AUTUMN 2015 NEWSLETTER
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STOP PRESS EGM result At an Extraordinary General Meeting held on 8 September, members approved changes to allow ‘remote voting’ at future General Meetings. Beginning with the 2016 AGM, members who are unable to be physically present will be entitled to vote on items which Council agrees are especially important.
BOOK NOW BPSU 30th Anniversary Rare Disease Conference 23 February 2016 Registration now open www.rcpch.ac.uk /bpsu/rdc16
We need more time for research Three years ago Professor Neena Modi wrote of the ‘need for highquality research to generate evidence to benefit children and ultimately the health of the nation’. Turning the Tide stressed the importance of child health research both to patients and to advancing the science of paediatrics. Since then the UK Child Health Research Collaborative (UKCHRC) has been launched, but we remain concerned about the capacity of the paediatric workforce to undertake research. Our Individual Census in 2011 indicated low levels of research involvement amongst paediatricians and there has been a continued decline in the number of university-funded academic paediatricians. Furthermore, the RCPCH Participation in Child Health Research survey of paediatric consultants and SAS doctors conducted in May 2015 shows that: •
81.6% (80.1% of consultants) have no programmed activities (PAs) for research in their job plans.
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The average number of PAs in the job plan for research was 0.37 (0.39 for consultants); but respondents spend almost the same amount of time again on research work which is unpaid.
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54.5% (50.8% of consultants) do no research.
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The stated key barriers to research were a lack of time and lack of support from employers.
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The survey received 1,924 responses, representing 45.3% of consultants and 21.1% of SAS doctors.
The RCPCH supports members who wish to carry out research by advocating for appropriate supporting professional activity (SPA) time. We will continue to raise awareness of the importance of research to employers, policymakers and the public. Visit www.rcpch.ac.uk/ participation-research to keep informed. PROFESSOR ANNE GREENOUGH Vice President, Science and Research