RCPCH Focus newsletter - Winter 2016

WINTER 2016 NEWSLETTER

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RCPCH Shop Our new online shop is now open for business offering an exciting range of branded gifts and stationery for all ages.

Inclusion for disabled children, young people and their families www.shop.rcpch.ac.uk

Focus is getting a redesign!

Look out for a new and improved newsletter in 2017.

Inspired by the United Nations global blueprint for disability action and its challenge to ‘leave no one behind’, RCPCH launched Disability Matters in Britain: Report of Evidence on the Inclusion of Disabled Children and Young People in Britain in 2016 in November 2016.

inspiring and down to earth examples of inclusion and a range of suggestions on how to ensure that disabled children and young people are meaningfully included in the health and education services, leisure opportunities, sport and everyday activities that we all take for granted.

The team asked young people and their parent carers about their experiences of inclusion. Educators, health professionals, community workers, volunteers, training providers and employers were also asked how they ensure that disabled people are included in their service or community.

From the simplest of adjustments to comprehensive approaches involving policy change and service redesign, the organisations profiled in the report have developed and delivered their commitment to inclusion in many different ways.

They show us that inclusion is not a static two-dimensional concept but a multifaceted, dynamic and ever-changing landscape shaped in constant partnership with disabled people and their families.

A lot of good and inclusive practice was celebrated by those who responded. Alongside this, frustration and disillusionment was expressed at the increasing barriers to meaningful inclusion brought about by austerity cuts in services as well as at the ‘shocking lack of can-do attitudes’.

This new report offers practical,

Download the interactive PDF: www.rcpch.ac.uk/disability-matters EMMA PALMER Project Manager, Education Provision

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1 News

for disabled children, Inclusion young people and their families 2 From the President

State of Child Health report

4 Your RCPCH

New Board of Trustees Chair

RCPCH launches new programme at

Angkor Hospital for Children

BAGP: Calling all general paediatricians

Celebrating 30 years of the BPSU

Facing the Future event

UK Health Alliance on Climate Change

Membership subscriptions 2017

8 Education and training

RCPCH Annual Conference 2017

New curriculum: What makes a great paediatrician?

eLearning courses using Compass

Courses and events 2017

10 Your views

The impact of Brexit on the RCPCH

RCPCH’s relationship with formula milk companies

In The Twittersphere

11 Committee news

Training matters

A message from Russell Viner, Officer for Health Promotion

Members are invited to submit ideas for content (for planning purposes, please send proposals only) to focus@rcpch.ac.uk

From the President When tricky issues of modern life arise, I’m fortunate to be able to turn to my children and my equally youthful research group for advice and assistance. I now realise that there is a term for this wonderful phenomenon, reverse-mentoring, in which those of us a bit older are tutored by those rather younger, on technology, social media and current trends.

Certainly since the last issue of Focus, we’ve seen strong evidence of the power of social media, and the emergence of disturbing trends, in the events surrounding Brexit and the US elections. I’ve been around the world twice, on RCPCH business, and to present the latest research from my group at paediatric and neonatal conferences. I’ve met young paediatricians (see the picture of new RCPCH fellows and members in Yangon), and paediatricians who are now health ministers with warm memories of training in the UK. These intangible bonds of collegiality and friendship are a powerful force for good, so I deplore recent language that suggests the UK is not grateful for the contribution to the NHS made by EU and overseas doctors and nurses.

Some of you, like me, will also know how it feels to be singled out, for example in a queue at an airport, seemingly because of the colour of one’s skin. Most of us shrug such experiences off as trivial, but the appalling plight of child refugees

represents a wholly unacceptable consequence of bigotry and racism. I was therefore proud that the RCPCH brought together medical Royal Colleges and other organisations in October to lobby the Government to fulfil its duty to protect vulnerable children caught up in the horror of the Calais camps.

We’ve also had some moments straight out of the pages of Yes Minister (or The Thick of It, if you’re in the reverse-mentor category). The finest example was the verdict of Mr Justice Green on the action brought

by Justice for Health, summarised by their QC in phrases worthy of Anthony Jay (and Armando Iannucci) as “Mr Hunt is not imposing a contract on Junior Doctors; he never was; he did not suggest he was; he never thought anyone thought otherwise”. Truth may well be stranger than fiction but the Junior Doctor contract debacle has left uncertainty in its wake, about which we will continue to make representations. Anyone taking

Editors: Jo Ball Michael Giardino Published by: The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, 5-11 Theobalds Road, London WC1X 8SH Tel: 020 7092 6000 Website: www.rcpch.ac.uk RCPCH is a registered charity: no.

1057744 and registered in Scotland as SC038299

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RCPCH President Professor Neena Modi with Professor Ye Myint Kyaw, Professor Aye Han, other Senior Members of the Myanmar Paediatric Society, and new RCPCH members and fellows; Yangon, Myanmar, November 2016

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parental leave will most likely incur a pay gap which will remain with them for the rest of their careers, a reversal of decades of progress towards achieving gender equality, and a setback for child-friendly employment practices. We’ve also drawn attention to the adverse impact on children that would ensue were the UK to withdraw from the EU Parental Leave Directive which gives mothers and fathers the right to take 13 weeks unpaid leave before a child’s fifth birthday.

In July, members collectively showed the Wisdom of Solomon in issuing a very clear directive through our survey about funding from infant formula companies. I am pleased that RCPCH will no longer feature any industry logos on conferences, educational meetings, or products, but we will accept - with gratitude donations into a new Children’s Fund.

