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Professors Terence Stephenson,President, and Steve Allen, InternationalOfficer, represented the RCPCH at this meeting that brought together400 doctors from all specialtiesthroughout Anglophone West Africa as well as colleagues from the Facultyof Paediatrics.

The meeting addressed advances inhuman nutrition and emerging infectiousdiseases. Terence emphasized thecritical importance of neonatalproblems, common infections andundernutrition as key factors in childsurvival in an address to the meetingand chaired a session on thechallenges of 21st century diseases.Steve presented an update of the workof the College overseas. There wasgreat interest in our current activitiesand the potential for further jointprojects with colleagues in the

subregion. However, we fared less well when it came to the dancing atthe annual dinner.

We secured agreement for next year'smeeting in Accra, Ghana to be a jointmeeting between our two Colleges –an important next step in building our collaboration.

West African College of Physicians 35thAnnual General and Scientific Meeting; The Gambia, November 2011

Colleges signcontract forrevalidationonline portfolio

Notes

Register now at www.rcpch.ac.uk/conference2012

UK’s leading Paediatrics and Child Health Conference• Networking opportunities • Prestigious keynote lectures • International speakers

• Peer reviewed abstracts

• Best practice sessions • Personal practice sessions

Glasgow 22 - 24 May 2012 Scottish Exhibition + Conference Centre

ANNUAL CONFERENCEPAEDIATRICS: THE EARLY YEARS ...

See page 9 for more details

RCPCH, as part of a cohort of medicalroyal colleges, has signed a contractwith Equiniti 360° Clinical to provide anonline portfolio to support UK doctorsthrough their appraisal and revalidation.

The Colleges in the cohort have chosenEquiniti 360° Clinical to provide therevalidation portfolio as they alreadysupply leading 360 degree feedbacksoftware, training and support to NHSTrusts and Boards throughout the UKand have significant IT capabilities and considerable experience inintegrating systems.

Continued p.7(L to R): Professor Bede Ibe, Professor TerenceStephenson, Dr. Austin Omoigberale, Professor Angela Okolo, Dr Ezechukwu, Dr Tare Biu, Professor Steve Allen

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1Colleges Sign Contract forRevalidation Online Portfolio

West African College ofPhysicians 35th Annual Generaland Scientific Meeting

2 Registrar’s Column

3From the President

4Health Promotion Corner

From the Chief Executive

5Membership Subscriptions

6START Assessors

An Update from the Workforce Team

7Members’ Overseas Activities

8Safeguarding Children TrainingProgrammes: An Update

Medicines for Children

9Annual Conference

10SSASG News

NPDA Update

11Training Matters

Quality Improvement Workshops

Copy deadline for next issue:1st February 2012

Managing editor: Graham Sleight

Editor: Joanne Ball

Email: newsletter@rcpch.ac.uk

Editorial services: Work Communicationswww.workcomms.com

Published by: The Royal College of Paediatricsand Child Health, 5-11 TheobaldsRoad, London WC1X 8SH.Tel: 020 7092 6000 Fax: 020 7092 6001

Website: www.rcpch.ac.uk

Email: enquiries@rcpch.ac.uk

The College is a registeredcharity: no. 1057744 andregistered in Scotland asSC038299

The RCPCH review ‘Facing the Future’(published Autumn 2011 and available on our website) considered the currentprovision of care and potential solutionsto service problems. Ten standards foracute paediatrics were developed using areview of the relevant literature and wideconsultation with paediatricians. It is theCollege’s intention to initiate a nationalaudit programme against these standardsin 2012. This review proposes a programmeof work to ensure that the RCPCH plays apivotal role to improve standards of careand service for children and young people.

In order to achieve this, we must ensure a robust college process to tackleperformance and service issues. A shortlife ‘Performance and Service Reviews’working group has been established undermy chairmanship to provide a robust andfair approach to requests for reviews fromTrusts and Deaneries. This will be completedand presented to Council next year.

There has been a significant increase inrequests to the college for help from MedicalDirectors due to difficulties faced withsustaining a 24/7 service. Deaneries havebeen alerted by the GMC to training issuesthat have sparked requests for RCPCHreviews. In response, we now haverepresentation on our working group fromthe Care Quality Commission, the GMC,the BMA and the National ClinicalAssessment Service and are workingclosely with the RCOG.

Our Workforce team, Dr Carol Ewing andMartin McColgan are undertaking variousprojects related to these strands of work.The biennial Workforce Census took place in2011, and we will share its conclusions withyou as soon as possible. We are currentlyconducting a survey of paediatricians ontheir views on service provision; UKmembers should already have receivednotification of this, and I hope that youwill take part. The results of the surveyand the work the Workforce teamconducted on EWTD are both vital tosupporting our proposals for futureservice provision.

Your involvement is central to ensuring a robust process for improving serviceprovision. RCPCH is currently exploringhow to provide training for external clinicalreviewers and assessors. I would like torequest all RCPCH members and fellowsto consider who would be appropriate to become clinical advisers/reviewers. If you would like to be involved and are interested in being notified aboutfuture training courses, please contact Joseph Callanan with a short CV.

