JUNIOR ROTA PAYOUT
43 FY1s working on a surgical rota at Arrowe Park Hospital Wirral will share a £38,850 payout after a diary monitoring exercise of their working patterns found they were being underpaid. Following talks between the BMA and the trust, the trainees’ rota was uplifted from a 1B rota with 40 per cent pay banding to 2B with 50 per cent banding. Trainees who worked on the rota between August 2013 and May this year were unable to finish shifts on time or take natural breaks.
NEW GMC CHAIR
Professor Terence Stephenson has been appointed as the new Chair of the General Medical Council (GMC). Professor Stephenson is current Chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. He studied medicine at Oxford Medical School and has spent most of his career specialising in paediatric medicine and paediatric emergencies. He was also President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
www.gmc-uk.org
PRIVATE MED SCHOOL DELAYED
The proposed launch of a new private medical school at UCLAN (University of Central Lancashire) has been delayed by one year to allow recruitment of additional senior staff and placement opportunities. Up to 35 students were expected to join the new five year MB BS programme costing £35,000 per year. The first intake of students will now take place in September 2015.
www.uclan.ac.uk
MENTAL HEALTH BURDEN
Mental health represents 23 per cent of the national disease burden and should be treated by commissioners in the same way as physical illness, says the chief medical officer for England Professor Dame Sally Davies. The report, Public Mental Health Priorities: Investing in the Evidence, also highlighted a significant overall treatment gap in England which meant that up to 75 per cent of those suffering with mental health problems were failing to receive treatment.
www.dh.gov.uk
