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Consultant physicians working with patients - Royal College of ...

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<strong>Consultant</strong> <strong>physicians</strong> <strong>working</strong> <strong>with</strong> <strong>patients</strong>report is produced and AAC data made available to theMWU.Invited service reviewsAn invited service review can be requestedby hospital management and fellows or members <strong>of</strong> theRCP when they require independent advice on issues<strong>of</strong> concern in relation to the practice <strong>of</strong> medicine. Thismay be in respect <strong>of</strong> service delivery, patient safety, teamfunctionality, clinical governance or workload issues.This process supports <strong>physicians</strong> and trust managementwhen they feel that the practice <strong>of</strong> good clinicalmedicine is compromised, and forms an importantmethod for protecting patient care and ensuring<strong>patients</strong>afety.Thereportisgiventothecommissioningorganisation, <strong>with</strong> recommendations for improvementand the RCP will <strong>of</strong>fer further support if invited todo so.International OfficeThe International Office supports members and fellows<strong>working</strong> outside the UK, and promotes RCP expertiseand services. It builds relationships <strong>with</strong> keyindividuals, organisations and governments, and takesan advocacy role on global health issues identified bythe RCP. With nearly 20% <strong>of</strong> the RCP’s subscribingmembers and fellows <strong>working</strong> in over 80 countries andin all continents, international relations are vital. TheRCP aims to extend its role to promote high standards<strong>of</strong> healthcare globally by engagement <strong>with</strong> its overseasfellows and members, strategic partners and individualcountries and regions.The key objectives <strong>of</strong> the department include:1 the support <strong>of</strong> medical graduates from outside theUK, who wish to undertake part <strong>of</strong> their training as<strong>physicians</strong> <strong>with</strong>in this country. This involves threeschemes, namely the International SponsorshipScheme, the Clinical Placement Initiative and theInternational Medical Graduate scheme2 overseas partnerships to support postgraduatemedical training. At present these includecommitments in West Africa, <strong>with</strong> the West African<strong>College</strong> <strong>of</strong> Physicians, Sudan, Oman, China and SriLanka. Further international collaborations tosupport postgraduate training are in the planning orearly development stages3 international net<strong>working</strong> <strong>with</strong> key organisations andagencies, including the World Health Organization,overseas universities and governments, the UKDepartment for International Development, andother UK government departments4 support for the international work <strong>of</strong> other RCPdepartments, including Education, the NationalClinical Guidelines Centre, and CorporateCommunications and Publishing.ConclusionThe <strong>Royal</strong> <strong>College</strong> <strong>of</strong> Physicians is involved in manyactivities to set standards, measure standards andimprove standards. The ongoing spiral <strong>of</strong> improvementis a dynamic process. The aim is to ensure that <strong>patients</strong>receive the best care possible and have a goodexperience <strong>of</strong> care. We have begun work looking at theprocesses <strong>of</strong> care – eg how ward rounds are conducted,how the pr<strong>of</strong>essions should better work together andhow to improve communication, particularly betweendoctors and nurses.We recognise that care is delivered <strong>with</strong>in systems, andthat doctors need to work to improve systems <strong>of</strong> care aswell as individual interactions <strong>with</strong> <strong>patients</strong>. This willimprove efficiency, patient experience and patient safety.We are constantly reviewing how doctors perform inwider society and recognise that pr<strong>of</strong>essionalism is alsoa dynamic concept, which changes as society changes.We will continue to develop resources to help doctorswho are members and fellows <strong>of</strong> the RCP to constantlyimprove their practice and to deliver high-quality careto <strong>patients</strong>. Our work also continues to be a resource forproviders <strong>of</strong> care, commissioners, planners, policymakers, <strong>patients</strong> and the public.References1 <strong>Royal</strong> <strong>College</strong> <strong>of</strong> Physicians. A strategy for quality: 2011and beyond. www.rcplondon.ac.uk/policy/improvinghealthcare/rcp-strategy-for-quality2 Donabedian A. The quality <strong>of</strong> care. How can it bemeasured? JAMA 1988;260:1743–8.3 Brook RH, Kosec<strong>of</strong>f JB. Competition and quality. HealthAffairs 1988;7:150–61.4 Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership. Newprinciples <strong>of</strong> best practice in clinical audit.London:HQIP,2011.272 C○ <strong>Royal</strong> <strong>College</strong> <strong>of</strong> Physicians 2013

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