A communication from the General Medical Council
February 2005, Issue 10

Welcome

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

This edition of the GMC E-bulletin was delayed in order to bring you sight of the letter being sent to doctors, updating them on the changes to Licensing and Revalidation. We are delighted to confirm that the letter will be with all doctors by 10th March and a copy of the letter is available via the link below.

The Department of Health review of the GMC, led by Sir Liam Donaldson, has successfully completed their first meeting and we will bring you the latest update.

New to the e-bulletin this month is a round-up of activities from the Scottish and Welsh Offices, an update from the GMC standards team on the review of Good Medical Practice and Management in Healthcare. The Education Committee provide a brief review of the recent disability seminar and announce the details of the Education Conference in May, which will include key note presentations from Dame Janet Smith and Sir Liam Donaldson.

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

Licensing and Revalidation

As we reported in December 2004 the introduction of the GMC's proposed new system of licensing and revalidation has been postponed, pending the outcome of the Donaldson review. The GMC has issued a press release outlining the current commitment to the review and the introduction of revalidation.

The first meeting of the group advising the CMO, who is undertaking a comprehensive review of the recommendations made by Dame Janet Smith in the 5th Shipman report, took place last month. The CMO will shortly be publishing a consultation review in order to engage public and professional opinion, on the 8th March. For further information please log onto the Department of Health website.

Sir Graeme Catto, GMC President and member of the CMO’s advisory group, has written to all doctors outlining the latest progress with the situation. A copy of his letter can be viewed via the press release link. We will continue to keep you informed of developments throughout the review process.

Standards

Management in health care: the role of doctors

The GMC Standards and Ethics Committee (SEC) established a Management Guidance Review Group (MGRG) to oversee the updating of our guidance Management in Health Care: the Role of Doctors. The working group comprises Council members and representatives of a number of organisations, including BAMM, IHM, NHS Confederation and others representing patients and doctors.

An initial consultation seminar was held in April 2004 in order to review the current guidance. It was essential to consider how the guidance could be brought up to date, ensuring that it would be relevant to doctors, and importantly remain in line with the expectations of patients and current managerial practice. There was also consideration of how the guidance relates to wider GMC and other guidance.

A revised draft, under the working title of Management for Doctors, is now available on the GMC website for review and comment by those in the core MGRG and its wider ‘virtual’ group. The MGRG and SEC will then consider a final draft consultation document for publication at the beginning of May 2005.

For further information please visit the GMC Standards web pages.

Good Medical Practice

The Good Medical Practice Review Working Group met for the first time on 10 February 2005, to consider recommendations for revising the guidance. The Group comprises the Standards & Ethics Committee (SEC) and includes representatives from the GMC's Patient and Public Reference Group and Race Equality and Diversity Committee, as well as external members from the Disability Rights Commission, the Picker Institute Europe and the Faculty of Public Health Medicine.

The Working Group considered the response to an initial informal consultation, which sought views on Good Medical Practice from a wide range of bodies representing patient interests, as well as medical and other professional organisations, GMC Associates and Council members. The Good Medical Practice Review summary of responses received so far are available on the website.

The Working Group proposed a number of recommendations, which were agreed by the SEC at its subsequent meeting. These include:

• The new version of Good Medical Practice should be addressed to doctors, but should be accessible to the wider public.
• Good Medical Practice should be redrafted with a focus on patient-centred professionalism.
• Good Medical Practice should remain as a concise core and standalone inclusive document containing general principles, which are relevant to all registered doctors, with links and clear pathways to more detailed guidance.
• The seven headings should remain the basic framework of Good Medical Practice.
• Good Medical Practice should remain as a positive document, which sets out principles of good practice.

A further meeting of the Working Group will be held in May 2005, when the Group will consider the first redraft of Good Medical Practice. A formal consultation is planned for early Autumn 2005.

Updates will be available on the website throughout the review.

Education

Education Conference

The GMC Education Committee will be hosting a conference on 9 May 2005 entitled "Medical Education: From Here to Where?" at the Royal Institute of British Architects, and will be attended by around 250 delegates, including medical students, educators, policy makers and representatives from public and patient groups.

The conference will be addressed by senior members of the medical profession from around the world, including the four UK Chief Medical Officers, Dr Mac Armstrong, Dr Henrietta Campbell, Professor Sir Liam Donaldson and Dr Ruth Hall. They will be joined by Dr Jordan Cohen, President of the Association of American Medical Colleges, Dr Alison Reid, Director of Medical Education at the New South Wales Medical Board and Dr Gerry Dillon, Associate Vice-President of the National Board of Medical Examiners for the United States. Dame Janet Smith, who led the Shipman Inquiry, will also be making a presentation.

The Education Committee has been engaged in several projects over the last two years, including the revision of The New Doctor (GMC guidance on the PRHO year) and the establishment of the Quality Assurance in Basic Medical Education (QABME). In 2004 we also issued guidance on Continuing Professional Development for the first time. The aim of the conference is to open up debate on the future of medical education, both in the UK and across the world, and examine issues relating to whether there should there be a national assessment within undergraduate medical education, and whether there should be a Student Register. It will also examine closely the themes underlying our guidance on the undergraduate curriculum, Tomorrow's Doctors. During the conference we shall seek to both inform and gather information that will contribute to a major consultation on the strategic development of medical education in the UK, which the GMC plan to launch later this year.

Disability Seminar

The GMC Education Committee hosted a seminar on the 2 February in conjunction with the Disability Rights Commission (DRC), which focused on the duties of medical schools and the role of the GMC under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The day explored the impact of the legislation on the delivery of medical education and the curriculum.

The seminar outlined the duties of medical schools in providing teaching and learning that is free from disability discrimination, and that promotes best practice in areas of admission, exclusion and student services. The DRC emphasised that the GMC and medical schools may be required to make reasonable adjustments to a ‘provision, criterion or practice’ if the disabled person is put at a substantial disadvantage. The Education Committee will continue to consider the issues raised and are establishing a student fitness to practise working group in conjunction with the Council of Heads of Medical Schools.

GMC Wales Office Update

The GMC Wales office opened on January 24 2005. GMC Wales has been established in recognition of the changing patterns in the health landscape post devolution. New Head of Welsh Affairs, Natalie Drury, has been attending a range of events and meetings to inform key Welsh stakeholders of the work of the GMC in Wales.

The priority for the GMC in Wales over the coming months is relationship building with the Members of the National Assembly for Wales; Doctors and other Health Professionals; Patient Groups; Journalists and other key audiences. Natalie Drury has attended the Party Political Spring Conferences in Wales to raise the GMC’s profile with politicians as well as other events such as the Bevan Foundation seminar, “Health and the Economy in Wales”.

It is important for the GMC to partake in health orientated events and activities arranged in the devolved countries in order to formulate informed proposals and responses to the varying agendas set in the devolved administrations.

GMC Scotland Office Update

It is nearly a year since the launch of the General Medical Council’s office in Edinburgh: GMC Scotland.

In that time constructive relationships have been established with a wide range of key stakeholders such as patient groups, the Scottish Executive Health Department, the Scottish Parliament, the Royal Colleges and the Scottish NHS.

GMC Scotland facilitated the participation of the Chair of the GMC Education Committee in a hearing of the Scottish Parliament Health Committee, reviewing workforce planning, and provided MSPs with an insight into undergraduate medical education and its implications for the future. GMC Scotland is planning the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Care Commission -our first Scottish MoU! -in May 2005, highlighting the GMC’s commitment to improving patient and public welfare.

GMC Scotland will continue to build on the successful relationships and engage the health community on public and patient involvement and we shall bring you updates later in the year.

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