PHOTOS: WALTER NEILSON


02 FYi


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Welcome News


GMC FEES CUT


FOR TRAINEE DOCTORS THE fees paid by trainee doctors to register with the General Medical Council in 2013 have been cut for the second year running. The move is part of a package of cost-cutting measures being


Welcome to your FYi


AS the New Year is now well underway, I’m delighted to be stepping into the role of editor of FYi. Having worked as a locum FY1 at Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock last year, I am taking time out to pursue a career in medical writing, including contributing to a new website, HealthFriends (http:// healthfriends.cloudapp.net). It offers health-related news and features and allows people to share their healthcare experiences. An important issue for trainee


doctors is lack of sleep and on page 4 I look at the potentially damaging effects of sleep deprivation. While trainee doctors are probably not as tired as they used to be in days gone by, one thing that has changed is what we wear on the wards. More casual dress codes have sparked complaints but does it really matter how doctors look? Joanne Curran investigates on page 6. All doctors will soon have to


get used to regular performance checks thanks to the recent launch


of revalidation. On page 10, MDDUS editor Jim Killgore looks at two key events in the development of this major new system of checks. Meanwhile, our article on page 5 discusses how failing to raise concerns about patient safety could land YOU in trouble. Blazing a trail for fellow


trainees is FY2 doctor Hannah McLean who has worked to bring much-needed healthcare to prisoners in the grim surroundings of Ugandan jails. On page 12 she tells Adam Campbell how she balances her charity work with the demands of medical training. International work is just one


of many options available to doctors who pursue a career in occupational medicine. Find out more on page 8. And our case study on page 14 looks at the delayed diagnosis of a brain haemorrhage.


Dr Anne Parfitt-Rogers Editor


introduced by the regulator to save doctors money. From April 2013, newly qualified doctors will pay £185, down from £195 this year, while the provisional registration fee for foundation trainees will fall from £95 to £90. The Annual Retention Fee has been frozen at £390 for all registered and licensed doctors and at £140 for registered doctors without a licence to practise. More doctors will benefit from a 50 per cent reduction in annual retention fees as the salary threshold to qualify is being increased from £30,000 to £31,000.


END TO PENSION TALKS


NEGOTIATIONS over changes to the Scottish NHS pension scheme between BMA Scotland and the Scottish Government have ended. The BMA said there was “little scope for negotiating alternatives to


the reforms” which will see NHS staff working longer and paying more towards their pensions. It means changes proposed by the UK government to reform NHS pensions are “highly likely” to also apply in Scotland.


DOCTORS TO HELP PROTECT


EDITOR: Dr Anne Parfitt-Rogers


ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Joanne Curran


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CORRESPONDENCE: FYi Editor MDDUS Mackintosh House 120 Blythswood Street Glasgow G2 4EA


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FYi is published by The Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland, Registered in Scotland No 5093 at Mackintosh House, 120 Blythswood Street, Glasgow G2 4EA. The MDDUS is not an insurance company. All the benefits of membership of MDDUS are discretionary as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.


VULNERABLE CHILDREN HOSPITAL doctors are to have access to a new system to help them identify victims of child abuse, the government has announced. The Child Protection – Information


System, which is being developed with help from the Royal College of Paediatrics, is expected to be introduced in NHS hospitals by 2015.


Once it is up and running, doctors and nurses in emergency departments or urgent care centres will be notified if a child they are treating is subject to a child protection plan or is being looked after. The system will also flag up if the child has frequently attended emergency departments/urgent care centres over a certain period of time, which can be an indicator of abuse or neglect. Announcing the move, health minister Dan Poulter said: “Up until


now, it has been hard for frontline healthcare professionals to know if a child is already listed as being at risk or if children have been repeatedly seen in different emergency departments or urgent care centres with suspicious injuries or complaints, which may indicate abuse. Providing instant access to that information means vulnerable and abused children will be identified much more quickly – which will save lives.”


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