college news QUARTERLY BULLETIN WINTER 2014 Farewell Cornwall Terrace Staff bid a fond farewell to Cornwall Terrace, which had been the home of the College since 1993. The beautiful building and surrounding area of Regent’s Park will be missed. Relocation to Stephenson Way, our brand new purpose-build head office went smoothly on Friday 28 November. Well done to all members of staff for their hard work in moving everything across and keeping up with the day job! Focus Museum Piece Trainee Section PAGE 5 Management PAGE 10 David James PAGE 21 A NEW of unexplained vitreous Wood, South Africa’s section written by haemorrhage Father of Ophthalmology trainees, for trainees college news Dear fellow members, I have thoroughly enjoyed the last six months as President, although they seem to have flown by! The Contents College has been a busy place with 2 Introduction - Carrie routine work, new challenges and MacEwen, President the anticipation and preparation for 3 Building Report the move to our new premises at 5 Focus - Management Stephenson Way. of unexplained vitreous haemorrhage The key goals and direction for the College over the next five years have been drawn up 8 Andrew Elkington The building at Cornwall Terrace has served us well but we now own flexible, beautifully based on feedback and I am delighted that 10 Wrong IOLs and designed and user-friendly office space with the draft strategic plan will be published on Never Events in a surgical skills training suite and space for our website in the new year. I encourage you Ophthalmology members to work or relax. I hope that everyone to review and comment on it. The new website, 12 Museum Piece - David will manage to find a reason to visit, and a to be launched in the new year has a fresh, James Wood, varied array of seminars in 2015 should attract contemporary design, engaging content and South Africa’s Father of Ophthalmology many members. will offer a more user friendly experience. There is an updated College Crest that is easier 20 NEW Trainee Section At the start of the long warm summer we sent to reproduce and recognise - you may have out the first membership survey which has 23 Diary Dates noticed this on the re-designed College News. helped to identify how the College is seen to The heritage crest will continue to be used on perform and what we could do better. The certificates. summary has been posted in the members’ Articles and information to be considered for publication area and it recognises that training, education, In 2015 I have plans to meet with as many should be sent to: examinations and guidelines are delivered members as possible in your home areas well, but that we could communicate more to hear what you would like your College Liz Price effectively with our members and be a better to do and to share more about how the Communications Manager [email protected] ‘voice’ for ophthalmology as a specialty. These College can support you and your work as points are well taken and the regular monthly an ophthalmologist. I would like to thank Copy deadlines: e-newsletter and proactive Twitter feed are everyone who has contributed to College work Spring: 13 March 2015 Summer: 12 June 2015 the first steps in better communication. There so freely over the past year: many come to Autumn: 18 September 2015 will also be a review of how we deliver policy London to work on committees, set exams and Winter: 4 December 2015 working and raising our profile. write guidelines, and even more represent the College externally on related organisations and Editor of Focus: The College had been successful in its bid to Mr Faruque Ghanchi locally as College Tutors, Regional Advisors and provide the system to collect and analyse data Council Representatives – the College is run on Advertising queries should for an English national cataract audit and to the enthusiasm and goodwill of members who be directed to: prepare a feasibility study of the analysis of the are keen to maintain the high standards in our Robert Sloan outcomes for glaucoma, retinal detachment specialty for the benefit of our patients. 020 8882 7199 and AMD. This project will provide data that [email protected] will have relevance for ophthalmic practise I wish you all a very happy festive period and Contact Details: in the entire UK. It is vital that our patients trust that you manage a pleasant and restful The Royal College of are our main concern, and recently we have break with your families and friends. Ophthalmologists highlighted that the pressure on space and 18 Stephenson Way personnel in eye departments is leading to London, NW1 2HD some return patients failing to be reviewed in T. 020 7935 0702 the clinically recommended times. Finding ways to reduce referrals and increase safe discharges are important, but the high return to new ratio in ophthalmology needs to be recognised and accommodated. Carrie MacEwen, President [email protected] 2 THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF OPHTHALMOLOGISTS QUARTERLY BULLETIN | WINTER 2014 New branding for the College As part of an overall review of its communications and profile, the College Heritage crest commissioned a piece of brand work which looked at how the College crest could be contemporised and made to stand out from all the other Royal Medical Colleges. Like many colleges, universities and organisations with crests, many have simplified the design for ease of standout and use online and in print, particularly where a print version is small and many features are potentially lost in the reproduction. Astwood Design agency was commissioned because of their experience in developing and working with similar organisations that had undergone a New crest brand review and because of their knowledge of heraldic and royal crests. Astwood worked with the College of Arms to ensure that any amends would not contravene the original Arms of the College granted to the College in 1993. Design concepts were shown to council members and staff for final approval. The original crest will continue to be used for certificates of qualifications, but the new crest will be used on all other communication materials and channels, such as the new website. Building Report 8 Revamped College News Knight Harwood Limited handed the building over to the College at the beginning of November. The firm was a pleasure to work with and had a strong commitment to good quality workmanship; Bennetts Associates produced a strong design and Jackson Coles LLP ably managed the project. It has been a challenging project; it has demanded a lot of staff time and the attentions of the Building Group. I would particularly like to thank Aziz You will have noticed the change in design Rajab-Ali, Head of Operational Support and Mark Merrill, Finance Director, for of College News and we hope you find it their continued efforts and Mike Hayward, Senior Vice President for his eye bright, professional and a great source of for detail. information about the work of the College and you, our members. It does feel like a new chapter for the College and I hope many members will come to visit. As part of our continued drive to improve communications, we are looking to Kathy Evans, Chief Executive reschedule College News to fit more closely [email protected] with activities and events taking place; with this in mind, our next College News will not be until April 2015. 3 college news Clinical Excellence Awards to compete for a College nomination. A College nomination It’s not too soon to prepare for 2015! carries a College citation and guarantees that the application by-passes the first but not subsequent stages of the ACCEA selection process. It is not necessarily a good indicator We expect the results of the 2014 Round to be announced that an application will be successful as all applications are end March/early April 2015. It is possible that the May carefully scrutinised by several levels of ACCEA committees 2015 General Election may delay the announcement of a (which include lay members). The strong support of the 2015 Round. It is, however, anticipated that the scheme will employing Trust or Trusts is essential. continue and that, for 2015 at least, it will continue in its The College process is itself time-consuming, relying as it current scaled-back form. Both the Advisory Committee on does, on the work of the elected Regional Representatives or Clinical Excellence Awards (ACCEA) and the College would their deputies to score the applications and between them wish to encourage clinicians to seek awards and the following arrive at the College ranking. Thought is being given to points may help you decide whether or not to apply: ways to improve the system. The trend over the past couple • Only about 600 Awards are made under the Scheme across of years has shown that there is a significant “pinch-point” all specialties at the Silver Award stage and failure to achieve a College nomination does not reflect on the applicant but may • Awards are made for a period of 3 years and, if not be a reflection on the way the application form has been renewed, lapse which may well have an impact on salary/ completed (scorers can only score what is on the form). In pension. You may need to seek financial advice any event, the system is time-consuming and definitely not • Renewals are not a formality and applications need to perfect. Given the uncertainties of the coming year, those demonstrate at least the same level of performance as who are considering making an application are encouraged when the award was first made to prepare their forms now so that they can be revised at the appropriate time.