Revalidation process to be reviewed
The effectiveness — and doctors’ experiences — of professional appraisals will be among issues under consideration as part of a wholesale review of the revalidation process.
The review, which is to be conducted by GMC revalidation advisory board chair Sir Keith Pearson, will examine a wide range of evidence collected since the introduction of revalidation almost four years ago.
It is thought that the review will be completed and published by the end of this year, and will set out a number of recommendations aimed at improving the processes used to determine doctors’ fitness to practise.
The r...
Source: BMA News - March 30, 2016 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
Doctors urge PM to call off contract imposition
Doctors leaders have written to prime minister David Cameron urging him to call off Government plans to impose a new contract on junior doctors.
Leaders from 22 of the UK’s medical royal colleges have endorsed a statement that urges the Government to return to negotiations with the BMA.
The statement, published yesterday by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, follows on from the announcement that industrial action by junior doctors is to be stepped up to include a full withdrawal of services between 26 April and 27 April.
The announcement was backed by a number of medical leaders, including Royal College of...
Source: BMA News - March 29, 2016 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
BMA welcomes Government immigration rule rethink
Overseas doctors embarking on specialty training in the UK will be protected from fees linked to visa changes, in a move strongly welcomed by the BMA.
The Government confirmed that international doctors moving from a Tier 4 student visa to a Tier 2 visa following completion of their foundation training are among those to be made exempt from a £1,000 fee.
The move, which was formally announced in Parliament by minister of state for immigration James Brokenshire on 24 March, follows months of intense lobbying by the BMA.
BMA international committee chair Terry John, welcomed the ministers’ decision to not ...
Source: BMA News - March 29, 2016 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
BMA Q and A: SRM, funding the NHS and stepping up industrial action
BMA council chair Mark Porter answers your questions
Why is the BMA holding an SRM (special representative meeting) on 3 May and what will it cover?
The BMA council has called an SRM in response to the crises in funding and capacity in healthcare and the effect these have on patient care and doctors working to help patients.
This will be an opportunity for doctors to highlight their concerns but, importantly, they will be asked to spend the majority of debating time coming up with novel solutions and new avenues to pursue for the benefit of doctors and their patients.
It’s only every now and then that an issu...
Source: BMA News - March 29, 2016 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
Scottish candidates prepare for Holyrood
Scottish parliamentary hopefuls faced questions from doctors last week at a hustings event held in the run up to the Holyrood election on 5 May.
Health spokespeople from all the major parties were quizzed on subjects including health funding, widening access to medical school, health and social care integration and how to manage patient expectations.
Medical students and doctors from all branches of practice, and from across Scotland, attended the event, held at the BMA Scotland headquarters in Edinburgh.
Answering questions were: Jenny Marra, Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman; Shona Robison, who was health...
Source: BMA News - March 29, 2016 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
Overseas doctors changing visas exempt from fee
Overseas doctors embarking on specialty training in the UK will be protected from fees linked to visa changes, in a move strongly welcomed by the BMA.
The Government confirmed that international doctors moving from a Tier 4 student visa to a Tier 2 visa following completion of their foundation training are among those to be made exempt from a £1,000 fee.
The move, which was formally announced in Parliament by minister of state for immigration James Brokenshire on 24 March, follows months of intense lobbying by the BMA.
BMA international committee chair Terry John, welcomed the ministers’ decision to not ...
Source: BMA News - March 29, 2016 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
BMA releases deprivation of liberty guidance
New guidance designed to assist doctors is assessing the deprivation of liberty of vulnerable patients has been published by the BMA.
DoLS (Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards) were introduced in 2009 as an amendment to the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
This guidance has been developed following the supreme court judgements in Cheshire West, which considerably widened the number of adults deemed to be deprived of their liberty.
In addition to protecting the rights of patients, DoLS set out the procedure authorising deprivation of liberty in clinical settings, such as hospitals and care homes.
Help for doctors
BMA d...
Source: BMA News - March 24, 2016 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
Progress for helicopter emergency service
BMA Northern Ireland has welcomed the news that the country is a step closer to having a doctor-led HEMS (helicopter emergency service), the only region of the UK not covered by such a service.
Announced this week by the health minister Simon Hamilton, the air ambulance will be based at the International Airport in County Antrim, with patients flown to the trauma centre at Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital.
