Scotland eBulletin - June 2019

Steve Turner, Officer for Scotland, introduces this month's newsletter for our members in Scotland. Get caught up with the latest news...

Here is a quick round up of RCPCH activities:

  1. Workforce: This remains a priority issue. There is a need for more paediatricians but also a need to look at working differently, for example extending the role currently done by doctors and working more closely with colleagues in primary care. The impact of pension life-time allowance on workforce is likely to become apparent over the next 12-18 months and create a new challenge to recruitment and retention.
     
  2. Career support: We have held well attended separate meetings for ST7-8 trainees and for consultants within five years of CCT. Stepping Up is an RCPCH initiative which is coming to Scotland in September this year and is aimed at carrying on the work in providing support during the transition from trainee to consultant. The next step is to establish meetings aimed at more senior consultants, eg aged 50+, addressing issues such as when is it right to stop doing on call? and what should I do with my pension? To find out more about future events, contact us.
     
  3. Paediatrics 2040: What conditions will paediatricians be looking after in 2040? And how many healthcare professionals will be required?  RCPCH is attempting to peer into the future by using historical clinical activity in all four UK nations and model this forward. These predictions will then be analysed and thought given to how the workforce might adapt to meet this future need. 2040 is not that far ahead, paediatricians getting a CCT in that year are currently in primary schools and (assuming that the paediatrics age range extends to 25) babies born today may be looked after by paediatricians of 2040. For more information, contact the project manager, Jonathan Cushing.

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You can log in to your online account to set your contact preferences. Make sure you've ticked 'College updates/professional updates' - we'll send the eBulletin to all RCPCH members working in Scotland who have opted in to this.

If you have any questions or would like to suggest an item for the next issue contact our Scotland team on enquiries-scotland@rcpch.ac.uk.