EBME Forums Forums Management Professional Issues VRCT - Who's Re-Newed?

More likely to hang out on the medical physics engineering list instead.

Although over there they did discuss the VRCT and one opinion expressed was that if the Government was keen to register social workers it obviously still supports registration. The new HCPC can hold voluntary registers so they could in theory hold the VRCT.

It seems that the VRCT website has also picked up on this and are seeing what it means for the VRCT.

the course content looks interesting.. much of it matches VRCT guidelines.

May not be very useful to us in northwest.. they are doing it with Kingston University unless they can run classes here.

Are there many who are not able to get into VRCT directly?

Yes, the folk at VRCT (whomever they may be) are seemingly well known to be quick on the uptake.

Proactive? Hardly. Reactive? Yes, that sounds more like it.

How long has all this been dragging on now?

What our trade needs is real leadership! As in:-

"Lead, follow - or get out of the way"!

Quote from the VRCT website, from 'VRCT Assessors' Panel Terms of Reference':


'The Voluntary Register of Clinical Technologists Assessors’ Panel (the Panel) is a Committee formed by the professional bodies supporting the Voluntary Register of Clinical Technologists. These professional bodies are currently: the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine, the Association of Renal Technologists and the Institution of Engineering and Technology.'


Also Geoff, another way of looking at it is that VRCT is still around... which can tell you it is here to stay. From the trends that I am seeing, it is here to stay... either in its present form or something very similar.

As for the 'Practitioner' title.... we as service engineers will become or already are compliant to be practitioners... that doesn't mean our job titles will change.


In Glasgow, they have an in-house scheme where pre-qualified practitioners become qualified to join the VRCT. It is about competencies being assessed in-house and education. I read that anatomy and physiology is done by a local college.

This is just an example of one scheme. I reckon each NHS Trust will have to go down this route. It doesn't mean that new entry service engineers always have to go and do a VRCT or IPEM approved degree scheme.

You've hit on one of the areas where the VRCT and now the MSC have got things totally wrong.


In my time I have worked on Dialysis Equipment, X-Ray systems, Ultrasound, Ventilators, Anaesthetic Machines as well as almost every other type of medical equipment you can think of. How do the VRCT et al. propose to train someone to do all this? The training schemes are designed to push the student down one of four specialities, Renal, Radiation, Equipment Management or Rehabilitation. In the future we will have a situation where engineers will refuse to work on equipment outside of their chosen field. It is a contradiction to the ethos of multi-tasking.
If the VRCT want to produce well rounded biomeds (not CT's) they should have done more research into the situation throughout the Country. Especially areas that are not managed by Medical Physics.

Once again you get my vote, Bill.

In short (and despite, as previously pointed out, this VRCT thing having been lurking about for a number of years now), they seemingly still haven't thought the thing through. And (even worse) have failed to articulate the "vision" to the Rank and File.

In fact I would go as far as saying that the Rank and File has largely been ignored, with a simple assumption that they would "fall in line" as and when required.

Marketing? Zero.

Joined up thinking? Low marks again, I'm afraid.

Arrogance? That would seem to be the case.

Unionized demarkation lines, one of the reasons I left the UK

I think you'll find union's have nothing to do with this. It's more to do with the rise (and now fall) of the quangos and a perceived need for regulation.

Also I think it will go down the lines of in-house training as not many people seem very willing to start out their careers with a qualification that leads to only one particular job. Generic engineering HNC/D and degrees still seem like the popular choice compared to Eastwood park's offering.

Although it's interesting to note that there's quite a few trusts missing from the list of accredited training centres or they don't train in everything. Is this a lack of support in management similar to the questioning whether to join in their employees?

Bill I don't think you'll find the situation similar to yours around the country. It does seem that what one trust does will be totally different to another.

Begrudgingly I've just filled in the form with my cheque today, only because if I want to leave the dark side and return to the NHS it should make life easier.
At least IPEM will have had to fund their Christmas party without my money this year.

@Neil: it's got absolutely nothing to do with unions, you [censored]!

The truth of the situation is that the VRCT is, shall we say, "yesterday's news". As is so often the case, groups like that are "way behind the curve" about what is actually going on in the Real World!

Hey, I'm agreeing with Chris. Happy Days!

Meanwhile, perhaps it's time that someone came on here and reminded folk what the VRCT is actually for. That is, what does it do, and what benefits arise for those shelling out their subs?

If it's simply a register (a list of names) ... why don't we just use Huw's users' list?

Or (better yet), how about everyone bungs me ten quid every year, and I'll make up my own list, and publish it right here for all to see and admire?

@Rob: what's that? Leaving the Dark Side to seek out a cushy berth in the NHS? Shame on you, Mate, shame!