Medical Academic Staff Committee agenda
18 April 2008
Administrative and constitutional issues
1. Apologies
Receive: Apologies for absence.
2. Minutes
Confirm: Minutes of the meeting of MASC held on 11 January 2008 (MASC 77, 2007-2008, enclosed herewith).
Receive: Unconfirmed minutes of the meeting of the MASC Executive Subcommittee held on 22 February 2008 (MASC 102 2007-2008, to follow).
3. Matters arising
Consider: Matters arising from the Minutes not covered elsewhere on the Agenda.
4. Co-Chair's report
Receive: Oral reports from the Co-Chairs of the Committee.
5. Reports from devolved nations
Receive:
i) Report from the Scottish MASC;
ii) Report from the Welsh MASC;
iii) Report from the Northern Ireland MASC.
6. MASC strategy
Receive: Update on progress toward meeting objectives and outcomes in the MASC Strategy (MASC 3d 2007-2008, enclosed herewith).
7. Constitution
Receive:
i) Report that the Organisation Committee met on 12 March 2008 to discuss proposed changes to the MASC constitution, including the inclusion of seats for the Chairs of the national MASCs and an overall increase in the number of members of the committee by three;
ii) Update from the Co-Chair on the decision taken by the organisation committee and further steps taken.
8. MASC conferences
Receive:
i) Report that the Conference for Medical Academic Representatives (COMAR) will be taking place on Friday 16 May 2008 at BMA House;
ii) Report that Professor C McManus, Professor P Kopelman and Mr P Noble will be giving keynote speeches at COMAR;
iii) Report that the Academic Trainees Conference is scheduled to take place on Saturday 22 November 2008.
Negotiating issues
9. Principles fro employing academic trainees
Receive:
i) Report that Michael Rees met with Ram Moorthy, Chairman of the Junior Doctors Committee on Thursday 6 March 2008 to discuss work towards developing principles for employing academic trainees. The JDC felt that it was important to ensure that academic trainees were not contractually disadvantaged by university employment and agreed to identify a lead to take forward work on a model honorary (NHS) clinical contract while the MASC continued to work on model substantive (University) contract;
ii) Report that the secretariat met with Andrew Snowden (who is working for Sally Davies on issues connected to academic trainee employment) to discuss employment of academic trainees on Thursday 3 April 2008.
Consider: The establishment of a Core Team of interested persons from the MASC to carry forward work on a substantive contract for academic trainees employed by a university.
10. Clinical Academic Consultant contracts
Receive: Report from outlining changes that have been agreed with the University and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) the various contractual documents for clinical academic consultants (MASC 138 2007-2008, enclosed herewith). It is expected that similar changes may be proposed to contractual documentation for senior academic GPs.
11. Staff and Associate Specialists (SAS) contract ballot
Receive: Report that SAS doctors voted 60.4% in favour of accepting the contract on 17 March 2008 (Appendix 1). Note that a number of SAS doctors are also academics and MASC will take the necessary steps to seek to ensure these doctors have the opportunity of transferring to the new contract.
Policy issues
12. Modernising Medical Careersand recruitment to specialty training
Receive:
i) Oral update from Geraint Rees on Programme Board (MMC PB) developments including those affecting returning researchers and clinical academic trainees;
ii) Minutes of the MMC PB meeting of 21 February and 8 March 2008 (MASC139 2007-2008 and MASC 140 2007-2008, enclosed herewith);
iii) The Government response to the Sir John Tooke’s report ‘Aspiring to Excellence’ (MASC 141 2007-2008, enclosed herewith) published on 28 February 2008.
Consider: Any actions arising.
13. Integrated Academic Training Pathway (IATP)
Receive: Paper from the National Institute for Health Research on the recruitment of Academic Clinical Fellows (ACFs) by specialty in 2008 (MASC 142 2007-2008, enclosed herewith).
Consider: Options for MASC policy on ACF recruitment 2009 as outlined in MASC 143 2007-2008, enclosed herewith, prepared by Geraint Rees.
14. NHS Reform and medical education, training and research
Receive:
i) Letter (15 02 08) from the Chairman of Council, Hamish Meldrum to the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson regarding SIFT funding (Appendix 2 - attached) and his response (07 03 08) (Appendix 3 - attached). The letter was sent following a request from the MASC Co-Chairs;
ii) Report that the Darzi Next Stage Review Education, Funding and Commissioning working group met on 24 and 31 January 2008 (MASC 119 2007-2008 and MASC 120 2007-2008), enclosed herewith) and on 20 February at which the MASC was represented by Michael Rees. Note that the final two meetings of the group were cancelled;
iii) Report that Geraint Rees has been appointed as a BMA representative on the NHS Innovation Council, which forms part of the Darzi Next Stage Review.
15. MASC Handbook
Receive: Report that work has commenced on the production of a handbook for academics (MASC 145 2007-2008, enclosed herewith). It is anticipated that the handbook will be published in December 2008.
16. Women in Academic Medicine
Receive: Report that the final WAM report will be launched on Wednesday 30 April by Baroness Ilora Finlay at the House of Lords and that the Chief Medical Officer has agreed to contribute to the report and the launch (MASC 146 2007-2008, to follow).
17. Developments in clinical research
Receive: Report that the Government has announced the establishment of a new biomedical research centre for Manchester (Appendix 4 – attached).
Recieve items
18. National Institute for Health Research
Receive: ‘Transforming Health Research, the first two years’ National Institute for Health Research Progress Report 2006-2008 (17 01 08) (MASC 147 2007-2008, enclosed herewith).
19. Regional Services Liaison Group (RSLG)
Receive: Minutes of the RSLG meetings of 25 October 2007 (MASC 53 2007-2008, enclosed herewith) and unconfirmed minutes of the RSLG meeting of 13 March 2008 (MASC 133 2007-2008, to follow).
20. Reports from co-opted members and observers
Receive: Reports from
- Society of Academic Foundation Trainees;
- Society of Academic Primary Care;
- Medical Women’s Federation;
- Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans in the UK;
- BMA Board of Science.
Receive: Reports from
- Joint Medical Consultative Council (15 04 08);
- CCSC (06 03 08);
- JDC (08 03 08);
- MSC (04 03 08);
- JMCC IT working group (02 04 08) (MASC 148 2007-2008, enclosed herewith)and Joint Guidance from the BMA and NHS Connecting for Health on protecting patient electronic information (MASC149 2007-2008, enclosed herewith);
- Academy of Medical Educators (22.01.08) (MASC 128 2007-2008, enclosed herewith);
- Joint Medical Consultative Committee (22.01.08) (MASC 129 2007-2008, enclosed herewith).
Receive: Any other items of business.
23. Date of next meeting
Receive:
i) Dates for the 2008-2009 session are as follows:
MASC
19 September 2008
9 January 2009
17 April 2009
MASC Executive Subcommittee
29 August 2008 (away day
21 November 2008
20 February 2009
12 June 2009
Academic Trainees Conference
22 November 2008
COMAR 2009
Date to be confirmed
Appendix 1
Staff and Associate Specialists Contract Ballot results 17 March 2008
3,105 of those who voted (60.4 per cent) voted that they supported the introduction of the new national contract for doctors and dentists in the SAS grades.
It was opposed by 2,034 (39.6 per cent).
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland 2,563 SAS doctors and dentists (58 per cent) voted in favour and 1,889 (42 per cent) against.
In Scotland, 542 (79 per cent) backed the deal and 145 (21 per cent) were opposed.
UK-wide turnout was 40 per cent or 5,139 out of 13,296 ballot papers issued.