As 2012 fast approaches there are manychallenges faced by our members in a very difficult financial environment. More than ever we need to ensure that our College is a powerful advocate of safe and sustainable care for children and young people.

PROFESSOR HAMISH WALLACERegistrar

Registrar’sColumn

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In my first column for the RCPCH newsletter I emphasised that we are a college for childhealth as well as paediatrics, with the aim of continuing to improve standards of health for children and young people

I want to take you on a thoughtexperiment. Imagine you are living in1739 when Thomas Coram establishedthe Foundling Hospital. Although it wascalled a hospital, it was really a placewhere women who, for whatever reason,could not keep their babies could givethem up into the care of others. Althoughwe think of the eighteenth century as the‘Age of Enlightenment’, the century inwhich oxygen was discovered and in whichJenner described vaccination againstsmallpox, the conditions for children wereappalling. Mortality was extremely high,nutrition for the majority was desperatelypoor and diseases such as cholera, typhoidand polio were common. If you go to theFoundling Museum, with its wonderfulrococo interiors, it is easy to forget thateven children of the well-to-do had a veryhigh chance of not reaching adulthood.

Move forward 100 years or so to the middleof the 19th century and we are at theheight of the industrial revolution. This isthe period when many of the children’shospitals in the United Kingdom werefounded – Great Ormond Street Hospital in1852, the Jenny Lind Children’s Hospitalin Norwich in 1853, Manchester Children’sHospital 1855, Liverpool and LeedsChildren’s Hospitals 1857 and so on.However, conditions for most childrenwere still appalling. This is the century in which the young person Jo in Dickens’Bleak House still dies of smallpox despiteJenner’s discovery and in which rickets isan extremely common cause of death inchildbirth, for both mother and child. It isalso the century in which many of the greatcivic universities were founded. Prior tothis, to be a doctor or at least a physicianrather than a barber surgeon, and attenduniversity, one had to be a member of theChurch of England. My own university, UCL,was founded in this century and was thefirst university to be open to students of

any religious persuasion. Our understandingof medicine and the human body hadincreased a great deal but treatmentoptions were still extremely limited andthere were no paediatricians.

Now I move forward to 2011. All theadvances that we take for granted havehappened in the past 150 years: bloodtransfusion, anaesthesia, antiseptics,antibiotics, the development of universalimmunisation which made many of thediseases that were scourges of the 18thand 19th centuries a thing of the past.But children still suffer. Recently, a youngperson who had lost both hands and bothfeet from meningococcal septicaemiamade a very moving statement: “if youcan’t avoid the storm you must learn todance in the rain”. To help avoid the storm,and to help children dance in the rainwhen they cannot avoid the storm, we stillneed to press forward with research intochildren’s diseases and their treatments.

The UK can be extremely proud of itsbiomedical research record. We are secondonly to the USA in cited publications andin terms of ‘bang for our buck’, since we spend so much less than the USA, we do considerably better. Several of ouruniversities are ranked in the top 50 inthe world and many of our paediatriciansand paediatric departments have welldeserved international reputations. We take research from the bench to the bedside and some of the greatestinnovations during my own professionalcareer, from surfactant to the eradicationof haemophilus B, owe a great deal to researchers and children in the United Kingdom.

But the challenge, as Sir Ian Kennedy’sreport last year demonstrated, is to keepchildren on the radar. If you were FlorenceNightingale walking the wards of the NHStonight, over 70% of the patients in hospital

would be over 70 years old. If you wereSecretary of State, the things troublingyou in your in-tray are more likely to bethe Mid Staffordshire Inquiry, dementia,adult cancer, stroke and falls in the elderlythan the problems of children who areafter all a predominantly healthy sectionof the population. As a College we striveto keep children on the radar but the 12 million children in the UK are mostlyhealthy. Perhaps as a consequence,although they make up 22% of thepopulation, only 3% of the UK researchspend is devoted to children’s conditions.But we need to keep children on theradar. The current pandemic of obesitywith one third of children affected isstoring up problems for the future. Weknow from the publication Why childrendie? that in 43% of cases there werepotentially avoidable factors.

So let me leave you with three thoughts.From the previous Secretary of State,Andy Burnham, “the NHS is a service for old people, designed by old people.”From the current Secretary of State,Andrew Lansley, “no decision about mewithout me”. Taking these together, weneed your help to involve children in the design of tomorrow’s NHS and inresearching tomorrow’s treatments andwe need you to keep them firmly on theradar so that we can continue to makethe breakthroughs which have so improvedthe quality of life for children compared tothose of 1739 and 1852. The last thoughtis: “children have no voice, no money andno vote.” That is why they need you andthat is why paediatricians and the RoyalCollege of Paediatrics and Child Healthhave so much to offer.

PROFESSOR TERENCE STEPHENSONPresident, Royal College of Paediatricsand Child Health

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From the President

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You are the consultant/SSASG coveringthe Emergency Department/ You areasked to see an 8 month old with a seriousscald from “accidentally knocking a mug ofhot tea over himself” whilst on his mother’slap at home. This is the third serious burnyou have been asked to see in a matterof weeks. The last child was transferredto a burns unit, was in terrible pain andrequired a 5 day stay for plastic surgery ata cost of £73,000 and will need furthersurgery at a later date. You ask the unitadministrator for statistics of all theunintentional injuries in the under fives,seen in the department over the year.The data indicate that 57% of all theactivity is due to injuries, usually falls,burns, scalds and poisonings.

