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Please see the latest news from GMC Scotland. GMC Scotland host 5th year pupils from Edinburgh AcademyNovember 2007GMC Scotland welcomed 22 school pupils in to their office earlier this month as part of an initiative to give local 5th year students ideas on possible career paths. The event saw pupils from Edinburgh Academy visit each tenant of The Tun office building in Edinburgh. Dan Wynn, Scottish Affairs Officer at the GMC gave a short talk on the role of the GMC and its core functions as well as explaining the role that the GMC Scotland office plays within the GMC. John Shepherd from Whiteburn Projects Limited said “The entire morning was a great success. It not only enabled the boys to get an understanding of individual career paths but also allowed them to see various organisations at work. The GMC was more than welcoming and it was great to see the boys taking a genuine interest in what the GMC actually does.” GMC signs Memorandum of Understanding with Citizens Advice ScotlandOctober 2007
The General Medical Council and Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the GMC Scotland office in Edinburgh. CAS has recently launched a new Independent Advice & Support Service for patients and the public. The service is contracted and funded by the area health boards. IASS advises clients on any aspect of the NHS and exists to support patients and those around them through their experience of the health service. It will feed back positive experiences to the NHS as well as supporting people through the NHS complaints procedure where necessary. IASS advisers are based in bureaux within each health board area and will feed back information on client experiences to CAS. In the MoU, which was signed by Finlay Scott, Chief Executive of the General Medical Council and Kaliani Lyle, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Scotland, the GMC and CAS have agreed to:
Finlay Scott said “The vast majority of doctors are good doctors delivering high quality healthcare under demanding circumstances. However, a small minority may give cause for concern. It’s important that the bureaux have information about the standards we expect of doctors and are able to help their clients direct any complaints to the appropriate body.” Kaliani Lyle stated “This agreement strengthens our mutual co-operation and will benefit our clients who have cause to complain, as well as our staff who will be able to help them more effectively.”
Application of the civil standard of proof: Edinburgh workshopOctober 2007The Scottish leg of this series of consultative workshops took place on the 23rd October at the GMC Scotland Offices at TheTun in Edinburgh. A flurry of last minute interest took the attendance up to 21, with representation from across a range of agencies including NHS Education for Scotland, a number of the Royal Colleges, other regulatory bodies (including the Law Society Scotland, Scottish Social Services Council, General Teaching Council Scotland and Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care), the Scotland Patients Association and several legal firms. Attendees were broadly supportive of the proposed changes and emphasised the need – and difficulty – of effective communication with professionals and the public. Wide ranging discussion allowed attendees to talk about a variety of Fitness to Practise areas, such as consensual disposal, the training of panel members and our work on collecting ethnicity and diversity data.
GMC & SPSO Sign Memorandum of Understanding17 July 2007
The General Medical Council and the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at GMC Scotland’s offices in Edinburgh last week. The SPSO investigates complaints about public services in Scotland where a complainant is not satisfied with the outcome of an internal investigation by that service. This includes the Scottish NHS. The MoU was signed by Finlay Scott and the Ombudsman, Professor Alice Brown. It commits both organisations to co-operate around the investigation of complaints and formalises the current arrangements where if the GMC or the SPSO gains information which may assist in or trigger an investigation by the other, then that information is shared accordingly. Under the agreement the GMC and SPSO will share information on trends and issues in casework around complaints about doctors and collaborate on informing other organisations about their work. Finlay Scott said 'Both organisations recognise the importance of working together to share information and best practice in the interests of patient protection and public safety in Scotland. This will allow for greater consistency of decision-making and information exchange and contribute to the development of the distinctive Scottish system for dealing with health complaints.' Ombudsman Alice Brown stated: 'Complaints provide an invaluable perspective on patient experience and our investigations can draw attention to issues that other organisations are best placed to resolve. This agreement strengthens our mutual cooperation and will benefit individual members of the public who have cause to complain and, more widely, drive improvement in the delivery of NHS services.' Show me the Memorandum of Understanding between the GMC and the SPSO |
Above: Kaliani Lyle, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Scotland and Finlay Scott, Chief Executive, General Medical Council sign the Memorandum of Understanding in Edinburgh. 
Above: Professor Alice Brown, Scottish Public Services of Ombudsman and Finlay Scott, Chief Executive, General Medical Council sign the Memorandum of Understanding in Edinburgh. 