Professional medical issues (new page)

The DHSSPS is responsible for medical workforce planning, and the DHSSPS regional workforce planning group oversees the preparation of workforce plans for Health and Social Care. The Director of Public Health/Medical Director of PHA chairs a medical workforce subgroup which reports to the DHSSPS regional workforce planning group. This subgroup has been tasked with the development of a suite of medical workforce plans for primary and secondary care for the five-year period 2013/14 to 2018/19. These will cover all specialities and will be developed incrementally to enable the methodology to be tested and refined. The methodology engages stakeholders throughout the project to refine the modelling and outputs.

The first speciality to be considered is paediatrics, with the scope including general paediatrics, community paediatrics, paediatric specialities and neonatology.

Each speciality plan is required to take account of key national and regional drivers such as Quality 2020, a strategic move to seven-day services, and a shift from secondary to primary care as outlined in Transforming Your Care, General Medical Council (GMC) requirements, and NICE guidance.

The PHA works closely with NIMDTA on key issues regarding postgraduate medical and dental training. This includes national and local policy work, workforce planning, and responding to serious concerns raised by NIMDTA visits to Trusts.

In recent years, there have been significant developments in UK medical education and training, following recommendations made in a number of seminal reports. The Shape of Medical Training Report published in 2013 (http://www.shapeoftraining.co.uk/static/documents/content/Shape_of_training_FINAL_Report.pdf_53977887.pdf) sets out a framework for delivering change to medical training and for doing so with minimum disruption to service. It aims to ensure doctors are trained to the highest standards and prepared to meet changing patient needs. The PHA is working with NIMDTA to respond to local needs for medical training and education, and commission services accordingly.

The GMC has provided a regulatory structure for safe, effective medical education, which includes standards for medical trainers, called Recognising and Approving Trainers: The Implementation Plan. The PHA is currently working with NIMDTA to deliver the implementation plan through supporting job planning for trainers.

If serious concerns are raised during or following NIMDTA visits to Trusts, the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) and PHA are informed and as appropriate will work with the relevant Trust to ensure service issues are resolved. At times, that may require service development or modernisation, including public consultation where necessary.

The HSCB and PHA are not responsible for addressing direct training-related issues.

http://www.shapeoftraining.co.uk/

http://www.gmc-uk.org/education/10264.asp

http://www.nimdta.gov.uk/

The PHA is instrumental in the delivery of postgraduate training for doctors and other professionals who want to become specialists/ consultants in Public Health. We are the primary training location and education provider within Northern Ireland for those who are enrolled on the UK Public Health training scheme  Specialty training - FPH. Other approved training locations are the Centre for Public Health at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) incorporating the NI Cancer Registry, Department of Health in NI, and the Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH).

The Public Health training programme usually comprises a five-year full time programme. The first year is usually spent undertaking a Masters in Public Health. The next three to four years are usually spent working within the PHA or other approved training locations where training is delivered by consultants/specialists and practitioners from a range of other backgrounds.

The PHA provides trainees with the opportunities to work across all the key areas of public health practice, i.e. health protection, health improvement, screening and service development. We are well placed to deliver this training in the PHA with our multidisciplinary workforce and our networks with a wide range of external stakeholders.

The training programme is open to people from a medical background and other professional backgrounds.  Entry to the training programme is by competitive interview which is usually held in November for entry the following August.  Details can be found at Recruitment - FPH .

Trainees entering the programme will follow the public health specialty training curriculum set by the UK Faculty of Public Health. Evidence of progress towards achieving key competencies and experience is assessed at an annual review of competence progression (ARCP) overseen by the Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency (NIMDTA). Satisfactory progress leads to a Certificate of Completion of Training and eligibility to work at consultant /specialist level. 

