Speech from the Chairman of the Staff & Associate Specialists Committee, Mr Mohib Khan
Monday 1 July 2003
Mr Chairman and colleagues, I am very pleased to be addressing this annual representative meeting as the first Chairman of the new staff and associate specialists craft committee. It has been a long uphill struggle to establish this craft and it is a great achievement for all of us. I would like to thank this meeting for making this possible by establishing the craft a year ago.
I would like briefly to tell you about the SASC. In order to understand what we have achieved, let me take you back to 1996, when I became Chairman of the NCCG subcommittee of the CCSC, I recognised that there were problems in how the staff and associate specialists group were represented within the BMA. We were a subcommittee of the consultant and specialists committee. It was very clear to me that we were in the same situation within the BMA as we were in the hospitals (i.e., we were at the mercy of the consultants). There was a clear conflict of interest. We had no independent negotiating rights or any power to make our own policies. Everything had to be approved by the consultant body. It was extremely frustrating and we it often felt like we received only lip service.
We were sidelined within the BMA, our voice was not heard on the influential committees. Our situation was similar to the junior doctors more than 25 years ago when they were a subcommittee. We all know what the juniors have achieved since they split from the main committee. It was clear nothing would change unless we stood on our own two feet. We started to campaign for a separate craft committee on a par with CCSC, GPC, JDC and others. A motion was passed at the ARM in 2001 and, as you know, the separate craft committee was established at the ARM last year.
Over our first year, our committee has completed a considerable amount of work. We have produced guidelines on appraisal and discretionary and optional points. Our general purposes subcommittee is in the final stages of producing guidelines on the mechanism for regrading to associate specialist. All of which have been helping SAS doctors at the grass roots level to gain access to what they are entitled to.
Our numbers have increased dramatically beyond expectations, as have our problems. Morale is low. The present situation is totally unacceptable and unsustainable. Managers as well as consultants misusing their power to force SAS doctors into unacceptable work patterns. Pay has fallen behind, with many SAS doctors not getting paid fairly for all the work they actually do for the NHS.
It was our first opportunity to represent ourselves to the Review Body and our negotiating subcommittee gave robust evidence to the DDRB. We were hoping to get a substantial pay rise, but this has not materialised because of the Departments of Health’s misguided evidence to the DDRB. Unfortunately, the Department has convinced the DDRB that the work on the review of the SAS grade will be completed by October 2003. Then negotiations will start on the new contract, based on a single spine. Therefore, any substantial pay rise for SAS doctors in 2003 would pre-empt these negotiations and therefore will have to wait until the review of the grade has been completed. In the meantime, our negotiating subcommittee is continuing to flesh out its own policy on how we believe a single spine should be structured.
We had our first SAS conference entitled ‘Recognition and Reward’ on 30th January. The interest was overwhelming and because of the unprecedented demand, a second was held on 3rd March. Both conferences were extremely successful. For many SAS doctors it was the first opportunity for them to attend a conference especially tailored to their needs. Our first annual conference was held on 3rd June and was very well received by those who attended.
Currently, within the BMA, our committee is facing some problems in terms of representation. However, I am grateful for the 11th hour decision by the Board of Representational and Political Activities to propose that the number representatives from the staff and associate specialists group to the ARM be bought up to 11 from this meeting rather than next year although we will continue to ask for representation which we believe better reflects the numbers of doctors in our craft. We will also continue to ask for better representation on BMA Council and the JCC. At present there is discrepancy in the number of seats allocated to other Crafts compared to SASC. Hopefully, these differences and anomalies will be resolved in due course.
Our committee is very keen on competency based assessment. We have produced a paper and have had some formal meetings with representatives of the medical royal colleges. Progress is very slow. I have grave doubts and concerns about some of the colleges’ motives. We are not asking for lower standards. We simply want a level playing field and fair play. Our committee will continue to press for this. We want to make sure that doctors both in and outside the grade will not have any obstacles placed in their way to hamper their progress. We want to make sure that assessment is appropriate and fair. Therefore, it is essential that we are involved in any assessment process for SAS doctors by the postgraduate medical education and training board which is due to be up and running in a few months. SAS doctors who do not want to take on the full responsibilities of a consultant post must have access to clinical autonomy within their field of competencies.
Our committee needs committed, enthusiastic SAS doctors to take our cause forward. We are in our infancy, with many good years ahead. With the continued enthusiasm and support of both SAS doctors and colleagues from other crafts we can achieve a great deal. It is clear that our destiny now lies within our own hands.
Lastly, I would like to thank the secretariat staff, Anna Whiskin, Kirsty Burgoyne and Chris Hartley for their hard work and support.
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