MWF produces
a newsletter every month and a larger publication Medical Women three
times a year. For more information follow the links to the side and for extracts
of our latest newsletter see below. You can also read a copy of the article
written by our honorary secretaries on why MWF is still relevant today by clicking
here>>
June 2010
Drs Beryl De Souza and Rosalind Ramsay – Honorary Secretaries
Dr Clarissa Fabre,
MWF President reports: ‘Last week, the BMA General Practitioners’
Committee (GPC) published the report of a Working Group on Sessional Doctors.
40% of GPs are now either salaried or locum, an enormous increase in the last
few years. Salaried doctors do not feel well-represented by the BMA and Local
Medical Committees (LMCs). A significant proportion of the 1800 respondents
reported lack of partnership opportunities, inappropriate treatment by their
employers (either GPs or private companies), and in 48% of respondents, lack
of a contract equivalent to the BMA Model Salaried Doctors’ Contract.
As a GPC representative, I have continued to raise these concerns, and at
last these issues are being addressed.
Professor Wendy Savage last week delivered a petition with several thousand
signatures, to Mr Andrew Lansley, the new Secretary of State for Health, in
support of Dr Kim Holt, a Paediatrician from Great Ormond Street. Dr Holt
has been blocked from returning to her post since she raised concerns about
Child Protection in Haringey, the borough also involved with Baby P. We have
written to Andrew Lansley, the BBC, the medical and national press and Lynne
Featherstone MP, and the issue is at last beginning to gain more prominence.
Many thanks to Professor Savage for all her efforts. (see more about Kim Holt
in the Independent on www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/crisis-on-the-wards-at-a-british-institution-1997343.html
and in the Daily Telegraph on http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/andrewgilligan/100043071/great-ormond-street-the-turmoil-continues/).
Time for Training
The Temple Report, entitled "Time for Training", was launched on
9 June and received widespread press publicity. Its conclusions and recommendations
were far reaching and could have a lasting impact on how the NHS organisations
sort out their medical workforce in the future, particularly in providing
out of hours cover and addressing the continuity of safe patient care. Please
take time to read the report which can be found at http://www.mee.nhs.uk/.
MWF mentoring meeting, May 2010
The mentoring working group met to brain storm how MWF can support mentoring
for women doctors. We would like to support any local mentoring developments
you are involved in and are looking to recruit more MWF mentoring champions.
We need members who might like to take on a local mentoring champion role
to contact Central Office to express their interest by 16th July 2010. We
can discuss further by email or phone. We plan to have training for local
mentoring champions in the autumn.
Locum Positions
At the London meeting the issue of locum positions and the possibility of
long term impact upon one’s career was raised. Do you have any stories
to share? Has taking locum positions helped or hindered you? Have you found
yourself at a personal or professional disadvantage? Dr Kim Holt is considering
writing an article about this topic for a future journal if you would like
her to get in touch with you to hear about your experience please let Central
Office know. Any stories can be anonymised.
GMC publishes statistical analysis of fitness to practice procedures
for first time
One of the summaries has an analysis of outcome in relation to gender. It
found that in 2009 0.05% of female doctors currently registered were referred
to a Fitness to Practice hearing (compared with 0.2% of male doctors) and
0.01% of all female doctors with current registration were erased from the
Register in 2009 (compared with 0.05% of male doctors). Other summaries look
at ethnicity and place of primary qualification. The report is at http://www.gmc-uk.org/about/council/7036.asp.
MWF Tavistock House North, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9HX,
tel 0207 387 7765 admin.mwf@btconnect.com
www.medicalwomensfederation.org.uk