Question 1How great is the burden of injury in this age group generally and is yourdepartment unusual?

Answer 1Unintentional injury has become theleading cause of death amongst childrenand young people in the UK over a yearof age, as well as being a major cause ofpreventable long-term disability. Everyyear in the UK over 2.25 million childrenunder the age of 15 are treated in EDsafter an injury, and this figure includesalmost 600,000 children under the ageof five. Around half of these injurieshappen in and around the home but manyless serious go unreported as have beentreated by a parent or in primary care.

The local public health observatory providefigures from Hospital Episode Statistics(HES) data of your clinical area (E) andits surrounding areas (A-D) (see Figure).This shows you have a high rate andfurther local mapping indicates thatthere are two socially disadvantagedwards particularly adversely affected.

Question 2What works to prevent injury in thehome and how might I contribute as apaediatrician?

Answer 2Paediatricians have important roles inadvocacy and service development.Examples include improving local injurysurveillance systems, identification ofchildren at high risk, advising onevidence based interventions, andencouraging the introduction of homesafety and parenting supportprogrammes, especially in areas wherethere are high levels of disadvantage.

NICE guidance includes the followingevidence based interventions in relationto home safety:

• Ensure local plans commit to reducingunintentional injuries among under-15s,with a focus on those who are most at risk

• Ensure there is a trained child andyoung person injury preventioncoordinator in each locality

• Include home safety assessments andparental safety education in local plans

• Establish multi-sector partnerships or support existing ones to collectinformation carry out assessments and promote home safety

• Identify and prioritise households mostat risk and offer home assessments

• Ensure the assessment, supply andinstallation of equipment is tailored to need and includes the provision of information and advice

• Ensure an injury prevention policy is in place which balances fun, physicalactivity and learning

You decide that you and the liaisonhealth visitor can work on a number ofthese together with a group of traineesand medical students. You also contactyour local public health specialist andsubmit a bid to the commissioners todevelop the coordinator position and ahome safety equipment scheme usingpotential savings from hospital costs.

Further resourcesSee the e learning session on injury preventionwww.e-lfh.org.uk/projects/healthychild/index.html

NICEwww.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/13274/51741/51741.pdf

Child Accident Prevention Trustwww.capt.org.uk/

Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents www.rospa.com/

Injury Prevention in Children – A Primer forStudents and Practitioners David Stone Dunedin Press 2011

Mitch Blair Officer for Health Promotion, DavidStone, PEACH Unit Glasgow and Simon LentonChair BACCH

Next time on Health Promotion Focus: Child Mental Health

Health Promotion Focus 2

Not another burn!

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From the ChiefExecutive

The Royal Medical Colleges are far morecomplex than “ordinary” charities. Theycertainly don’t conform to the standardview of third sector organisations, wheretrustees are largely charged with the tasksof approving both budgets and strategyand ensuring that good governance is firmlymaintained. In the case of the Colleges,much of the knowledge and expertise lieswithin the membership and, on a day today basis, within the Senior Officers.

As a membership organisation it is entirelyappropriate that as wide a cross section ofviews are canvassed on key medical issuesas possible. This is, quite simply, howdemocracy works. At one level it can slowthe process of reacting to issues downand leads to the plethora of committeeswe currently have – “keeping minutes andwasting hours” as one jaundiced critic putit. But, on the other hand, it does meanthat responses are informed by those whoreally matter – clinicians on the ground.

What this also means is a huge, personalcommitment and, in some cases, sacrificethat doctors make to combine Collegeactivities within their day jobs. In the almosttwo years I have now been at the Collegemy admiration and respect for memberswho unstintingly give both time andcommitment to the College has grownenormously. It is unmatched by moreconventional charities and by even the mostzealous board members. But the pressureon busy practitioners to contribute isgrowing, with trusts increasingly reluctantto recognise time spent away from hospitalsof busy clinics.

It is a cliché that if the Colleges didn’texist they would need to be invented. But it is nonetheless true. But a narrowinterpretation of what is justifiable outsidework will eventually reach crisis point. It isironic that the Department of Health arethemselves facing this situation, in termsof engaging clinicians in extra centralgovernment work.

It is because of this impending crisis thatthe President has been using the Academyto try to strengthen the acknowledgementof time spent in College or Faculty work, inthe Health and Social Care Bill. At the sametime the College continues to advocate on behalf of individual doctors who areexperiencing difficulties with their trusts,in term of work they do for the College.Furthermore, the College also held anevent for trust Chief Executives, to learnabout the contribution that the doctorsmake, not only to the College, but to thewider furtherance of good medicine.

It is an issue on which the College willcontinue to campaign. In the meantime,we continue to accept, with gratitude, all that paediatricians do for the Collegeand for the health of children.

