MOTIONS THURSDAY MORNING  (my views in italics)

CONSULTANTS     

Received: Report from the BMA consultants committee acting chair (Rob Harwood).

View Rob Harwood’s Speech to ARM  It is 6 minutes long  Acting Chair of UK-CC

View  Mark Porter’s speech to ARM 2017 From Monday 25 minutes long,   Outgoing Chair of Council

 Motion 124 proposed by Jan Wise CONSULTANTS CONFERENCE:

That this meeting believes that the new (2016) junior doctor contract impinges on the working lives of many consultants in England and demands that NHS Employers agree an adequate programmed activity (PA) allocation for the following roles:- i) guardians of safe working; ii) educational supervisors; iii)clinical supervisors.

Motion 125 proposed by NORTH WEST REGIONAL COUNCIL:

That this meeting believes that all consultants, members on the specialist register and junior doctors of ST3 and above should be balloted on the new consultant contract proposals.

Passed 56% to 44%

PUBLIC HEALTH MEDICINE     

Report from the BMA public health medicine committee chair (Iain Kennedy).

Motion 127 proposed by Ellis Friedman NORTH WEST LONDON DIVISION:

That this meeting deplores the severe funding cuts being made to public health services and calls for:- i) government immediately to stop further reductions in public health budgets; ii) a mechanism to ensure the consistency and equity of nationwide public health provision; iii)the reinstatement of public health within the National Health Service.

 PROFESSIONAL FEES COMMITTEE

Peter Holden Chair of BMA Professional Fees Committee gave his report

Motion 130 proposed by Grant Ingrams EAST MIDLANDS REGIONAL COUNCIL:

That this meeting instructs council to sort out and modernise the “collaborative fees” structure in respect of work done by doctors on behalf of local authorities.

I need to review his talk and ask for his speech

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 

Receive: Report from the BMA international committee chair (Terry John).

Started 10.20 am 10.25

 Motion 132 proposed by Jackie Applebee TOWER HAMLETS DIVISION:

That this meeting:- i)   condemns the UK government for reneging on the Dubs amendment so that by April 2017 only 350 unaccompanied minors had been allowed into the country; ii)  demands that the government respects the Dubs agreement and admits the children; iii) demands that the UK take a proportionate share of the international obligation to provide sanctuary to people fleeing from war and persecution.

Motion 133 proposed by Umar Hanif MEDICAL STUDENTS CONFERENCE:

That this meeting calls on the BMA to:- i)   recognise the current global refugee crisis and the unique health challenges that face refugees and asylum seekers; ii)  campaign for better access to healthcare and health education for this group; iii) promote research into the physical and psychosocial aspects of refugees’ and asylum seekers’ health.

Motion 134 by Rachel Pickering FORENSIC MEDICINE COMMITTEE:

That this meeting regarding the ill treatment of prisoners:- i)   notes that the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture publishes standards, which contain thresholds for defining various types of ill treatment within European secure environments; ii)  notes with concern that there are no published worldwide standards regarding the prevention of prisoner ill-treatment by which national signatories to the United Nations’ Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture must abide; iii) calls for the United Nations’ Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture to publish standards that define various types of ill-treatment within worldwide secure environments.

 This was an interesting motion that I fully supported.  Following its visit in 2016 The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture published in April this year their report on the United Kingdom. Regarding the prisons they visited their report

  • raised serious concerns over the lack of safety for inmates and staff in prisons in England
  • They expressed deep concern about the “severe generalised violence” in the UK prisons they visited.
  • none of the prisons visited could be considered safe by CPT.
  • They noted a considerable number of prisoners spending up to 22 hours per day – and sometimes more – locked in their cells.
  • They also highlighted the inadequate safeguards to protect patients in mental health settings

The government has yet to respond to these concerns and the CPT’s numerous recommendations

Related hyperlinks

CPT holds high-level talks in London              CPT publishes report on its UK visit:

 

