tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77134770524958336162011-09-29T03:07:32.350+01:00Some thoughts of the Chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, a jobbing GP living and working in inner-city BirminghamSteve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.comBlogger231100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-3650137825890544422010-11-19T19:00:00.002Z2010-11-19T19:00:00.149Z

This is my last post as Chairman of Council, and I write it with great sadness. The last three years have been the most wonderful time; it’s been a great privilege to travel the length and breadth of the UK leading the College. But the real privilege has been being able to meet GPs across the country; in practices, out of hours centres and at meetings. It’s been wonderful to see the great work

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-12663913534841868112010-11-16T20:00:00.004Z2010-11-17T14:23:42.092Z

Time and tide wait for no man, and though the last week of my tenure as Chair is approaching fast, I have still been able to attend some truly remarkable events over the last few days. It was lovely to make my last trip as Chairman to Scotland to celebrate the work of my good friend Ken Lawton, Chair of Scottish Council, at the end of his excellent three year term. He’s been a wonderful

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-12598297741948897242010-11-05T17:00:00.002Z2010-11-05T17:00:02.031Z

I had expected that, as I approach the end of my tenure, my diary commitments would begin winding down. This, alas, was not to be and this week has been as busy as ever. But nevertheless, my time as Chairman will soon be at an end, and I have been thrilled with how Clare Gerada has been taking forward so much crucial College work. Her work on Commissioning in particular has been invaluable, and

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-47474617698047810852010-10-27T19:30:00.009+01:002010-10-27T19:30:00.641+01:00

Yesterday, we saw the launch of the College’s Primary Care Federations Toolkit. This Toolkit provides a really useful compendium of practical advice for existing and fledgling Federations, drawing upon the experience of Federations so far. With the brilliant support of The King’s Fund, The Nuffield Trust and Hempsons Solicitors, and under the leadership of Maureen Baker it is goes further than

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-26113180199384991732010-08-06T18:00:00.003+01:002010-08-06T18:00:02.720+01:00

As you know, we started our consultation on the Government’s White Paper last week. I want to thank those of you already taking part. Your responses are invaluable, and will enable us to formulate our response to the Department of Health. The RCGP is a UK College, indeed we are an international College, and although the White Paper legislation will affect only England, I really do encourage

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-58059419415973851882010-07-30T17:00:00.003+01:002010-07-30T17:00:05.372+01:00

I’d like to begin this message by thanking the many hundreds of you who take the time to write back, sharing examples of good practice and letting me know your concerns. I try to respond to all of the emails I receive, but it does take a while when there are so many! I also want to apologise to those of you who are fed up with hearing from me – but I really do feel that it is important to keep

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-54746700004777997392010-07-23T17:00:00.002+01:002010-07-23T17:00:01.951+01:00

I think it would be fair to say that the last ten days have been defined by the release of the White Paper. This is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, changes to the structure of the NHS since it was formed. We are awaiting the publication of five accompanying papers, which are due out by the end of next week. The White Paper, Equality and excellence: Liberating the NHS, was launched at

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-54525053664880009502010-06-02T17:27:00.000+01:002010-06-02T17:27:43.044+01:00

Many of you will be aware that revalidation has hit the headlines again this week, with the publication of a letter from the new Secretary of State Andrew Lansley to Peter Rubin, chair of the GMC – a copy of this letter can be found here. Regardless of what you read in the newspapers, revalidation is moving forward and I believe that the Secretary of State’s letter is a constructive addition to

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-33043679330208396612010-05-27T16:54:00.001+01:002010-05-27T16:54:46.366+01:00

Summer has truly arrived, and after the sort of weekend that makes you glad to be alive – sitting in my garden enjoying the sunshine – I’ve spent much of this week in the stifling heat of London. Unlike the pastoral bliss of Birmingham, the College is sweltering under the heat. The lack of air conditioning, and the resultant awful conditions our staff are currently experiencing, has only

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-25527374404238285902010-05-14T10:21:00.001+01:002010-05-19T10:26:37.639+01:00

This is my first message since the General Election, and the formation of the new UK Government. The makeup of the new blue-and-yellow, Lib-Con health team for England is becoming clear. Congratulations to Andrew Lansley, who has become Secretary of State after many years in the shadowing role. Andrew has an incredible knowledge of the NHS and healthcare generally, and over the last few years I

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-11849759543848389792010-05-06T16:11:00.004+01:002010-05-06T16:14:22.797+01:00

Picture by: Ian Britton - FreeFoto.com Election Day is finally here and whatever the outcome, it has been one of the most exciting build-ups I can remember. We will of course work with whichever party is in power in Westminster and whichever parties are in charge of health in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. My job as Chairman is a huge responsibility and while it’s not (quite) on the

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-25954800571507691782010-04-29T12:10:00.000+01:002010-04-29T12:10:37.440+01:00