DR CHRIS HANVEYRCPCH CEO

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Burns compared 2010/11per 10,000 children

This is my first contribution to theNewsletter as your Honorary Treasurer.I must pay tribute to my predecessor,Sue Hobbins, who so ably filled this role.I will continue with her determinationto ensure the College uses its fundswisely, and only looks to members forincreased subscriptions after properscrutiny of expenditure.

The College is continuing to invest inenhancing the services it provides tomembers as well as working to improve

child health worldwide. Like mostorganisations and individuals the Collegehas been affected by rising inflationand cuts to funding. We have lookedstringently at our expenditure, butdespite this, membership subscriptionswill need to be increased to cover bothextra costs and loss of income.

Traditionally the College has aimed to keep subscription increases in linewith, or below, the increase in theRetail Price Index. This aim has been

met for all recent years except 2009(see chart). Your Council recognisesthe impact the current financial climatewill have on members but has agreedthat an increase of three percent acrossall membership categories is necessary,with the exception of Junior membership,where the subscription will be frozenfor 2012 to take into considerationincreases in examination fees. Thisthree percent increase is expected tobe significantly less than RPI inflationwhich at September 2011 is 5.6%.

Can I also remind members thatsubscriptions are fully tax deductibleand UK tax payers should be able to claim up to 40% back from theInland Revenue.

It is also important to make you awarethat concessions are available formembers who have difficulty in paying their subscription due tofinancial hardship. Members who need to apply for a concession should contact the Member ServicesTeam on 0207 092 6060 or viamembership@rcpch.ac.uk. Any suchrequest is treated confidentially. If members have any other queriesregarding subscriptions the MemberServices Team will be delighted toadvise and help.

DR DAVID VICKERS, Honorary Treasurer, RCPCH

The main subscription rates for 2012 will be as follows

*as in previous years, those resident in the UK pay additional levies and payment surcharges

may apply for some payment methods.

Membership Subscriptions 2012

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1.00%

2.00%

3.00%

4.00%

5.00%

6.00%

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Subscription rise

RPI

Membership Type 2012 Annual Rate shown

Subscription includes Archives?

Fellow UK* and Republic of Ireland £464 Yes

Fellow rest of EU and North America £348 Yes

Fellow Elsewhere £222 Yes

Ordinary UK* and Republic of Ireland £388 Yes

Ordinary rest of EU and North America £290 Yes

Ordinary Elsewhere £185 Yes

Junior (UK only) £75 No

Honorary Fellow £0 No

Senior Fellow/Member £53 No

Associate UK*, EU and North America £198 No

Associate elsewhere £190 No

Medical Student Affiliates £0 No

The outputs of the workforce team are dependent on the goodwill and data provided by consultants, SSASGsand trainees and we thank you for your support.

In addition to this bulletin, you can also check for policy and other updateson the College workforce pageswww.rcpch.ac.uk/what-we-do/workforce-planning/workforce-planning

Our objectives are to ensure thatcommissioners, providers and otherkey stakeholders are aware of theCollege’s blueprint, Facing the Futureand the requirements for safe andsustainable paediatric services.

• An expansion of trained doctors now, some working innovatively toprovide resident shifts (20.4% of Tier 2 (middle grade) posts were vacant in December 2010)

• The need for reconfiguration of acute services with the developmentof SSPAUs

• A reduction in training numbers

• An increase in GPSTs training in paediatrics

• An expansion of nurses withextended or advanced roles

We are doing this by:

Collecting robust data A workforce census is conducted everyother year and the 2011 census hasbeen sent to all clinical leads/directorsto collect the data as at 30th September.We are requesting enhanced informationabout community and specialist services

(including network arrangements). We are also conducting an individualconsultant and SSASG survey to look in detail at working patterns.

It is over two years since the EWTRestablished a 48 hour working weekfor junior doctors. We will continue tomonitor rota problems by surveyingclinical leads/directors in December 2011.

Shaping the workforce across the UKWe continue to refine our workforcepolicy by working closely with all CollegeOfficers, Heads of School, NationalHealth Service workforce planners and policy leads.

We have responded to a number ofconsultations from government andrelated bodies.

Making sure we have the rightnumber of doctors in trainingThe CfWI have recommended no changeto paediatric training numbers in Englandover the next 3 years, a decision mainlydue to persistent engagement by theCollege in making sure any changes aredone at the right time. In Scotland, ST1numbers are due to rise to 24 from aworryingly low 16, which with high levelsof attrition, will lead to overall trainingnumbers falling by 20% over the next 5 years. In Wales, numbers have risendue to the conversion of FTSTAs to STposts, but many rotas remain vulnerable.In Northern Ireland, Ministers push toensure all rotas are covered, but thereis little evidence of long-term planning

to ensure that CCT holders will obtainconsultant posts in the future.

Monitoring trainees‘ careers through to CCT

We are currently following a cohort ofUK trainees from 2008 which shows a5% per annum attrition in ST1-ST3.Further, the elapsed time fromgraduation to CCT recommendation isaround 14 years due to factors includingmaternity and having a high level ofoverseas graduates. We are nowfollowing up those trainees who left toestablish their reasons and will publishfindings by the end of 2011.

