Council held its last meeting for this Council year on Friday 3 September. As usual, I am writing to let you know the main areas of discussion and some of the decisions we reached at the meeting.
Chair of Council
This was the last Council meeting to be chaired by Professor David Haslam who will be standing down after 3 years in November. Council gave him a standing ovation following a vote of thanks given on behalf of Council by the President, Roger Neighbour. David will of course be working hard for the College right up until he gives his final report as Chairman at the AGM in November.
Review of Networks and Committees
Dr Mayur Lakhani outlined his plans for the review of networks and committees. There are a number of posts in networks and committees that will become vacant in November when the present Chairs complete their term of office. Full details of all posts will be sent out to Council shortly, but meanwhile, can I urge those of you who are on Council to put yourselves forward for these posts.
Vice Chairmen
Following the endorsement of his paper, Dr Mayur Lakhani announced that his two Vice Chairmen will be Dr Nigel Sparrow, from the Vale of Trent Faculty and Dr Graham Archard (a nationally elected member from the Wessex Faculty), currently Chair of Clinical Network.
The Future of Fellowship
The paper from the Fellowship Working Group to develop more specific proposals for the portfolio-based unified route to Fellowship was well received and this work will continue under the Chairmanship of Dr Philip Evans.
Motion to Council
Following a detailed debate on this motion, it was agreed that the matter be referred to CEC as to how this might be taken forward in the future.
Stub it Out Campaign — Smoking in Public Places and Workplaces Bill
I updated Council on our campaign, which has received a lot of attention. This, together with the work done by a number of our sister colleges and other key organisations, is raising awareness with patients and organisations alike. If you would like more information of how to support this initiative then please go to our website link: www.rcgp.org.uk/stubitout
Consultation on Portfolio of Evidence of Professional Standards for GPs
The first major consultation on the Portfolio of Evidence of Professional Standards for GPs is progressing well. The closing date of the consultation was 10 September and I would urge those of you who have not yet responded to do so as soon as possible. The consultation document and online response form can be found on our website at http://www.rcgp.org.uk/corporate/responses/index.asp. We hope to complete this work in the next few weeks and submit the final draft to the November meeting of Council.
Review of the GP Curriculum
Professor Steve Field, the Education Network Chairman gave a report on progress to date of the plans for the next major consultation on the Curriculum Review. Professor Field will be circulating to Council details of how they may feed into the consultation process and make suggestions on appropriate questions to pose in the formal consultation in the next week or so.
AGM and next Council Meeting
Lastly I would like to invite you all to join me at the AGM on 12 November at the Victoria Park Plaza in London. As I mentioned earlier in my letter, David Haslam will be presenting his final report as Chairman to this meeting. But of course, in addition, we have the presentation of a number of Fellowships and Awards, and what promises to be a very interesting James Mackenzie Lecture to be given by Moira Stewart, Professor of Family Medicine and Canada Research Chair in Primary Health Care from the University of Western Ontario, entitled Reflections on the patient–doctor relationship — from evidence and experience. The full programme for the day is available on the website and will be circulated to all members with the October issue of the Journal.
If you would like any further information on the matters discussed above or any other issues we covered at Council then please do not hesitate to contact me by email via honsec{at}rcgp.org.uk. I look forward to seeing many of you at the AGM.
APRIL's Second Conference Adverse psychiatric effects of medicines and anaesthetics … preventing avoidable harm 4th November 2004
Up to 30% of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are neuropsychiatric
Depression, self-harm, aggression, psychosis, suicide, and dementia may be ADRs and prevention is possible for these and other iatrogenic diseases
ADRs after anaesthetics are not researched or analysed
Adverse events and ADRs in NHS hospitals cost and estimated £2 billion a year and contribute to thousands of deaths
The conference will provide a forum for sharing knowledge and will facilitate debate about ADR prevention, reporting, analysis and risk management. A rare opportunity for open communication between the industry, research analysts, healthcare professionals, pharmacists, regulators, policy makers and the public.
Speakers
Andrew Herxheimer
Charles Medawar
Saad ShakirM
Keith Altman
Leonard Gorodkin
Pipasha Biswas
Dorothy Rowe
John Halliday
Steve Mott
Anita Holdcrof
Panel/Chairs
Angela Clow
Martin Seager
Diane Samways
Walter Loebl
Venue
Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1
9.30 am to 5.00 pm (registration and refreshments from 9 am)
To register telephone EYAS Ltd: +44 (0)1243 775 561 or email: april{at}eyas.co.uk
For further information about APRIL visit www.april.org.uk
- © British Journal of General Practice, 2004.