Like everything else in the real world, the future of EBME (please note the avoidance of 'biomed') in the UK National Health Service will, of necessity, be driven by economics.
Yes, many of 'the originals' will be sent out to graze within the next few years. So, the future will surely see lots of eager youngsters joining the fray. All to the good, as the whole scene needs to be freshened-up a bit (in my opinion, at least).
If (as Karl as suggested recently in another thread) young British people have lost the desire to work in maintenance-type endeavours, then their places will be filled by willing hands from overseas (just as they were in the case of British nurses). Only if, or when, our modern government finds it more cost-effective (or politically necessary) to train 'our own' technicians, will new training courses suddenly spring up (even if it means re-opening the gates at Arborfield!).
For those of you worried about survival, I would suggest just to continue to make yourself useful. And, frankly, I don't think that either AfC or Registration (voluntary or otherwise) will make a great deal of difference. The work will still be there to be done, and someone will have to do it (if the NHS is to continue to function more or less efficiently, that is).
I still believe that the key is the technician, and by that I mean the quality and calibre of technical manpower in the form of engineering technicians, and also that in-house EBME technicians are not only maintainers and repairers of equipment, but are also of necessity trainers and managers as well! That's where the money needs to be spent - in attracting good people, training them properly, 'bringing them on' (with us old 'uns as the mentors), offering them a decent career structure and then retaining them. We need new blood - young, fertile minds!
And, just, in case anyone missed my earlier utterances, I suggest that the way forward for the departments is a return to 'technician values' (primarily focussed on fixing the kit), risk-centred maintenance and the Zero-Budget model!