With 300 CCTs and 80 expectedretirements each year, growth in thenumber of consultant posts witnessedby the workforce census (5.6% perannum between 2007 and 2009) hasensured no mass unemployment oremigration of new consultants. We aretherefore carrying out a survey of 2010CCT recommendations to establishhow they fared in the transition fromtrainee to consultant.

Measuring the impact of consultantdelivered care and sharing models of good practice

The College is currently working on a project to study the impact ofconsultant delivered care, particularlywhere staff provide resident shifts as a solution to EWTR enabling saferservices. The project will compareservices where this model has beenintroduced with those still workingtraditionally. The results of this researchwill be available early in 2012.

An update from the Workforce Team

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START (Specialty Trainee Assessment of Readiness for Tenure) is a formalassessment to be undertaken by alltrainees within Level 3 of paediatrictraining. The aim of the exercise isprimarily to assess decision-making andclinical reasoning across a range of tasksexpected of a newly appointedconsultant paediatrician. It is anticipatedthat START will commence during 2012.

Applications are now invited for thoseseeking appointment as an assessor forthe START (ST7A) assessment.

In order to be eligible for appointmentas an assessor, a nominee must fulfil allof the following criteria:

a) Be a Fellow of good standing of theRCPCH or of the royal collegerepresenting their specialty.

b) Be in a consultant position.

c) Be able to demonstrate experienceand understanding of the trainingcurriculum for level 3 training.

d) Be able to demonstrate experience inthe field of education, training andassessment.

As a START assessor you will berequired to make yourself available forassessor training, probably one full day,and be able to assess during a STARTassessment cycle on at least two days

per year. There will be opportunities tojoin and lead START station scenariogeneration boards, and/or to be invitedto join the START Assessment Board,which has overall responsibility for theSTART assessment.

Application is by the completion of astructured application form and byproviding the necessary reference froma Paediatric Head of School.

The application form and furtherinformation on the START assessmentcan be found on the RCPCH website.

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Applications invited for START (ST7A) Assessors

We know that there are large numbersof College members involved in educationand training activities across the globe.The aim of the map is to help membersidentify others with common interests andto facilitate networking and informationsharing. There are many challenges toworking in low income countries and wehope that putting people working onsimilar projects or in the same countryin touch with each other may be helpful.

There is already a wealth of informationon the map. There are details of projects

from Cambodia to the Caribbean,including blogs by some of the currentRCPCH/VSO Fellows which are aninvaluable source of information foranyone considering the scheme.

However, we know the map currentlyonly covers a fraction of the projectsmembers are involved with. If you areliving and working outside the UK or are resident in the UK but involved inoverseas work please get in touch atinternational@rcpch.ac.uk and let usknow about your project.

Visitors to the RCPCH International webpages will be familiar with the recently launched interactive map feature (www.rcpch.ac.uk/what-we-do/rcpch-international/ members-activities-overseas/members-activities-overseas) which allows viewers to see at aglance where the College has members engaged in workoverseas. Clicking on the coloured markers reveals furtherinformation about the project and contact details.

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Members’ActivitiesOverseas

The revalidation portfolio will• Be straightforward and easy to use• Be accessible online over the internet

and through the NHS N3 network • Be customisable by each medical royal

college or faculty• Only be accessible to the doctor using

it and those to whom he or she gives permission

• Minimise the need for duplication byinterfacing and communicating withexisting systems and applications

• Provide intuitive assistance in gatheringthe supporting information forappraisal and revalidation

• Be designed and developed to thehighest standards, sourced in Microsoft,but made affordable to doctors,institutions and organisations

• Anticipate future revalidationdevelopments

• Be secure, private, and confidential.

The next phase of the project whichcommenced in November 2011 includesextensive testing and approval processes,involving doctors who eventually will beusing the revalidation portfolio. RCPCHhas recruited a group of paediatricians tohelp test the system as it is developed.The RCPCH side of the project is beingled by Dr Simon Frazer who has extensiveexperience in the development of online portfolios.

Dr Alistair Thomson, RCPCH revalidationlead confirms “the RCPCH is committedto providing a set of tools to ease theintroduction of revalidation. We intendthe revalidation portfolio will meet thestandards that paediatricians will requirefor simple, clear and comprehensiverecording of details for appraisal and revalidation.”

The Royal College of Physicians Londonis managing the project on behalf of thecohort, which comprises the College ofEmergency Medicine, the Royal Collegeof Anaesthetists, the Royal College ofPaediatrics and Child Health, the RoyalCollege of Physicians of Edinburgh, the Royal College of Physicians andSurgeons of Glasgow, the Royal Collegeof Physicians of London and the RoyalCollege of Ophthalmologists.

Academy of Medical Royal Colleges has given its backing and full financialsupport to this project. Developmentand licensing costs will be covered bythe Academy funding for the first threeyears and access will be provided aspart of the membership package.Ongoing, minimal per user licensingcosts will be covered by membershipsubscriptions from 2015.

