" and "The New Doctor". Final results of the short-term consultancy are expected in early May.

Patient & Public Involvement

The GMC has highlighted Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) as a priority in 2005.

In support of this our strategic aims for 2005 are the result of extensive public consultation and our PPI strategy is presently pending approval by Council. We will also be embarking on a communications campaign to support the strategy.

In addition, the GMC attended the second meeting of the UK Health Regulators PPI Forum at the General Chiropractic Council, recently. The GMC has played an instrumental role in the setting up of this forum and presented a draft Terms of Reference that was agreed at the meeting. The aim of the Forum is to work together to develop a joint response for greater effective public involvement in the work of healthcare regulators, which also compliments our individual PPI strategies.

We will bring you further news of the Forum’s activities and the GMC’s PPI work in future editions of the e-Bulletin.

Feedback feedback feedback …

We want this bulletin to meet your needs and to work with you to ensure it does. Please send your feedback and suggestions for further material for inclusion to reform@gmc-uk.org.

Subscribe to this e bulletin

If you received this bulletin via a friend or colleague, ensure you get your own copy in future by subscribing to the GMC Reforms E-bulletin. If you don't want to receive further bulletins, please click here to unsubscribe.

Published by The General Medical Council
Copyright © 2004 All rights reserved.