BREXIT

Motion 135 proposed by Andrew Mowat LINCOLN DIVISION:

That this meeting acknowledges the decision to leave the EU,  and believes that the movement of doctors in and out of the UK strengthens health services in the UK and abroad, and calls on the BMA to lobby the UK government to uphold: i)   the right of residence to be granted to EU doctors and medical academic staff who are working in the UK; ii)  the right of residence to be granted to UK doctors and medical academic staff who are working in EU states; iii) the right of medical students from the EU currently enrolled in UK medical schools to continue to live in the UK and work and train in the NHS after qualification; iv) the mutual recognition of professional qualifications; v)  the common framework for training and standards; vi) the alert system for raising fitness to practice concerns.

Carried unanimously

Motion 136 by NORTHERN IRELAND COUNCIL:

That this meeting believes that the close ties between the health service in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in terms of training, service delivery and research have been of mutual benefit and must be protected to ensure that doctors, medical students and patients are not disadvantaged in any post Brexit settlement. This meeting believes that:-  i)   doctors and students from either jurisdiction must be able to move freely to care for and treat patients; ii)  the existing open border arrangements must be maintained;  iii) mutual recognition of medical qualifications must continue;  iv) all-island health services must be maintained to ensure patients in Northern Ireland have access to specialist care.

Carried unanimously

TRAINING AND EDUCATION 

Motion 137 proposed by Chris Williams SHEFFIELD DIVISION:

That this meeting is concerned about the funding cuts that HEE is being forced to make and demands:- i)  the UK government address this immediately instead of passing the buck to arm’s length bodies; ii) that HEE guarantees the support for trainees, trainers, educators and clinical/educational supervisors is increased in these testing times

Motion 138 proposed by Anumita Dhullipala SCOTTISH COUNCIL:

That this meeting calls for the BMA to work with and lobby key stakeholders to ensure the compulsory inclusion of a community based placement within foundation training PASSED

and that this should have a majority of its time in NHS General Practice.   (as a reference)

Motion 139 proposed by Haldane Maxwell CONFERENCE OF LMCS:

That this meeting insists that there should be nationwide protection for doctors undertaking the hospital component of GP training to ensure that all training posts provide the necessary training which will be required in general practice and are not simply used to fill gaps in secondary care rotas.

Motion 140 proposed by MANCHESTER & SALFORD DIVISION:

That this meeting regrets that the Oriel application system, and speciality recruitment offices only provide email as means of contact for applicants. This meeting:- i)  rejects that email communication alone is sufficient for time-critical communication; ii) calls upon the relevant parties to provide clear and easily accessible contact details, including a telephone number for the most urgent enquiries.

CHOSEN MOTIONS ARISING FROM THE ARM                   

Motion 37e  by Stephen Watkins NORTH WEST REGIONAL COUNCIL:

That this meeting calls for social care to be available free at the time of need, financed out of general taxation and provided as part of the comprehensive health service.

Motion 362 proposed by David Wrigley NORTH WEST REGIONAL COUNCIL:

That this meeting opposes charges for patients:- i)  to see a GP; ii) if an appointment is missed.

 Motion 364 by Peter Holden EAST MIDLANDS REGIONAL COUNCIL:

That this meeting notes that the single shareholder of NHS Property Services (NHSPS) is the Secretary of State for Health in England and that NHSPS and agencies acting in its name are:- i)   seriously threatening the financial viability of many NHS GP practices; ii)  causing massive psychological distress and managerial work for GP partners diverting them away from caring for the sick; iii) behaving very badly as landlords in a manner unbecoming of either a publicly quoted company, or as one of Her Majesty’s Secretaries of State.

