Hello all,
Having been directed to here by a link I thought that I'd provide this bit of information.
The HPC (and the NHS I believe) feel that people who work in the Healthcare arena and are in a position to cause harm to patients either by inappropriate action or by taking no action at all should be registered to ensure that they have a basic level of ability and knowledge along with a professional work ethic to minimise any untoward risk to the patient.
Registration is quite simply, a managed list of capable and competent people who agree to work to a basic set of rules. (Because it is difficult to protect “Jobs” it is the title of the person who can be expected to carry out this work that is protected.)
Because of this, both patients and the people who employ such registered staff can feel confident that such registered staff will achieve the required outcomes safely and effectively.
I do find it amusing that some people are of the opinion that during the process of achieving registration the people involved are not capable of considering any national impact of such a registration or are unlikely to involve other professional groups and stake holders such as Unions, Industry, HEIs and other Professional Institutions.
Seemingly we are not up to it! And of course the other professionals, NHS, HPC, etc mentioned above are pretty dumb also! Come on, think it through please!
Likewise with the Clinical Technolgist Vocational Degree courses. The engineering content will meet I Eng standards. In fact, as clinical technolgists progress they can expect to become C Eng registrants competing for Head of Department posts with Clinical Scientists. This will improve the recruitment options of both the NHS and industry and may make some clinical scientists look to their laurels.
The VRCT was formed initially by members of ART and IPEM. These members gained the support of their Institutions. I wanted to know more about the VRCT and contacted them. I agreed with their aims and got involved. As a member of IIE and holding the Chair of the Medical Engineering SIG I enquired if the IIE would also support the VRCT. They agreed.
The VRCT is run by a panel with two members from each supporting Institution and the Registrar. It is an independent Institution, supported by ART, IPEM and now the IET.
Administration is provided by IPEM, the cost for this being covered by the small VRCT annual subscription. Travel expenses for meetings are provided by the supporting Institution.
Currently there are over 2700 members registered with the VRCT, from within the NHS and industry.
This current consultation exercise by the NHS is not VRCT specific by the way. It is just a general one on the benefit or otherwise of registering all non-medical staff. The VRCT consultation should come out later.
Finally, If anyone has any questions about the VRCT, please contact us via IPEM or IET Healthcare Technologies. We don’t mind and it is a more professional way of clarifying situations.
People can get carried away with assumptions and rumours. Ask the VRCT dont guess.
Many thanks for reading this, I hope that it has blown away some of the chaff from the situation.
Mick Wingell.
VRCT Panel Member (For IET)