Revalidation(continued from p.1)

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Safeguarding ChildrenTraining Programmes: An update

Parents welcome launch of new informationservice to help them give medicines to theirchildren Medicines for Children launches itsnew website, with more than 100 medicinesleaflets, instructional videos, parents’ storiesand latest news about children’s medicines

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Many of you will have seen the Medicines for Childreninformation leaflets. In December 2011 we launched ournew website to help any parent or carer give medicine to their child at home.

At medicinesforchildren.org.uk you can search online by the medicine trade or brand name, or the disease,condition or infection being treated. With content writtenand reviewed by College members, pharmacists, parentsand carers, the website provides answers to the questionsparents are asking about how and when to give medicine,and address common concerns about possible side effectsand dosing.

Our easy-to-read leaflets, which can be read anddownloaded online, are supported with a news section with topical information and a range of videos showinghow to give medicines.

Medicines for Children is run by a partnership between theRoyal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, Neonatal andPaediatric Pharmacists Group (NPPG) and nationalchildren’s charity WellChild. It is overseen by the JointRCPCH/NPPG Medicines Committee.

Dr William van’t Hoff, Consultant Paediatric Nephrologist atGreat Ormond Street Hospital, who is on the panel drivingthis project, notes:

“The Medicines for Children website and leaflets aim to supportany parent whose child requires medication, from a one-offtreatment to chronic and complex care. We want to encourage allhealth professionals working with children to direct parents to thisimportant resource for practical and informative advice. Theleaflets are certified by The Information Standard, which wasdeveloped by the Department of Health, and are referenced in theBritish National Formulary for Children.”

Linda Partridge Director of Programmes at WellChild, adds:

“Our aim is to empower parents and carers to give their childrenmedicines with confidence, having been reassured by informationtailored to their needs and in an easily accessibly form. Feedbackfrom parents who have been involved in reviewing the pilotphases of this project has demonstrated the overwhelming andurgent need for this resource.”

One of these parents, Debbie Linster-Ali from Rugby, ismother of Noah who died aged three in 2009 from thechromosomal condition Edward’s Syndrome. She comments:

“The leaflets are absolutely great. It can be stressful enough forparents when their child is ill, without the added anxiety ofploughing through complicated information and worrying aboutthe risks of not giving a medicine correctly. For us the informationabout unlicensed drugs would have been really helpful as Noahhad to have medicines which were at the time unlicensed.”

We hope that you are able to use the leaflets in your clinicalpractice, signpost families to the website, and inform yourcolleagues in pharmacy, primary care and nursing. We arealways open to your suggestions to improve the leafletsand website, or add more titles. If you would like to get intouch – or get involved – please contact Kirsten Olson onmedicines.leaflets@rcpch.ac.uk or 020 7092 6175.

5 years on... CPRR:Recognition & Response inChild Protection educationalprogramme for doctors intraining: A collaborationbetween the RCPCH, NSPCCand ALSG

This programme was launchedin January 2006 and it has gonefrom strength to strength with38 centres established UK-wide.2,532 trainees have undertakenthe course and the feedbackhas been extremely positive as is seen in the collatedfeedback below:

Where 1 is unacceptable and 3 is good:

• Lecture sessions scored from2.73 – 2.79

• Small group teaching sessionsscored from 2.77 – 2.85

Where 1 is strongly disagree and4 is strongly agree:

• By the end of the course I feltmore confident in my practicescored 3.60

• The course lived up to myexpectations scored 3.52

• I would recommend thecourse scored 3.60

• The faculty wereknowledgeable and crediblescored 3.73

One comment from a traineesums up many of the free comments:

“This was an excellent course and byfar the best child protectionteaching I have ever had. Thecontent was great and was verywell structured – I liked the varietyof different ways of teaching and inparticular the discussion sessionsand the role-play of scenarios. Itwas extremely useful and relevantand I would recommend it to everypaediatric trainee”

The trainer training hasproduced a group of 346recognised trainers which isenough to sustain 115 trainingcourses each year.

Of course, not all comments arepositive and these are takeninto account as they are

received and wherever animmediate change is possiblethis is made. They are then allreviewed fully within the routineupdate cycle. It is extremelyimportant that any programmeremains fit for purpose and isreviewed and updated regularlyand based on feedback fromcourse directors, course co-ordinators, trainers and all ofthe course candidates, theCPRR/CPIP working group iscurrently undertaking a fullreview and update of thecourse. We will announce thelaunch of the updated packagein 2012.

2 years on... CPIP:Child Protection in Practice:educational programme for specialty trainees.

This programme builds on theCPRR course and is deliveredon-line. The six modules:epidemiology, underpinningprinciples, legislative frameworkand systems, clinical topics A and B, special circumstancesare booked individually and sofar there have been enrolmentsfor 1,025 modules and 307 havebeen completed.

There will be issues related tochanges in guidance revealedduring the CPRR review processthat will also inform a review of CPIP. There will also beeducational and technical issuesthat will be unique to the CPIPsite. A full review and evaluationof this programme will commencefollowing the update to theCPRR course and will again takeinto account feedback from thetrainees, facilitators and thenamed and designated doctorswho provide local support and advice.

