Policy roundup: September 2024
The latest edition of the policy roundup, a series of advocacy updates in which we share our most recent policy and public affairs activities and successes.
News & Views
Read the latest RCOphth news updates and guidance here.
RCOphth evidence to COVID inquiry calls for better planning, coordination and consultation in future public health emergencies
We have provided evidence to the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC), which is responding to the UK COVID-19 Inquiry on behalf of all members. RCOphth Policy Advisor David Murray summarises the key points from our response, which recommends four actions to ensure UK ophthalmology services are resilient and able to deliver sufficient patient care and training opportunities during and after the acute stage of a future pandemic.
GMC’s 2023 annual training survey shows progression improving for ophthalmologists in training, alongside concerns over burnout and access to independent sector
What was the experience of ophthalmologists in training in 2023, and how does this compare to previous years? Jordan Marshall, RCOphth Policy Manager and Sam Simpson, specialty trainee and Ophthalmologists in Training Group (OTG) representative, summarise the key findings from the GMC’s 2023 National Training Survey.
Government sets out next steps for living with Covid
Free COVID-19 tests will continue to be available to help protect specific groups including eligible patients and NHS and care staff once the universal testing offer ends after 31 March and next steps for adult social care set out
Wider Impacts of COVID-19 on Health (WICH) monitoring tool
WICH presents a range of health and wellbeing metrics in interactive plots that can be broken down to show differences between groups - for example, you can explore grocery purchasing habits by region or social class. WICH is updated monthly and may include the addition of new metrics as they become available.
UK COVID-19 Inquiry: draft terms of reference
The Government has published the COVID-19 inquiry draft terms of reference. The inquiry will examine, consider and report on preparations and the response to the pandemic in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, up to and including the inquiry’s formal setting-up date.
Vaccination as a condition of deployment (VCOD) for all healthcare workers
Secretary of State Sajid Javid announces revoking mandatory vaccination as a condition of deployment for all healthcare workers.
Mandatory vaccinations confirmed from April for healthcare workers in England
Following the announcement in 2021 that all frontline health and care workers in England will be required to be vaccinated as a condition of employment from April 2022, regulations to enforce these requirements have now been made
End of year message from the President, Bernie Chang
As we head into the season’s holidays, the health service faces renewed pressures from the new Covid variant, omicron. I know that we all stand ready to support our colleagues in acute care and Covid wards if needed.
Multi-professional team-working - the experience and lessons from COVID-19
A new report published today reviews the role of multi-professional teams during the pandemic and considers how the members of different occupational groups came together to deliver care differently. Multi-professional team-working - the experience and lessons from COVID-19 published by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AOMRC) focuses on lessons learned about the enablers for and barriers to effective multi-professional team-working.