www.hcsa.com
General Secretary: Update I am now 3 months into the role as HCSA General Secretary, and it’s been a busy 3 months. With all new jobs it’s about getting to know the people you deal with day to day, identifying the priorities and rolling up your sleeves. What I have established is that the HCSA is in good shape and is an effective and forward thinking organisation, pragmatic and measured, yet always seeking to promote and protect the interests of members. The issues come thick and fast from a Coalition Government determined to push our resources as far as they can go. The pensions poll resulted in members rejecting the Governments proposed Final Agreement but with a very low turnout that did not deliver a sufficiently strong mandate to ballot. More about this inside this edition. The restoring of Clinical Excellence Awards was a welcome sign and we will be pressing for the process to be implemented as quickly as possible, again further details are on page 8. Then there are the consultations from the Department of Health, on language checks for doctors, and Liberating the NHS: No decision about me, without me - proposals to secure shared decisionmaking. All will be considered and responded to by the HCSA. The spectre of market facing pay, 24 hour working, and the reshaping of the medical workforce are again issues that the HCSA will also be responding to. We will also be organising a pilot recruitment drive in the Midlands area to explain the benefits of HCSA membership.
04
The HCSA was also in Brussels recently following an invitation from the TUC to attend the European Social partners’ seminar on the working time directive, more on this on page 7. I also met with my counterpart from The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists the professional association and union which represent doctors and dentists in New Zealand, who was in the UK on route to a conference in Germany. Although thousands of miles between us the issues both our organisations face, seemed quite similar. I have also been reviewing the legal services we currently offer to members, and have met with our lawyers to explore how we can improve services. On this issue I would suggest you watch this space! So as I move into the second quarter, the key issue for me is to see the HCSA continue to grow and develop in influence and stature, but always a union and professional association that is dedicated to its members. On a separate note can members please update their contact information, either on line or by contacting the Overton office? Please provide the exact name of your current employer (you may find that it has changed name in the last six months), and the full address of your main workplace. Please also update your current e-mail address and mobile phone number. Please call 01256 771777 or e-mail membership@hcsa.com, or visit our website www.hcsa.com
HCSA News Issue No.65 - June 2012