News & Views

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.

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.

The RCOphth guidance on good practice for urgent and emergency secondary ophthalmic care, includes processes and principles for ensuring reliable administrative and clinical arrangements with the receiving unit (or units) so that referral/transfer is efficient, timely and maintains high standards of patient care.

Further to the release of the Device Safety Information issued on the 26 January, the MHRA released a national patient safety alert on the 1 February.

The RCOphth has published the first annual report for the NOD Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) audit. The report is a significant milestone in benchmarking the delivery of AMD treatment in the UK, using data recorded as part of routine clinical care.

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists is pleased to announce that their prestigious Part 2 FRCOphth Oral examination will be held in Athens, Greece for the first time in October 2023. This marks the first time that the Part 2 FRCOphth Oral exam will be available to sit on the European mainland, enabling candidates in European and neighbouring countries to sit the exam closer to home.