A year in review
500 years of medicine Annual review 2018 1 500 years of medicine The Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a professional membership body for physicians, with over 36,000 members and fellows around the globe working in hospitals and communities across 30 medical specialties. Physicians diagnose and treat illness, and promote good health. They care for millions of medical patients with a broad range of conditions, from asthma and diabetes to stroke and yellow fever. Everything that we do at the RCP aims to improve patient care and reduce illness. Our work is patient centred and clinically led. We drive improvement in the diagnosis of disease, the care of individual patients and the health of the whole population, both in the UK and across the globe. We also work to ensure that physicians are educated and trained to provide high-quality care. Our vision and mission Our vision is the best possible health and healthcare for everyone. As the leading body for physicians in the UK and internationally, we work to achieve our vision by: > influencing the way that healthcare is designed and delivered > promoting good health and leading the prevention of ill health across communities > supporting physicians to fulfil their potential. Our values We are committed to taking care, learning, and being collaborative. These values drive the way we behave, how we interact with each other, and how we work together to achieve our vision and improve patient care.
2 Annual review 2018 Contents
Foreword 4 Introduction 5 Our history 6 Celebrating 500 years 8 2018 – our year at a glance 14 Highlights of our work 15 Improving clinical care 16 Our membership 18 Education and training 20 Guiding and influencing 22 International work 24 A strong organisation 25 RCP beyond 500 26 Giving Health 27
3 500 years of medicine Foreword
Andrew Goddard, RCP president 2018 was not a quiet year for the RCP, being both a celebration of the past 500 years and heralding the future of our college in the next 500. Our annual conference, celebratory dinners in London and Liverpool, garden party and various television appearances all showed the RCP at its best. In addition, there were three standout memories for me – the visit of Her Majesty the Queen in February, the first-ever membership and fellowship ceremony in Wales, and the amazing support for our RCP500 charter wherever it was taken (including by me on a bicycle). Her Majesty’s visit was a marvellous occasion with trainees, consultants, fellows, and staff there to welcome her. She had something to say to everyone and seemed genuinely delighted to be here. She unveiled our RCP500 charter, a commitment by members and fellows to provide high- quality healthcare for our patients, support each other, and to champion education and research. The 500-year celebrations allowed us to forge new links with friends throughout the world and more locally in Liverpool and surrounding regions. The Spine, our new building in that city, has started to take physical form as the concrete is poured. In less than 2 years it will be part of our fabric, a visible commitment to high-quality training and education nationally, and to improving clinical and academic links outside of London. As well as celebrating 500 years of the RCP, this review also includes a snapshot of the huge amount of activity that has gone on in the past year. The RCP has an increasingly high profile and is being listened to by many in government and the wider NHS. We have much to say.
4 Annual review 2018 Introduction
Founded in 1518 by royal charter from King Henry VIII, the Royal College of Physicians of London is the oldest medical college in England. Uniquely for the time, through the charter the king established the RCP in perpetuity as a professional body in the name of the public benefit. The year 2018 was a significant landmark for the RCP. From our early beginnings regulating the practice of medicine, to the creation of a modern charter, we marked 500 years of supporting doctors to improve care for patients. We celebrated our 500th anniversary by holding a number of high-profile events for our members and fellows throughout the year. We drew particular attention to the history and heritage of the RCP but also celebrated our vital work in the context of modern healthcare standards and its impact on public benefit through the advancement of health, education, and heritage and science. This booklet includes an overview of those events as well as highlights of our main activities in 2018. Thank you
We’d like to thank our members and fellows for their support, involvement and being part of the RCP. Our members are our greatest asset – we listen to, support, and learn with and from them. They inspire the staff and officers to aspire to excellence. We’d like to thank all those involved in our working parties, committees and research panels, our Patient and Carer Network, conferences and clinical reports. Your expertise and participation are invaluable. We have been supporting and guiding physicians for 500 years. Together with our membership, we want to continue to play a pivotal role in raising standards and shaping public health in the future.
5 500 years of medicine Our history
1518 1524 1546 1555 Henry VIII founds the College Thomas Linacre’s home on The College is awarded First recorded minutes of Comitia, of Physicians to regulate the Knightrider Street becomes a grant of arms an official committee which practice of medicine the first College premises continues to meet today
1666 1697 1768 1825 The Great Fire of London The RCP opens its first Medical Transactions, The RCP moves to destroys the Amen public dispensary the first RCP journal, its fourth home in Corner premises is launched Pall Mall East
1948 1962 1964 1989 Launch of The RCP highlights the The RCP opens its Dame Margaret Turner-Warwick the NHS dangers of smoking in a fifth home near is appointed as the RCP’s first groundbreaking report The Regent’s Park female president
6 A year in review
1565 1614 1618 1628 The College is given the right to the The College moves to its second The first pharmacopoeia, William Harvey bodies of four hanged criminals a home at Amen Corner, near an official list of medicines, publishes his theory year for anatomy lessons St Paul’s Cathedral is published by the College of blood circulation
1858 1869 1909–25 1940 The Medical Act The RCP publishes the The RCP welcomes its The RCP building creates the General Nomenclature of diseases first women members, on Pall Mall East is Medical Council licentiates and fellows damaged by bombs