No HE courses available? It’s not an anomaly, it’s basic economics, med eng is a highly specialised field and will never get enough interest from students to make it worthwhile. Another issue that will go against med eng courses is the high tuition fees. Students will be looking for the best career options when deciding their course, a med eng course will close a lot of doors to them whilst an electronics or computer engineering course will allow them to apply for a much wider range of jobs.

Regarding registration with the ECUK. It is generic which is why it is a good thing, your professional status is personal to you. Just because you change jobs does not make you less of an engineer or technician! The important thing to take from the ECUK’s code of conduct is that you do not cause harm to others as a result of your work.
As regards retraining when coming into the EBME field surely this is a matter for the individual employer. As I have stated many times every EMBE organisation is different and the needs of the employer vary. So it is essential that staff are trained in what is relevant to their particular job. I fully appreciate that there is a deal of commonality in what we do but the basics can be taught at a “lower” level. Places such as Eastwood park have done this for as far back as I can remember. Do not forget that technical staff employed on lower grades such as ATO’s need a certain amount of basic knowledge such as Electrical Safety Testing and how the equipment they are working on affects patients etc. It is worth remembering at this point that Oxygen Flowmeters, Nebulisers and countless other “low end” medical equipment can cause significant harm to a patient as well as the higher end stuff. How do we assure that this equipment is safe if the repairs are carried out by unregulated staff?
If the IPEM were to offer basic training at say NVQ2/3 level then I’m sure they would get a decent uptake.
Engineering Registration does not have to be at a higher level than the VRCT (IPEM diploma) EBME staff working on basic equipment can be registered as EngTech. The working grade biomed will have no problems registering as IEng so long as they have HNC or above WITH relevant experience (grand-parenting without a closing date if you like!). Senior biomeds and EBME managers would in many cases be able to apply for CEng accreditation. I have had these points confirmed by the IET.

I’d like to address the matter of training for Renal and Radiology Equipment. The engineers who service this type of equipment should be of a senior level. Within the NHS it would be expected that they are on a pay band 6 as a minimum & many are on band 7. According to the VRCT and the ART it seems that these engineers can operate at band 5! How is that improving the status of the engineer?

What about lab kit, Bill?

Oh, I forgot, NHS techs don't usually touch that, either.

What's wrong with:-

1) Junior Technician (trainee)
2) Technician
3) Senior Technician
4) Chief Technician
5) Master Technician

And (if you must):- 6) Manager

Lower grades that are supervised don't have to bother until they want to progress.

There's a sliding scale of risk here, remember that the Sinclair Z80's also did quite a bit of harm when their power supplies caught fire, but you didn't need to be on a voluntary register to use them! But this does pose the question what would need to be repaired by regulated staff and what could be repaired by lower grades?


Speak for yourself Geoff, maybe that was the case when you did a stint in the NHS, but it's another thing that shows that departments can be different. Plenty of lab equipment here and probably more at other trusts soon with the demise of the HPA.

One thing that Jim didn't point out was that some years ago the ECUK tried to regulate the whole of the Engineering field like Professional Engineer status in the USA, unfortunately this fell flat on its face and since then Engineering status has been just that a status. Just try searching for ‘struck off chartered engineer’ and see what results you get (you actually get back to this forum or a wiki article criticising the fact it hardly ever happens). It's an achievement but doesn't seek to regulate therefore it wouldn't really be an alternative to the VRCT.

But what about the Romanians, Bulgarians ... and all the rest? What does the VRCT have to say about them?

BTW, those of us (Angus, Bill, Neil, Tony et al) who have had the pleasure of working in hospitals in places like Saudi Arabia would have been used to taking care of all the kit in the lab (invariably the largest department in terms of the amount of equipment), plus the CSSD, radiology and all the rest. In a word, everything.

WE look after ALL the equipment, and when I say we I mean the team, because that is what we are are, a team, no juniors, no seniors, just a team.

I heard a quote the other day that I think could apply to the VRCT:

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein

How many times have Medical Physics tried to create an educational progamme to combine all of the aspects of technicians who work for them? The VRCT is the latest in a line of similar ideas that have failed in the past. Listen to your Uncle Albert!

Have you read the devils dictionary, I think the quote is in there