London Journal of Primary Care 2011;4:77–8
# 2011 Royal College of General Practitioners
RCGP London
Working in partnership across London: RCGP London Helen Graham FRCGP Provost South London Faculty, and Member RCGP London
Background Does general practice in London need a special approach? Should there be a dedicated London Council to represent the city’s GPs? For some time, London GPs have been asking these questions. Primary care in London shares many similarities with primary care in the rest of the country, but has aspects which are particularly special to our capital city, not least that there are significant areas of inequality and diversity. Officers of the three London Faculties have been meeting for several years and have recognised the need to contribute to and influence developments of primary care in London. However, other regions can claim similar needs. The RCGP has responded by proposing a pilot scheme in which there will be two regional councils – one in London, and the other in north west England, each with strategic and political representation for its area. Both cover a large population of several million, have areas of high morbidity and the drive to pilot this form of regional governance on behalf of the College. In April 2009, the three London Faculties formed a collaborative group of London Officers and have since met regularly to establish and define the terms of reference for a proposed London Council, to be called ‘RCGP London’. The aims of the group are to discuss and respond to developments related to general practice in London; to provide guidance on College initiatives, and a coordinated and strategic representation by GPs on London-wide bodies such as the London Strategic Health Authority, Local Medical Councils, the Greater London Assembly, the London Deanery, and other relevant organisations. In addition, RCGP London will support the professional development, appraisal and revalidation of London GPs, and the ongoing development of the London Journal of Primary Care. Other important roles include providing responses to official government consultations on London healthcare, a process requiring increasingly shorter deadlines, and also to set up a local mentoring scheme for London GPs. The
overarching aim of RCGP London is to improve patient care and promote public understanding of the role of GPs.
The way forward? RCGP London has now been formally constituted and has representation from the three London Faculties that includes Faculty chairs, honorary secretaries, provosts, representatives on RCGP Council, and a support manager. The chairmanship of RCGP London will be rotated among all Faculty chairs, with tenure for two years. From September 2010, Dr Tony Burch, chair of North and West London Faculty was elected Chair of RCGP London. Other London Faculty board members, organisations or groups that may have an interest in the development of RCGP London can be invited to join RCGP London at any time with agreement of members. Meetings will be held at regular intervals – approximately every two months, with the group committed to reviewing the overall purpose and progress of the committee after 12 months. Initial funding will be provided by the London Faculties with a small pump-prime grant from College. RCGP London will seek to identify opportunities for fund-raising with the aim of eventually self-funding.
So what has RCGP London achieved so far? RCGP London has defined its terms of reference, set up a dedicated website and email rcgplondon@rcgp. org.uk which will give organisational details and an overview of planned activities. With GP commissioning on the horizon and the government health bill passed in January, the obvious priority is to provide commissioning support for London and to meet
78
H Graham
representatives of London’s GP consortia already in place. A one-day conference on NHS commissioning took place on 28 January 2011. This was a very interactive day, providing information on how commissioning will affect all GPs, workshops on patient involvement, forming GP federations, strategic planning and prioritisation for commissioning, as well as delegates’ participation in role playing scenarios. We are now looking to organise masterclasses on specific topics. Considerations include whether RCGP London should have representation on the newly formed London Commissioning Body and the extent to which RCGP London should engage with GP commissioning groups? The College has appointed 13 clinical champion leads in South East England: Victoria Tzortziou-Brown (east London) as regional lead, Ben Dougall (east London), Onkar Sahota (north and west London), Jahan Mahmoodi (north and west London), Angelo Fernandes (south London), Nikita Kanani (The Network), Jason John (east London), Phil Koczan (north east London), Russell Vine (Essex), Douglas Russell (east London), Kuldhir Johal (north and west London) Junaid Bajwa (south London) and Niraj Patel (south London). The role of these champions will be to
support the development of effective commissioning consortia in London, and to work with GPs and other healthcare professionals at the grassroots level, equipping them for the challenges ahead with GP-led commissioning. RCGP London will also be working with the champions as well as the national leads with Muhammed Ali to provide this support and advice in London. So how will RCGP London relate to other London general practice groups such as the Faculties, London AiTs, First5 groups, and, not least, College Council? Inter-relationships will need to be defined in order to achieve the intended collaboration and representation across London general practice with the aim of providing mutual support. Setting up RCGP London is an exciting opportunity which the London Faculties have welcomed and will take forward with the energy and enthusiasm required to achieve the highest standards of general practice and excellence in patient care in the capital. ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE
Email: [email protected]
Read and comment on this article online at www.londonjournalofprimary care.org.uk/
