President's Review 2010
It is a challenge for any President to draft an end of his first year’s Report in late autumn. Such is the pace of change nowadays that any message delivered may be rendered redundant by winter. Nor is it reasonable to be candid and say it has been a very busy job in a very busy post because, after all, that should have been obvious to the incumbent. Equally, the fact that College life has had its ups and downs should have been easily predictable by someone who has been round the block for some time.
In terms of the highlights, we have welcomed some new faces to College, which is always a healthy development, and they have made valuable contributions. Our new Chief Operating Officer, Mr John Cooper, clearly relishes his new civilian role with its many challenges, only some of which have been as exciting and unpredictable as those he found in his previous military life. He remains remarkably resilient and measured dealing with everyone both within and outwith our College.
There have been disappointments. Our joint venture with Glasgow School of Art and its Digital Design Studio has proved to be an increasing and unsustainable pressure on our ability to single-handedly fund such an ambitious project to its full conclusion. We have reached an amicable agreement to cease the funding stream whilst retaining our share of the joint intellectual property in the project so far. I must pay tribute to the enormous hard work and dedication of Mr George Gray, who was our Clinical Lead in the project. We have offered the Glasgow School of Art continued clinical input if their efforts to find an alternative funding source bear fruit. We wish them every success in that venture.
Our College did not jump headlong into what can only be described as a revalidation circus. Many Colleges did not share our caution and are now beginning to regret the time, effort and expense involved in setting up what became a bewilderingly complex, expensive and time consuming solution to what would seem to be a fairly straightforward task. There is now general consensus that any form of revalidation has to be cheap and cheerful but also fit for purpose. It is regrettable that the change of heart needed the interaction of others, including politicians, to bring about such a sea change.
At a recent meeting I attended, I was amused when a former high ranking official in the General Medical Council commented that in the past he doubted that revalidation would come in during his professional lifetime. He has now amended that prediction to doubting whether revalidation would ever come in during his time on earth. I can report that the individual remains a very spritely physical and mental specimen to date.
The new Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine is about to become a reality and, as a sponsored supporter of that project, we wish it every success. I would, however, urge caution about the scale, size and number of proliferating Colleges and Faculties within the UK. I doubt whether such a development will add to the strength of the profession and indeed, may have the reverse effect of giving rise to a divided weakness. Other countries have retained a smaller number of Colleges but incorporated in-house Chapters encompassing Specialties without any apparent loss or strength of each Specialty’s individual voice and representation. I rather doubt that all current and prospective Colleges and Faculties can be assured of long term viability as individual organisations, particularly during the current, and likely to be continuing, period of austerity which is obvious to all.
Fellows and Members can be assured that, despite a healthy degree of intercollegiate co-operation, particularly among the three Scottish Colleges, your College will continue to adopt an independent position and robust engagement in all Collegiate matters both in the UK and overseas. I see no reason for either our College or sister Colleges’ positions to be subsumed by any other organisation, including the UK Academy of Medical Royal Colleges.
I would like to pay tribute to the Council, Office Bearers and staff of our College for the energy, dedication and support during this first year of my post as your President. Above all, I wish to formally thank Dr Frank Dunn, who retires as Vice-President at the AGM. Frank has been a reliable anchor in difficult times and I have both relied on and respected his wise counsel. I wish him every happiness in retirement. Professor Mike Lewis completed his term as Vice-President (Dental) in October and I am deeply indebted for all his hard work towards the continuing success of the Dental Faculty.
My final remarks remain a rallying call to all Fellows and Members to each play a part in the life of College in all its activities. College must remain an open, welcoming and engaging institution for all, thereby ensuring that as an organisation we do everything we can for the betterment of our patients, for our professions and for society at large, both at home and overseas. Everyone deserves a basic human right of physical, mental and social wellbeing.
Mr Ian WR Anderson, President