To learn more about bothprogrammes visit either the RCPCH www.rcpch.ac.uk/training-examinations-professional-development/professional-development-training/safeguarding-childror ALSG websites: CPRRwww.alsg.org/en/?q=cprr; CPIP – www.alsg.org/en/?q=cpip

ANNUAL CONFERENCEGlasgow 22 - 24 May 2012Scottish Exhibition + Conference Centre

PAEDIATRICS: THE EARLY YEARS...

Register now at www.rcpch.ac.uk/conference2012

In collaboration with

2012 is a very exciting year, the Scottish Paediatric Society celebrates their 90th anniversary, and it’s the first time we visit Glasgow to hold the conference!

The theme of the conference is ‘The early years…’. Academic Board have produced a programme that will mix clinical and research updates with the networking opportunities afforded by the Annual Conference. The meeting will be held over three days and will provide topical and relevant sessions ensuring you have plenty of time for discussion, debate and learning, for trainees and continuing professional development for consultants and career grade paediatricians.

Make sure you’re part of the 2012 conference with an exciting programme which includes prestigious speakers, updates on key clinical issues, and the latest paediatric science.

SSASG NEWS

GOING FOR GOLDJoint Royal Colleges Biennial SAS ConferenceFriday 27th January 2012Royal College of Physicians, LondonFollowing the success of the first JointRoyal Colleges SAS Conference in 2010,this 2012 Conference aims to motivateand inspire SAS Doctors from allspecialties. The programme includes aKeynote presentation, “What Collegescan do for SAS doctors” by Professor Sir Neil Douglas, Chairman, Academy ofMedical Royal Colleges. There are alsopresentations on “Clinical Leadership”,“Maximising Educational Opportunities”,“From the Medical Director’s Office –Practical tips on how to negotiate andplan for career development with yourline manager”, ” Niche roles for SASdoctors”, and a session on MotivationalStrategies for SAS Doctors in their careers.

With such an excellent programme, I would strongly encourage you toregister now for this Conference. Go to the RCP Website / Events /January 2012 / Going For Gold.www.rcplondon.ac.uk/content/events

The RCPCH SSASG Committee will havea stand at the Conference where we will show what our College is doing for SSASG Paediatricians and whatCollege membership offers SSASGs.Please spread the word to your SSASG colleagues. I look forward toseeing you there.

RCPCH SSASG SurveyThe RCPCH SSASG Survey is up andrunning on the RCPCH website. Thereare 1,400 SSASG paediatricians in theUK and we want to hear from all of you.If you have already completed thesurvey, thank you. Your views will helpto guide this College’s plans for SSASGcareers both now and in the future. Ifyou have still to complete the survey –do it now! It takes only minutes, and the results are eagerly awaited by theSSASG Committee and Senior CollegeOfficers, who are currently re-designingSSASG Paediatrician roles and careerpathways to offer more choice andflexibility. Make sure that we hear your

views – and please pass on informationabout the survey to your SSASGColleagues who may not be RCPCHmembers. www.rcpch.ac.uk/

RCPCH SSASG MembershipAlthough there are 1,400 SSASGPaediatricians in the UK, only 400 areRCPCH members. RCPCH is responsiblefor, amongst other things, advising onStandards of Care for Child Health,Paediatric Workforce Planning, Trainingand CPD requirements – all of whichdirectly affect us as SSASG Paediatricians.RCPCH is also committed to supportingand developing the SSASG paediatricianrole. It is very important, therefore, thatSSASGs have a strong and representativevoice at College. To have this, we need tobe College members. We aim to improvecommunication about the benefits ofCollege membership for SSASGs andour newest RCPCH SSASG CommitteeMember, Dr Jenni Dixon, is taking a leadrole in this. Please encourage your SSASGcolleagues who are not yet Collegemembers to look at Membership options.www.rcpch.ac.uk/

SSASG Update Meeting

RCPCH Annual Conference,Glasgow, May 22 – 24th 2012We will be holding our Annual SSASGUpdate Meeting on Tuesday 22nd May2012 at 1230-1330. The SSASGCommittee will present on what ishappening at College for SSASGPaediatricians. We also plan to have an Open Forum and would like to hearwhat topics you would like to discussand explore further. Please email ourSSASG Committee Administratorserean.williamson@rcpch.ac.uk withyour discussion ideas.

DR JANE WILKINSON

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NationalPaediatricDiabetes Audit (NPDA)

2010/11 NPDA participationData submission for the 2010/11 audithas now ended. The NPDA ProjectBoard would like to thank all thosecentres who submitted their data to the 2010/11 NPDA and who havehelped to make this year’s audit asuccess. We’re pleased to report that 180 paediatric diabetes units out of 184 had submitted data forover 25,000 patients, which is a 28% increase in registrations since 2009/10.

Preparations for next year’s audit will soon be underway and centreswill be updated on developmentsin due course.

NPDA Working GroupsIn September the NPDA DatasetWorking Group and the NPDAPatient Reported Experience andOutcomes Measures Working Groupwere convened. These groups areresponsible for the development ofthe NPDA dataset for Years 2 and 3and the introduction of NPDA PREMsfor Years 2 and 3 and PROMs for Year 3. We will keep you informedabout the work of these groups.