The air ambulance will be named ‘Delta 7’, the call sign used by local motorcycle medic John Hinds, who long campaigned for the HEMS. Dr Hinds died last year in a motorcycle crash at a race in D...
Source: BMA News - March 24, 2016 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
Call to defend labour rights in medical gloves industry
The medical profession must take action to counter the abuse of labour rights in the medical gloves industry, a new BMA report has warned.
The report, In Good Hands, highlights the extent of workplace abuses within the medical glove-making industry, particularly in factories based in south-east Asia.
It concludes that it is incumbent on health providers in the developed world to monitor working conditions and address unethical practices taking place within the supply chains of the medical goods they are purchasing.
It says: ‘A number of reports in recent years have documented labour rights abuse in several of ...
Source: BMA News - March 24, 2016 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
Junior doctors escalate industrial action to full walkout
Junior doctors will stage a full walkout later next month in response to Government plans to impose a new contract from August.
The BMA has confirmed that 20 hours of industrial action on 26 April, which was scheduled to see emergency-only care provision, will now see a total withdrawal of junior doctor services.
BMA council chair Mark Porter said that ministers’ refusal to back down from imposition and listen to the deeply held concerns with the planned new contract meant that escalation of action had become unavoidable.
He said: ‘On 26 and 27 April, there will be a full withdrawal of labour between 8am...
Source: BMA News - March 23, 2016 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
Bid to transform urgent care welcomed
Doctors leaders have welcomed a commitment to test new models of urgent out-of-hours primary and community care in Scotland, saying it is vital that they are able to cope with demand now and in the future.
Health secretary Shona Robison announced last week that £10m would be available next year to fund a national delivery plan to transform urgent care.
The plan, which will be published in the autumn, is the next step in taking forward the recommendations in Sir Lewis Ritchie’s review of out-of-hours services.
Eight pilot sites are testing different ways of delivering out-of-hours urgent care and the re...
Source: BMA News - March 22, 2016 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
Doctors call NHS crisis summit
The BMA has called an emergency meeting of its representatives to solve the crisis in the NHS.
BMA council last week voted in favour of holding an SRM (special representative meeting) on 3 May to debate pressures in the health service.
Representatives will also discuss how to address low morale and high levels of workload across the medical profession.
BMA representative body chair Ian Wilson said: ‘The BMA is calling an emergency meeting of its representatives in response to the crisis in funding and capacity in healthcare, and the effect these have on patient safety and doctors working to help patients.
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Source: BMA News - March 21, 2016 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
Pay rise unlikely to make workforce feel 'valued'
A 1 per cent pay rise for NHS staff in Wales is unlikely to make the workforce feel 'valued', BMA Cymru Wales has said.
The Welsh Government has accepted the recommendations on pay from the NHS pay review body and the review body on doctors’ and dentists’ remuneration.
It means that NHS Wales employees will receive a 1 per cent rise, while 7,000 staff currently on the Living Wage will also see their pay increase to the new Living Wage hourly rate of £8.25 per hour.
The deal will also mean an overall increase for GPs in Wales of 2.2 per cent in pay and expenses.
Health minister Mark Drakeford said: 'Our...
Source: BMA News - March 21, 2016 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
Cancer strategy needs back-up, BMA warns
Scotland’s new cancer strategy must be backed by resources and the right workforce if it is to get the best results for patients, doctors leaders have warned.
BMA Scotland council chair Peter Bennie (pictured) welcomed the £100m cancer plan, but said it must align with other health policies, including recently announced elective treatment centres, and the integration of health and social care.
He said it was important that they aligned with proposals to take a system-wide approach to planning health service delivery at national and regional levels, as outlined in the recent National Clinical Strate...
Source: BMA News - March 21, 2016 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
Your chance to quiz politicians
Doctors have the chance to quiz health spokespeople from the main political parties in Scotland at a ‘hustings’ event to be held in Edinburgh.
BMA members will have the opportunity to put questions to candidates at the event on Thursday ahead of the Scottish Parliament elections in May.
Health is almost entirely devolved to the Scottish Parliament, and is expected to be a key battleground in the run-up to the election.
Doctors and medical students can ask the following candidates about their health policies:
Health, well-being and sport secretary Shona Robison (Scottish National Party)
Labour heal...
Source: BMA News - March 18, 2016 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