Motion 422 by MANCHESTER & SALFORD DIVISION:

That this meeting recognises the evidence that the policy approach of full decriminalisation of sex-work, as adopted by New Zealand, has resulted in public health benefits for both sex workers and wider society. This meeting therefore calls upon the BMA to:; ii)   develop educational resources to enable doctors and medical students to better understand and respond to the specific healthcare needs of sex workers, such as CPD events and BMJ Learning resources;

Motion 542 proposed by Robin Arnold SOUTH WEST REGIONAL COUNCIL:

That this meeting notes that retired members are the only branch of practice not represented by a standing committee and:- i)  believes they need and should have a standing committee; ii) calls on the organisation committee to bring forward proposals to set up a standing committee for retired members.

 

ADDITIONAL INFO FROM BMA COMMS AND OTHER LINKS

The leader of the nation’s GPs has warned that general practice is on the brink of collapse as GP services face a climate of funding cuts, staff shortages and rising patient demand.

Speaking at BMA’s Annual Representative Meeting in Bournemouth, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, GPC chair, said: “Despite annual contract improvements, general practice remains on the brink of collapse, since fundamentally demand totally outstrips our impoverished capacity. We’re carrying out 50 million more consultations in general practice compared to five years ago, with more care moving into the community and a growing elderly population, yet latest figures show that today we have fewer GPs per head than then.”

Dr Nagpaul’s comments were reported in The Daily Mail, The Daily Mirror, Pulse and Press Association.

 There was also substantial coverage of a motion calling for the creation of hospital-style ‘black alerts’ for GP surgeries enabling doctors to stop admitting patients should they become too busy.

The motion was covered in The Daily Mail, Pulse and i News. 

You can read the press release in full here.

Other motions were covered by online publications such as a motion calling for the gender pay gap to be squashed in i News

Dr Phil Banfield, BMA Wales committee chair, was interviewed by ITV Wales. His speech was also covered on BBC Radio Wales’ Good Morning Wales.

 A&E cuts will hit 23m people says the BMA
BBC News Online, Wednesday 28 June 2017, (Dr Mark Porter)

NHS bosses making cuts given £10m a year – 150 execs hired to oversee proposals which could see A&E wards closed
The Daily Mail, Wednesday 28 June 2017, (Dr Mark Porter)

1 in 4 GP services are pointless.. and are pushing surgeries to the ‘brink of collapse’ leading doctor says
The Daily Mirror, Wednesday 28 June 2017, (Dr Chaand Nagpaul)

Union backs vote for exhausted GPs to close their doors when they are too busy
The Daily Mail, Wednesday 28 June 2017, (Dr Richard Vautrey)

Doctors tell BMA conference to stop the increasing gender pay gap
I News, Wednesday 28 June 2017, (BMA mention)

Sicknote UK – One in four GP visits avoidable and taken up by form-filling
The Daily Mail, Thursday 29 June 2017, (Dr Chaand Nagpaul)

GPs ‘at mercy’ of private providers if partnership model topples, says Nagpaul
Pulse, Wednesday 28 June 2017, (Dr Chaand Nagpaul)

Dr Nagpaul: “Government has turned a cruel blind eye to patients”
Pulse, Wednesday 28 June 2017, (Dr Chaand Nagpaul)

Why UK abortion laws must be scrapped: BPAS
The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 28 June 2017, (BMA mention)

BMA backs calls for ‘black alert’ style system for GPs

The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 28 June 2017, (Dr Chaand Nagpaul)

GP practices able to issue black alerts after BMA vote
Pulse, Wednesday 28 June 2017, (Dr Chaand Nagpaul)

GPs call for introduction of hospital-style ‘black alerts’
I News, Wednesday 28 June 2017, (Dr Chaand Nagpaul)

Doctors told GP services on ‘brink of collapse
Press Association, Wednesday 28 June 2017, (Dr Chaand Nagpaul)

Kent trust sends hundreds of people with mental health problems out of county for treatment
ITV News Meridian, Wednesday 28 June 2017, (BMA mention)

Doctor blames anti-vaxxers and Andrew Wakefield for her son catching measles
The Independent, Wednesday 28 June 2017, (BMA mention)