Some foundation trusts and independent sector treatment centres are foregoing the involvement of royal colleges when appointing consultants potentially putting patients at risk.
Doctors’ leaders warn that the consultant role is being devalued because these organisations are failing to vet their new appointments properly. Foundation trusts and ISTCs are not obliged to appoint clinicians through a formal Advisory Appointments Committee (ACC).
Mr Richard Collins, a consultant surgeon and council member of the Royal College of Surgeons with responsibility for advisory appointment committees, said the ACC process was established “to reassure the public that the clinician appointed to a post was appropriately trained, independently accepted and ideally the best possible candidate”.
Healthcare organisations which do not use the ACC process - which involves having a royal college representative and other senior clinicians on the interview panel - could be employing doctors on the basis of who, not what, they know and some may not even be suitably qualified for the post, Mr Collins said.
Dr Jonathan Fielden, the BMA’s consultant committee chair, said not having royal college input into consultants’ appointments meant it was harder to assure the quality of the person recruited.
Dr Fielden added that being able to sidestep ACC standards meant there was the potential for foundation trusts and ISTCs to recruit clinicians on non standard contracts with fewer than the 2.5 SPAs recommended in the consultant contract.
Mr Collins stressed that the majority of appointments “go smoothly”, but said the RCS had learned of cases where sidestepping the ACC process had caused problems.
These included an organisation recruiting a general surgeon for what should have been a plastic surgeon’s post; several employers have altered the days on which the ACC sits at short notice making it impossible for a royal college advisor to attend; and a growing number are offering irregular job descriptions.
David Worskett, director of NHS Partners network, said ISTCS had “rigorous appointment procedures” in place and that they “invariably have external assessors and experts, including members of the RCS”.
He added the appointment processes were “exactly those laid down by ISTC contracts required by NHS commissioners”.
A Department of Health spokesperson said it’s recommended that ISTCs “engage” with the royal colleges when making surgical appointments and that foundation trusts should “conduct their recruitment in a way that is legally compliant”.
However, Mr Collins said: “We need an independent, professional evaluation of the suitability of people being employed to work regularly within the health service.”
He added that there should also be a similar evaluation of one-off, short term appointments.
Tags: Foundation trusts, ISTCs, Recruitment
