Most of my report is made up of “bits and bobs” that don’t fit in anywhere else. They include:

  • A quick mention of the bootcamp and Fellowship ceremony
  • Seeking volunteers to help progress the Distinguished Fellow concept
  • Governance review latest news
  • Strategy 2030 update
  • Consultation – suicide prevention action plan
  • ACC seeking experts

Bootcamp and Ceremony 2024

Both the Bootcamp and ceremony were a success (see the report from the DPD here), although we had slightly lower numbers than hoped for. We are already making plans for Bootcamp and ceremony 2026 since that will be the 25th anniversary of the vocational scope. Watch this space, but expect something spectacular!

We awarded 25 certificates at the Fellowship ceremony, out of the 51 Fellows who graduated since the last ceremony in 2023. We now have a significant number of Fellowship certificates at the office and Kushani will be in touch to organise collection. Our last option is to courier them, but there is a high risk of them being bent in the post.

Distinguished Fellow

At the last AGM the members approved the motion that the College should award the title of Distinguished Fellow to those members who have made a significant contribution to the College. The next steps would be the development of the policies and processes to support the award, including consideration of the composition of the award panel, how the panel should be appointed, what criteria they should consider for the award of Distinguished Fellow, how members may be nominated, and so on.

Any progress on this has been minimial, as the Executive Committee were unable to find members available to take this forward. I am now reaching out to members for volunteers to take this forward. My hope is that the College can start awarding Distinguished Fellow by the time we have our next Fellowship ceremony in 2026.

If you are interested in offering your support for this project, please contact me (adrian@rnzcuc.org.nz).

Governance Review

Allen and Clarke completed their review of the College’s governance structures, processes, and the operational staffing to support the College. They presented to the ExC last week, and the ExC will meet in the next two or three weeks to decide on the next steps.

Although the College is doing well in this area, the report recommended several changes to comply with legislative requirements and governance good practice. The report recommended more employed staff to support governance and operational functions, and some specific actions to be taken as soon as possible.

I will be pushing the ExC to provide a detailed report to members on or before the AGM in March 2025.

Strategy 2030

Those of you who were at the bootcamp on the Sunday will know that I introduced a proposed strategy for the coming years. The current strategy (2019 to 2025) has stood the test of time. It is clear, though, thtat there are significant risks and opportunities with from the constant state of crisis and flux in the New Zealand health system. The College has a significant role to play in defining how urgent care clinics sit within the wider provision of unplanned acute care, and how the system as a whole can provide high quality, culturally safe, and equitable care to patients within their community when it is needed.

Comments and feedback from the panel discussions were very valuable, and most will be incorporated into the proposed strategy. Further work is required in completing the detailed means by which we will achieve and measure the intended outcomes before being presented to members at an AGM or SGM for their approval.

Given that the ExC is deliberating on the next steps regarding governance, I am not able to advise whether we will be able to proceed with this during 2024 or during 2025. I will, however, continue to remind the ExC that a revised strategy is required by the end of 2025.

Suicide prevention action plan – consultations

Consultations are open on the draft suicide prevention action plan.

ACC seeking Fellows to provide advice on treatment injury claims

ACC is seeking at least one, ideally two Fellows of the RNZCUC to provide advice on treatment injury claims. Below is a brief description of the work, more detail can be provided if a clinician is potentially interested.

The Treatment Injury External Clinical Advisors (TI ECA) are independent relevant experts who provide written file review and advice on treatment injury claims. When asked to provide written advice, the TI ECA usually receives a brief synopsis of the basis of the claim and some questions that we need answered. TI ECA reports are based on the records and do not include a physical assessment. To clarify, the role of the TI ECA is not to decide whether the claim has cover but to provides advice that assists ACC in making that decision. The rate is $276 per hour (incl. GST) or $240 (excl. GST) for this service.

It’s also worth noting that TI ECA reports may at times be referred to or called for by for instance the Ministry of Health, the Health and Disability Commissioner or other organisations or relevant individuals.

Anyone who is interested or who has questions can contact Dr Dilky Rasiah on dilky.rasiah@acc.co.nz.