© The British Postal Museum & Archive (BPMA) The general election is almost upon us, and we’ve seen history being made with the three main party leaders debating on live television. There has also been the first health husting, with the three people who want to be secretary of state for health in England - Andy Burnham, Andrew Lansley and Norman Lamb. It’s absolutely becoming clear that the big

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-44206404490580430752010-04-20T11:01:00.001+01:002010-04-20T11:02:10.980+01:00

April has been, as ever, an enormously busy month, but rather than April Fool’s pranks, I was fortunate enough to spend some time with John Humphrys of the Today Programme and the senior team of Imperial’s Hammersmith Hospital. It was really interesting looking at how that hospital has developed – it’s now very high tech, but at the same time, also very patient-centred, and the staff were

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-55566700511464162372010-03-23T10:42:00.000Z2010-03-23T10:42:09.690Z

As you will have realised from my previous email, it’s been such a busy couple of weeks with our move from the College building in Princes Gate to Euston Road taking up a lot of thinking time. In addition we have been working on our manifesto as a way of raising the profile of high-quality general practice and demonstrating once more that GPs are ready to lead and provide solutions for patients

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-85111509359194487992010-03-15T17:19:00.004Z2010-03-15T17:22:28.872Z

It’s been an interesting fortnight – like most fortnights – with a lot of variety. Last Thursday we hosted the launch of a landmark report, 'Inclusion Health', which looks at the role of primary care in addressing the needs of our socially disadvantaged and harder to reach groups. New analysis by the Social Exclusion Taskforce in the Cabinet Office and the Department of Health in England shows

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-31248225734804826262010-02-12T15:24:00.004Z2010-03-15T17:11:04.358Z

The last week has been very busy, both politically at a national level and locally in my surgery, but most of my time has however been focused on the issue of the performers‘ list and Out of Hours provision, following the inquest into the tragic case of Mr Gray. The Coroner was very clear in delivering a verdict of unlawful killing on the Out of Hours doctor Daniel Ubani. This whole case has

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-21485495908064999452010-01-29T16:41:00.003Z2010-01-29T17:34:09.002Z

One of the joys of being Chairman of the college is that I am privileged to see how general practice is delivered across the length and breadth of the country (and pinch some of the good ideas for my own practice). There is lots of good work going on, and in particular this week, I was energized by my visit to Tower Hamlets PCT. I met with the directors of the PCT and was impressed by the

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-23647130571123884282010-01-12T12:17:00.002Z2010-01-12T13:00:47.096Z

Photograph of Cannon Hill Park © Birmingham Mail Let me start by wishing you all a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. 2010 is already proving to be enormously busy; time has been spent between concentrating on plans for extended GP training, and editing academic papers. I’ve also been spending more time at Bellevue, and have done a number of extra surgeries, due to one of my partners

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-1469059257669324232009-12-17T17:11:00.001Z2009-12-17T17:12:17.144Z

  Photograph © Matt Banks It’s been an intriguing, and emotional week, with a number of clinical and political issues being brought to the fore. It’s always nice to get an evening away from College, and a poignant highlight this week was attending the Breast Cancer Care Carol Concert at St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was an exceptionally moving evening, punctuated with some beautiful singing from the

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-36496286941931518252009-12-02T17:14:00.003Z2009-12-03T13:15:16.048Z

It’s been another exhausting two weeks, the culmination of which was the RCGP AGM in London. The AGM was, as ever, a fantastic opportunity to highlight and reflect upon all of the excellent work that goes on in College. The AGM is always an odd time, as it combines the welcoming of new members with the departure of old friends, and this year was particularly poignant, as we said goodbye to David

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-75833205496772920152009-11-17T13:54:00.005Z2009-11-18T11:35:58.596Z

It’s been an exhilarating, if exhausting, week. Our Conference last week in Glasgow was an enormous success, and as ever it was a brilliant opportunity to meet many of you there. I was particularly impressed to see how many associates-in-training had attended the Conference this year and to see the excellent small group work taking place. I would like to take this opportunity to offer my

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-63370237618899902722009-10-29T17:34:00.003Z2009-10-30T10:03:38.831Z

Today’s blog is devoted to just one subject. This has been a very sad week for us at the College, and for me personally. Yvonne Carter, Dean of Warwick Medical School and Pro-Vice Chancellor of Warwick University, has died, and yesterday I attended the funeral in Kenilworth as a friend and on behalf of the College as a whole. I’ve known Yvonne for years; in practice, College and university.

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713477052495833616.post-32055876534578164032009-10-26T23:14:00.000Z2009-10-26T23:58:45.591Z

This is my first post in the blogosphere proper - thank you for joining meYou may be aware that i have been publishing messages and sending them to members of the RCGP over the past two years - indeed i have also published them on the RCGP website - but now i plan to make them available online so that i can share ideas and concerns and receive your thoughts and commentsThis is a short post to say

Steve Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07887733737278587159noreply@blogger.com2