Read the latest RCOphth news updates and guidance here.
Ophthalmologists affected by taxation on NHS pensions will be pleased by the government’s announcement of changes to the Lifetime and Annual Allowance, directly aimed at preventing more NHS doctors retiring early or reducing hours. The government also reconfirmed it will shortly be publishing its long term NHS workforce plan.
The University of Edinburgh invites applications for 12 postgraduate scholarships to support international applicants accepted for admission to their 2-year, part-time, online ChM (Master of Surgery) in Clinical Ophthalmology in September 2023, thanks to the generous support of The David and Molly Pyott Foundation Scholarships in Ophthalmology programme.
An annual survey into workplace medical training across the UK includes questions on doctors’ experiences of discrimination for the first time this year. From today (Tuesday 21 March 2023), doctors are being urged to share their perspectives on topics across learning, support and supervision in the General Medical Council (GMC)’s yearly National training survey.
This month the BOSU is launching a new digital system that will replace the monthly yellow cards and postal questionnaires with an integrated email and online surveillance system.
RCOphth welcomes the recommendations from the Public Accounts Committee inquiry report ‘Managing NHS backlogs & waiting times in England’ as a positive step in focusing efforts to tackle backlogs, especially where the Committee has taken on board evidence from our submission. This article summarises key recommendations from the report and their relevance for ophthalmology services, while outlining what further measures the College believes are needed to bring down ophthalmology backlogs.
The College recognises the increasing interest from members to develop a more proactive and visible approach to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). We know that there are many positives to celebrate and we can continue to improve and develop more opportunities to support a fully diverse ophthalmic workforce at all career stages to succeed and thrive. We are now seeking to recruit a Consultant or senior SAS doctor Lead and a Trainee Deputy Lead to strategically drive and develop the role of the EDI committee for the RCOphth and its members.
This week, the GMC has published the latest data on the progression of doctors in postgraduate medical education across the UK. You can access the data via the reporting tool. The GMC has also produced a summary report. Tackling barriers that exist in medical education must remain an urgent priority for organisations across the UK’s health services, including all of us with responsibilities for postgraduate training. Fair and supportive training is not only key to the quality of medical education and practice, it’s also vital to help retain healthcare professionals in the UK.
Following a successful pilot of a ‘Reverse mentoring program on lived experiences due to race’ conducted by Health Education England where trainees were paired with Deans and Heads of School in Yorkshire and Humber, we proposed a similar scheme to the executive committee of the RCOphth. The committee were immediately interested in working towards empowering ethnic minority Ophthalmic colleagues/community to overcome the perceived barriers that contribute towards differential attainment.
NHS England has published guidance detailing how trusts can reduce instances of ‘did not attends’ (DNAs) for outpatient appointments. RCOphth Policy Advisor David Murray summarises what’s in the guidance, how it might affect ophthalmology services and what else is needed to tackle outpatient backlogs in ophthalmology.
The Advisory Committee on Clinical Impact Awards (ACCIA) has confirmed on their website that the 2023 awards round will commence as planned in March 2023, with a provisional opening date of Friday 3 March. The application window will be open for approximately 8 weeks, closing in late April or early May.