Growing upThe line between childhood andadulthood is relatively blurred and thesame should be said of the line betweensenior trainee and consultant. HoweverI reflected recently on a meetingregarding consultant delivered care thatmedical hierarchy often sees medicalstudents as children (eager to learn buta little clumsy), trainees as adolescents(aware of what they have to learn butsometimes belligerent about it) andconsultants as adults (always remindingchildren and adolescents how muchharder it was when they were younger).

An uncertain future2012 will begin the start of the financialand proposed structural change in theNHS and as a result child health services,in both hospitals and community, willalter. The confusing workforce ratio ofnot enough trainees in the system todeliver services but too many for futureconsultant numbers will remain untilreconfiguration occurs and trainingpathways are altered. The RCPCH areclear we must expand consultant ledservices and reduce the intake intopaediatric specialty training. Healthpolicy makers are equally clear morecare must be delivered in the community.How, or whether, this will affect theroles and types of trained paediatricianspracticing in the UK in the next 10-15years is not clear.

Trainees to be proud ofIt can be a little incongruous thatprofessionals, sometimes at the age of 35+, are referred to as “trainees.”

(Having said that I am constantlyreminded both by others and my own experiences that you never stoplearning). However, it is clear thattrainees have a great deal to offer childhealth, well before they complete theirtraining. In response to Dr. Dan Magnus,a paediatric specialty trainee, beingaward BMJ Junior Doctor of the year2011 I asked in my last article to be sentthe names of trainees who had gonethat ‘extra mile’. I had a number ofnames sent to me and appreciate thereare many, many more who deserve to be mentioned here but have simplynot been brought to my attention. I apologise for any glaring omissions!

There were a few themes that emergedbut contributions to Paediatric Trainingand Overseas work stood out. From Dr. Dominica Metz an ST1at Alder Heywho has previously worked unfundedas a doctor in Guinea-Bissau toMatthew Clark, at Imperial hospital who is the director of the WelbodiPartnership which supports theprovision of paediatric care in SierraLeone, junior paediatricians are clearlyaiding global child health issues. Closerto home, Dr Shrouk Messel in Merseyhas transformed the middle gradeteaching programme, Dr VidehyaVenketash and Dr. Subha Mitra havedeveloped and run a successful MRPCHwritten course in the East of Englandand Dr. Anna Dall from South EastScotland has been credited withimproving the education provision inthe region as determined by the GMCsurvey. A number of deaneries award

training prizes, such as the Chris Nelsonprize in the East Midlands North whosecurrent recipient is Dr. Karen Aucott.Such an award had yet to be announcedin the London Deanery at time of goingto press but it is clear the educationalfellows and members of the LondonDeanery Trainees Committee haveachieved great things since theirinception. Finally, I would like toacknowledge Dr. Ronny Cheung, whowas appointed to the Future Forum asthe sole trainee representative in thesecond listening exercise.

I am sure there are many others worthyof recognition and I hope even moreare inspired by the range of activitiestrainees are involved with. I havepersonally been impressed by thecommitment and drive shown by themembers of the Trainees Committee inmy time as chair. I wish the group well forthe future and am sure they will continueto be an active voice in the college.

As always please contact your local representative ortrainees.committee@rcpch.ac.uk for advice or to make comments and suggestions regarding training and education.

DR. DAMIAN ROLAND

Thank you to all RCPCH Members whohave registered to attend the ClinicalStandards Committee workshop on‘Pursuing Better Care: QualityImprovement in Paediatrics and ChildHealth’. We look forward to seeing youon Monday 9 January 2012, 10:00-15:00at RCPCH in London, for what promisesto be an informative and interactive day.

If you have not registered your place but are interested in this workshop,please let us know by emailingclinical.standards@rcpch.ac.uk. We canput you on a reserve list in case placesbecome available, or give you priority forfuture repeats of the workshop.

The workshop is aimed at all ConsultantPaediatricians and paediatric traineesST4-8. It aims to provide an introductionto quality improvement, approaches tomeasuring outcomes and how measurescan be used to make improvements toachieve high-quality care. The format willbe a few short presentations as well asinteractive break-out sessions facilitatedby experts in the field. Case studies willbe used to illustrate key points.

Please go towww.rcpch.ac.uk/qualityworkshop forfurther details.

Amelia Ch’ng, Clinical Standards Administratorclinical.standards@rcpch.ac.uk

“We have not passed that subtle line between childhood and adulthood until... we have stopped saying "It got lost," and say "I lost it.""

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Training MattersSydney Harris (American author)

Quality improvement workshop

Annual General meeting 2012In accordance with the Bye Laws, the Collegewishes to serve notice to the membershipthat the next Annual General Meeting of theCollege will be held at 6pm on TuesdayMay 22nd 2012 in Glasgow as part of theAnnual Conference.

Motions and items of business should besubmitted in writing to the College Registrarnot less than 10 weeks before the date ofthe meeting (Tuesday 13th March 2012)accompanied by the signature of 15 OrdinaryMembers or Fellows.

11

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