College News - February 2012RCPE Comment on Withholding of Adverse Incident Reports by NHS Ayrshire and ArranDr Neil Dewhurst, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE), said,
“It is of great concern that details of critical and adverse incident reports were not systematically shared with clinical staff. Such practices have the potential to seriously compromise patient safety and undermine confidence in the NHS. It is vital that medical and healthcare staff can work in a culture free from blame and in which all adverse incidents are openly reported and used as a learning experience in order to further improve patient safety and the quality of care.” Health Bill: updateThe College has been working, both in conjunction with other Colleges through the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties of the UK and individually, to secure amendments to the Bill in relation to education and training. Fellows and Members may be interested in the latest update from the Academy regarding clarification of the Colleges’ concerns. MRCP(UK) Annual Review 2011/12The MRCP (UK) Annual Review 2011/12 has just been published. This provides an overview of activity in relation to the Member of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) (UK) examination which is delivered jointly by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and the Royal College of Physicians of London. RCPE Statement on Health BillRecent weeks have seen extensive lobbying and criticism of the Bill from the Profession. Fellows and Members across the UK rightly continue to express their anxieties. Doctors are extremely concerned about the quality of care that can be offered by an NHS in England undergoing huge upheaval at a time of challenging cost constraints; in particular the continuing emphasis on competition, the potential for disintegration of care and the arrangements for public health and training are a real worry. Our Council discussed this again last week and believe there would be little gained at this stage by calling for the full withdrawal of the Bill; the energies of the College should be directed at the issues that continue to cause us real concern. Stability is crucial and the very functioning of the NHS in England is being compromised as current structures and teams are dismantled. I do not underestimate the strength of feeling, but we must focus our efforts where patients and trainees are at greatest risk. Amendments tabled yesterday, along with explanatory notes, have now been published and we will scrutinise these closely as the Bill proceeds through the House of Lords. Dr Neil Dewhurst
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