# 2011 Royal College of General Practitioners
RCGP London
Working in partnership across London: RCGP London Helen Graham FRCGP Provost South London Faculty, and Member RCGP London
Background Does general practice in London need a special approach? Should there be a dedicated London Council to represent the city’s GPs? For some time, London GPs have been asking these questions. Primary care in London shares many similarities with primary care in the rest of the country, but has aspects which are particularly special to our capital city, not least that there are significant areas of inequality and diversity. Officers of the three London Faculties have been meeting for several years and have recognised the need to contribute to and influence developments of primary care in London. However, other regions can claim similar needs. The RCGP has responded by proposing a pilot scheme in which there will be two regional councils – one in London, and the other in north west England, each with strategic and political representation for its area. Both cover a large population of several million, have areas of high morbidity and the drive to pilot this form of regional governance on behalf of the College. In April 2009, the three London Faculties formed a collaborative group of London Officers and have since met regularly to establish and define the terms of reference for a proposed London Council, to be called ‘RCGP London’. The aims of the group are to discuss and respond to developments related to general practice in London; to provide guidance on College initiatives, and a coordinated and strategic representation by GPs on London-wide bodies such as the London Strategic Health Authority, Local Medical Councils, the Greater London Assembly, the London Deanery, and other relevant organisations. In addition, RCGP London will support the professional development, appraisal and revalidation of London GPs, and the ongoing development of the London Journal of Primary Care. Other important roles include providing responses to official government consultations on London healthcare, a process requiring increasingly shorter deadlines, and also to set up a local mentoring scheme for London GPs. The
overarching aim of RCGP London is to improve patient care and promote public understanding of the role of GPs.
The way forward? RCGP London has now been formally constituted and has representation from the three London Faculties that includes Faculty chairs, honorary secretaries, provosts, representatives on RCGP Council, and a support manager. The chairmanship of RCGP London will be rotated among all Faculty chairs, with tenure for two years. From September 2010, Dr Tony Burch, chair of North and West London Faculty was elected Chair of RCGP London. Other London Faculty board members, organisations or groups that may have an interest in the development of RCGP London can be invited to join RCGP London at any time with agreement of members. Meetings will be held at regular intervals – approximately every two months, with the group committed to reviewing the overall purpose and progress of the committee after 12 months. Initial funding will be provided by the London Faculties with a small pump-prime grant from College. RCGP London will seek to identify opportunities for fund-raising with the aim of eventually self-funding.
So what has RCGP London achieved so far? RCGP London has defined its terms of reference, set up a dedicated website and email rcgplondon@rcgp. org.uk which will give organisational details and an overview of planned activities. With GP commissioning on the horizon and the government health bill passed in January, the obvious priority is to provide commissioning support for London and to meet
78
H Graham
representatives of London’s GP consortia already in place. A one-day conference on NHS commissioning took place on 28 January 2011. This was a very interactive day, providing information on how commissioning will affect all GPs, workshops on patient involvement, forming GP federations, strategic planning and prioritisation for commissioning, as well as delegates’ participation in role playing scenarios. We are now looking to organise masterclasses on specific topics. Considerations include whether RCGP London should have representation on the newly formed London Commissioning Body and the extent to which RCGP London should engage with GP commissioning groups? The College has appointed 13 clinical champion leads in South East England: Victoria Tzortziou-Brown (east London) as regional lead, Ben Dougall (east London), Onkar Sahota (north and west London), Jahan Mahmoodi (north and west London), Angelo Fernandes (south London), Nikita Kanani (The Network), Jason John (east London), Phil Koczan (north east London), Russell Vine (Essex), Douglas Russell (east London), Kuldhir Johal (north and west London) Junaid Bajwa (south London) and Niraj Patel (south London). The role of these champions will be to
support the development of effective commissioning consortia in London, and to work with GPs and other healthcare professionals at the grassroots level, equipping them for the challenges ahead with GP-led commissioning. RCGP London will also be working with the champions as well as the national leads with Muhammed Ali to provide this support and advice in London. So how will RCGP London relate to other London general practice groups such as the Faculties, London AiTs, First5 groups, and, not least, College Council? Inter-relationships will need to be defined in order to achieve the intended collaboration and representation across London general practice with the aim of providing mutual support. Setting up RCGP London is an exciting opportunity which the London Faculties have welcomed and will take forward with the energy and enthusiasm required to achieve the highest standards of general practice and excellence in patient care in the capital. ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE
Email: [email protected]
Read and comment on this article online at www.londonjournalofprimary care.org.uk/