Medical graduates with significant experience in other specialties may wish to consider other routes CESR & CESR (CP) - FPH

Further information on the public health training is available via the NIMDTA website

www.nimdta.gov.uk/specialty-training/specialty-schools/medicine/medical-specialties/   and the UK Faculty of Public Health  Specialty training - FPH

People from backgrounds other than medicine may wish to consider alternative routes to have their experience recognised by the Faculty of Public Health. Further information is available via the UK Public Health Register    https://ukphr.org/

The PHA also offers ‘taster sessions’ and four-month rotations in public health for foundation year 2 doctors. Queries about foundation opportunities in public health, contact denise.ohagan@hscni.net

Any queries regarding the training programme, including recruitment queries, can be addressed to the Training Programme Director by emailing denise.ohagan@hscni.net

Revalidation is the process by which licensed medical doctors are required to demonstrate on a regular basis that they are up to date and fit to practise. Revalidation started in December 2012 and the GMC plans to revalidate the majority of doctors in the UK for the first time by March 2016. Doctors have to revalidate, usually every five years, by having regular annual enhanced appraisals with their employer that are based on the GMC’s core guidance for doctors, Good Medical Practice.

www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/good_medical_practice.asp

Revalidation is based on appraisal of a doctor’s whole scope of practice, including all aspects of his or her work as a medical practitioner, regardless of where this is undertaken. Its key elements include: continued professional development, colleague and patient feedback, two case reviews annually, audit in each five-year period and reflective practice and notes on all professional activity. Doctors also need to make a statement on their personal health and probity.

The enhanced appraisal process has a greater emphasis on reflection and quality. This assists the doctor to reflect on their year and identify further professional development and training needs on which they base their personal development plan.

Every doctor has a named Responsible Officer who makes a recommendation to the GMC about revalidating a doctor, based on the outcome of the appraisal. The Director of Public Health/Medical Director of the PHA is the Responsible Officer for all consultants affiliated to the PHA, and for the tier two Responsible Officers in Northern Ireland which includes the Responsible Officers of the five HSC Trusts, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service, and the Health and Social Care Board.

The postgraduate medical dean at NIMDTA is the Responsible Officer for all trainees working in the PHA.

Links

http://www.gmc-uk.org/doctors/revalidation.asp

Liaison with the Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency (NIMDTA) on medical training

NIMDTA is an Arms-Length Body sponsored by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) to train medical and dental professionals for Northern Ireland.  NIMDTA is accountable to the General Medical Council (GMC) for ensuring that the standards set by the GMC for medical training, educational structures and processes are met.

The PHA liaises with NIMDTA on key issues regarding postgraduate medical training including: developments in medical education, issues and themes relating to quality and safety of services, and the trainee medical workforce.

In recent years, there have been significant developments in UK medical education and training following recommendations made in a number of seminal reports. The Shape of Medical Training Report published in 2013 (www.shapeoftraining.co.uk/static/documents/content/Shape_of_training_FINAL_Report.pdf_53977887.pdf) sets out a framework for delivering change to medical training with minimum disruption to service. It aims to ensure doctors are trained to the highest standards and prepared to meet changing patient needs. The PHA is working with NIMDTA to respond to local needs for medical training and education, and commission services accordingly.

The GMC has provided a regulatory structure for safe effective medical education. This includes the enhanced requirements for medical trainers: Recognising and Approving Trainers: The Implementation Plan. The PHA is working with the HSCB to scope out the implications arising from this, and to support its implementation. The PHA and NIMDTA are collaborating to deliver the implementation plan through supporting job planning for trainers, including trainers within the PHA.

The PHA liaises with NIMDTA on issues relating to quality and safety of services. Serious adverse incidents are reviewed by PHA staff working with HSCB, and the learning from these is shared with NIMDTA for dissemination to doctors in training. Equally, if serious concerns are raised during or following NIMDTA visits to Trusts, PHA and the HSCB are informed and will work with the relevant Trust to ensure any service issues are resolved.

Links

www.shapeoftraining.co.uk/

www.gmc-uk.org/education/10264.asp

www.nimdta.gov.uk/