A warm welcome from your local Faculty.
As the new Chair, I want to make our Faculty more inclusive and a useful resource for Members, both professionally and personally.
As we emerge from COVID, wellbeing and maintaining CPD are important issues and we are already trying to offer resources in these areas.
If you have any ideas of other issues we can help with, or how we can support you and your teams, please get in touch. Your contributions would be welcomed and valued.
We are continuing to make plans for a careful return to face-to-face events later this year, but the College is committed to maintaining a comprehensive portfolio of remotely delivered options so that you can engage with your College in whichever format you find most comfortable and convenient.
Throughout the pandemic, our Faculty has been working hard to ensure that you continue to be supported, offering wellbeing and peer support.
With that in mind, we are excited to announce that nominations are open for this year’s Vibrant Faculty Awards. This accolade celebrates innovations being delivered locally by Faculties to support Members across all of our four nations.
In May, we had a positive response to our GP Wellbeing event. Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland Colleges came together to produce the 'Thoughts, Niggles, Move, Relax' session. The event was attended by 50 healthcare professionals. A diverse range of topics were delivered by each of the respective nations and feedback suggests the afternoon was extremely successful. The Devolved Nations team are extremely encouraged by the response and are eager to collaborate further to develop a follow-up event.
The College was very active during the Senedd election campaign. Activities included:
- a hustings event with the Health Spokespeople for the three largest parties
- publication of a Health Inequalities paper supported by 36 organisations
- social media campaign highlighting the need to fund technology improvements in general practice
- supporter action scheme allowing members to raise College priorities with their local candidates
Following the election, the College made direct contact with the new Minister for Health and Social Care, thanked the former Health Minister, and congratulated all newly elected Senedd Members. The College has had a productive initial meeting with the new Minister for Health and Social Care, Eluned Morgan MS, discussing topics including the appropriate balance between remote and face-to-face care, Long COVID, access to GP services, and a proposed 'Deep End Wales' project. We have also met with Plaid Cymru’s Health Spokesperson, Rhun ap Iorwerth, to update him on the big issues facing general practice.
RCGP continues to provide essential support to members, via its online COVID-19 hub, Member network, and our RCGP Cymru Wales Members Forum on Facebook.
We are keen for all faculties to be inclusive; we welcome all members and views onto our Board. If you would like to get involved in our discussions and support your fellow Members, we’d love to hear from you - please do get in touch.
We hope you enjoy this bulletin. Please ensure your email preferences are updated so you can continue to receive the news you wish to read from the College.
Best wishes and stay safe.
Dr Julie Keely
Faculty Chair
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