Recruitment open for RCP medical director for Invited Reviews

About the role

Invited Reviews are commissioned by executives from NHS organisations to improve the care of patients and maintain professional standards. Reviews support physicians and managers of healthcare organisations when they feel the practice of good clinical medicine is potentially being compromised and are an important means of ensuring patient safety. 

This clinically led consultancy service collaborates with medical specialties and is a complex area of work that has a direct impact on difficult situations for both individual physicians and their teams and services. The Invited Reviews service reports to the College registrar who oversees standards of practice and professional behaviours.

The Invited Reviews service has grown significantly in the last five years both in terms of the number of requests and the complexity of issues to be reviewed. We do not see this as a sign of there being more problems in the NHS but instead a shift towards healthcare organisations viewing the leadership the RCP provides as being very positive.

The scope of invited reviews varies and can involve consideration of how one service is structured, how different medical specialties work together in the delivery of care, or individual clinician practice. Many reviews incorporate consideration of a substantial number of case records using a quality assured structured judgement review methodology. This has led to a significant increase in workload.

The time commitment is up to 2 days a week. Ad hoc support is required for attendance at meetings and calls with relevant stakeholders. Chairing of IR visits will be between 1-2 days but advanced notice will be given of these.

RCP board and committee membership will include: Invited Reviews governance meeting and development group (bi-annual); Medical specialties board (c. every 2 months); Council attendee (non-voting); College officers forum (bi-annual).

This is a voluntary role and not remunerated. It is the duty of a candidate for office to obtain advance agreement from their employing authority that they will be given adequate time to perform RCP duties, in the context of activities recognised by the Department of Health and Social Care, before standing for election.

It is anticipated that duties will be performed through a combination of agreed SPA time over and above the minimum required to fulfil revalidation requirements, and that any shortfall would be made up through additional external activities agreed through the postholder’s job plan.

The RCP appreciates the cost pressures on NHS employers and is able to offer a ‘clinician release supplement’ to the employer towards the cost of backfilling roles of up to £12,000 per annum.