West Midlands Regional Office Newsletter Autumn 2016 Edition 14
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West Midlands Regional Office newsletter Autumn 2016 Edition 14 Introduction I slept uneasily to-day service. I believe that we would atrial fibrillation stroke prevention during the night of have been way ahead in our specialist team. the referendum as I and acute medical services had this not had a suspicion that been the case. As you know the RCP has created our country might the Learning to Make a Difference vote to leave the European Union. Like some of you I have also been programme, which focuses on quality I wondered what effect that result on the other side of the patient bed improvement that all junior doctors would have on our health service. curtain. It was then very clear that little can take part in, instead of the Some may call me a sceptic, but I things make an enormous difference standard audit tasks that so often lead will be surprised if the result is more to patient experience. Good lines of to little change. If you have not already money for our NHS. If the overall communication, staff clearly aware done so I would encourage you to economy does suffer as some, if of their roles, patients aware of staff visit www.rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/ not most, economists predicted, roles (Kate Granger was so right, what learning-make-difference-ltmd, and to the opposite may be true. I suspect, a loss to us all but don’t forget her consider making use of the seminars. however, that one of the hidden legacy), evidence of good coordination Also, do encourage your juniors to take problems will be that the major in the team, and cheerful whole team part, as by achieving change they can political upheaval will take the focus ownership: these are things that help justifiably believe they are already off the NHS, at least to some extent. one to sleep more comfortably in the moving towards being a consultant. hospital bed. So perhaps we should In a smaller way this is what has not forget that small improvements In addition, the RCP’s Chief Registrar happened at the hospital trust, in health care may be easier to Project aims to create posts where where I work. For the entire time that achieve in a shorter time period, and, a more senior registrar can spend a I have been one of its consultants, if management are looking elsewhere, significant part of the time generating the Trust has been trying to make an they need to be done by us as doctors. improvement in quality, particularly uncomfortable decision about where in the acute medical care setting the major part of the hospital service For example, in our West Midlands ww.rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/future- should be located. I cannot count the pilot, which is outlined on page 8, hospital-chief-registrar). Again this number of meetings (private, board, the registrars made many simple may help the morale of junior doctors, public, and medical), the number of suggestions that would positively departments and teams, and improve newsletters and publications produced, affect the smooth running of the the lot of our patients in the future. As and the number of expensive outside acute medical department, improving far as I am aware, we do not yet have so-called experts that have been the care of patients and as well as the any chief registrars in our region: it involved over some 20 years, with as yet morale and job satisfaction of doctors might be that you can persuade your no resolution. Of course this has cost a and other healthcare professionals. Trust to help fund such a post, which large chunk of health service money, You can read other examples in this can provide excellent and more senior but as importantly it has consumed and newsletter. Hot off the press is the RCP registrar support for the acute unit constrained senior management and Excellence in Patient Care Awards 2016 as well as stimulating change for the has taken the focus away from our day- winner, The Royal Stoke Hospital’s better. The articles in this newsletter represent the opinions of the individual authors, and do not reflect the opinions of the Royal College of Physicians. newsletter Autumn 2016 | www.rcplondon.ac.uk 1 West Midlands regional advisers Contents Autumn 2016 Edition 14 Dr Kanwaljit Sandhu Dr Andrew MacLeod RCP regional adviser RCP regional adviser 4 Prioritising Dr Sandhu works as a Dr MacLeod works as a consultant nephrologist consultant endocrinologist 5 Doctors Against Forced at Royal Wolverhampton at the Royal Shrewsbury Organ Harvesting Hospitals NHS Trust Hospitals NHS Trust 6 JRCPTB update 8 Royal College of Physicians Dr Michael Cusack (RCP) West Midlands pilot RCP CPD regional adviser 9 Introducing your new GIM Dr Cusack works as medical director at Northampton trainee representative General Hospital 10 Just another cough…? 11 Medical Training Initiative 12 Update on the RCP Future West Midlands, Oxford and Thames Hospital Programme 13 Taking on the role of Valley regional office staff RCP tutor 14 Becoming an associate college tutor 15 Medical education in the Helen Flood Susan Pope Middle East Regional manager Regional manager 16 Service development / integrated care news 18 The Parkinson’s UK Excellence Network 19 AMU Clinical Skills Lab at Sue Cyprus Jayne Richards City Hospital Deputy regional manager Office assistant 20 Technology Enhanced Care Services The regional team are now developing the work of the Royal College 21 A coroner’s inquest of Physicians over both the West Midlands, Oxford and Thames Valley regions. Helen and Susan as a job share will lead the management of 22 Endoscopic full-thickness all regional RCP activity across this enhanced area. Sue joins the team resection (EFTR) permanently as deputy regional manager. Together, with Jayne we 24 Specialist clinics for alpha 1 aim to provide the highest standard of support to all our fellows and antitrypsin deficiency members. 26 The NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) 27 Alvecote Wood – a very attractive retirement! Have you applied for CPD/CME credits? 28 Voices of Medicine: a personal view Part of the regional office’s role is to award meetings, conferences etc with 32 Dates for your diary CPD credits. Applications can be made for regional ‘external’ meetings such as annual meetings, courses and conferences. If a meeting has a mixed 33 Conference Programme – 2017 audience ie physicians and surgeons, the application form is recognised by all royal colleges. 35 Useful Information Many meetings are taking place without CPD credits. You can apply for approval on line by contacting www.rcplondon.ac.uk for further details. Or email [email protected]. 2 www.rcplondon.ac.uk | newsletter Autumn 2016 The Chief Registrar Project is part You will say that you know, but this of the Future Hospital Programme, Last week I was worried to find is difficult when there are equal created and supported by the RCP. that one of our best registrars, who pressures upon ourselves. I agree. It is good to see that, as well as a undoubtedly has a sparkling career in While carrying out the pilot, it seems senior RCP officer, Dr Mark Temple, front of her, held an Irish passport and that the registrars felt that the most taking the whole project forward, we feels uncomfortable about what she successful departments were those now have a pilot site in our region at needs to do to secure her long-term where consultants were present up to Sandwell and Birmingham Hospitals place in UK. It is our duty to support midnight and beyond. That may be NHS Trust (www.rcplondon.ac.uk/ and advise such colleagues as best as good in the short term, but in the long projects/outputs/future-hospital- we can during these difficult times. term we have to have strategies that development-site-sandwell-and- Hopefully they will have nothing to preserve our own health and our sanity. birmingham-hospitals-nhs-trust). If worry about, but complacency is never you have not already done so, have a an excuse. Enough of this doom and gloom. look at the details of this programme, Doom and gloom will put off valuable which offers a powerful way in which To contribute to our sorrows, at the colleagues from joining us, and worsen we as physicians can influence the same time as the referendum results our lot and that of our patients. After development of health service, hit us, we hear that our junior doctors many years the hands on practice with the benefit of our considerable have voted against the contract set of clinical medicine still gives me the knowledge about the problems that out by the government. It seems likely same buzz. I still find it as enjoyable need addressing and practical ways of that the government will go ahead and and we are very privileged to be able solving them. implement the contract without further to know and help our patients with negotiation. the support of the health service Before we try to forget the referendum, machine. Also don’t forget that do heed the words of Professor Jane humour, appropriately guided, may Dacre, our president, in doing our best As our president improve even the most serious of to support those among us who do not has said it is really situations. To quote our president currently hold a British passport: again, #medicineisbrilliant: don’t let important that we us forget that, and let us transmit our The NHS has greatly benefited from support our junior enthusiasm to juniors and the rest of fresh skills and insight and since the clinical team that we lead.