This will be used to support new work, subject to strict regulations which you can read about in full on our website. Let there be no mistake, RCPCH wants to see a rise in breastfeeding, will lobby for policies, practices, and societal attitudes that are supportive, condemns practices that promote formula over breastfeeding for healthy babies, but also welcomes the availability and continued improvement of high quality breast-milk substitutes.

Looking ahead to 2017, we’ll be launching our State of Child Health report in January, and have parallel activities underway to dispel the many damaging myths that are being perpetrated about the NHS. We’re also keeping a wary eye on the consultant contract negotiations. The Vice Presidents, Officers and staff all have busy portfolios that you can read about elsewhere in Focus. For example, a review of the new paediatric curriculum on page 8.

We continue to lobby for tougher measures to combat child overweight and obesity, individually and through the Obesity Heath Alliance, a coalition of over 30 medical Royal Colleges and charities. Our international profile is extending rapidly with new activities due to commence in Myanmar and Vietnam, led by Sebastian Taylor, Bhanu Williams, and the RCPCG global

team. The Medical Research Council is supporting our new Children’s Research Fund (not to be confused with the Children’s Fund mentioned above) with great generosity. This is aimed at growing the next generation of child health research leaders through the creation of post-doctoral Career Development, Clinician Scientist, and Clinical Research Training Fellowships. Members will know that I am committed to strengthening the science and research base for child health, so I am delighted with this development and thank Jonathan Miall, RCPCH Director of Development, for having steered its evolution so expertly.

Let me end by wishing everyone a very happy New Year. As paediatricians we have a lot to be proud of. We are privileged in the work we do, but also have battles to fight.

As always, do write to me; my inbox is ever open.

PROFESSOR NEENA MODI president@rcpch.ac.uk

State of Child Health report launching 26 January 2017 We are excited to announce that we will shortly be launching a new report examining the state of child health in the United Kingdom.

This ground-breaking publication will draw together, for the very first time, a range of data across 25 indicators – from breastfeeding, smoking and mortality to accidents, wellbeing and poverty – creating a snapshot of how infant, children and young people’s physical and mental health is faring across the UK. The report follows the life-course of a child from conception to birth and throughout infancy, childhood and adolescence.

As part of our campaign to put child health at the top of the political agenda, the report will include ten key recommendations for each UK administration – the Westminster Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive. It will be launched at special events held in the four parliaments and assemblies to audiences consisting of key policy-makers, stakeholders, clinicians and young people.

Watch this space for a full write up on the report and these events in the spring 2017 edition of Focus.

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RCPCH welcomes new Board of Trustees Chair Dame Mary Marsh Dame Mary Marsh, an experienced chairperson, former Chief Executive of the NSPCC and a formidable fundraiser, was appointed independent chair of a new Board of Trustees for the RCPCH in September. While you may know some of Dame Mary’s more professional achievements, we interviewed her to find out some more.

Q. What was your earliest ambition?

A. To make a difference in the world and help those who were less fortunate. It was a big driver and it is one that’s still with me today. I also wanted to be a mother with a big family – I stopped at four sons. My girls have arrived later in my grandchildren (two boys, two girls) and my three daughtersin-law. I also wanted to climb many mountains (good start but more to do), speak several languages (continue to try), travel (done that but more in the last decade than ever before), and live in another country (not achieved yet).

Q. What has been your proudest achievement to date?

A. When at NSPCC being the co-founder of the children’s interagency group that enabled a coherent, collective and powerful input into the development of wider child protection policy and action in England, in close partnership with the devolved nations too. Equally important is having provided leadership for the success of ‘coming together for children’ when ChildLine joined with NSPCC.

badly taught I gave it up. I now wish I’d had the opportunity to study both properly.

Q. What’s your favourite past time?

A. Walking, particularly by the sea and in mountains Q. What’s your guilty pleasure?

A. Cake Q. What has been your biggest mistake?

A. Never learning to play the piano or guitar.

Q. What motivates you?

A. Finding potential in people and enabling them to make the most of it. It is so rewarding when you see this happen, in both the short and the long term.

Q. What makes you smile?

A. Someone smiling at me, especially children.

Q. What’s the best advice someone has given you?

Q. What would you most like to achieve in the next five years?

A. Always have a restless search for improvement.

A. Continue to make a difference, to learn something new every day and to maintain my health and resilience that makes all this possible.

Q. And the worst?

A. Not to do a GCSE in Music and to take Physics which was so

Manual of Childhood Infections Now in its 4th edition!

This new edition of the “Blue Book” comes packed with helpful tips and practical guidance, including lists of alternative diagnoses and useful tables.

It includes key references for additional reading and suggestions for future research, all based on best practice in the UK and Europe.

This edition features new chapters based on emerging problems for Europe, especially focusing on antimicrobial stewardship and emerging pandemic threats.

Available through Oxford University Press www.oup.com 4

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RCPCH and Angkor Hospital for Children launches new programme The RCPCH is collaborating with Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) to improve newborn care and treatment in community health centres in rural Siem Reap district, Cambodia.

Cambodia, like many other low resource settings, has seen its under-five mortality rates fall significantly in the last ten years.

Despite this positive improvement, deaths in the first month of life have remained largely unmoved.

Neonate being cared for in AHC’s neonatal intensive care unit.

In order to understand and address this, the RCPCH has assembled a multidisciplinary team of volunteer expert paediatricans, nurses and midwives from the UK and Cambodia who will work together in Siem Reap province from March to September 2017.

They will spend six months identifying existing barriers to the delivery of effective neonatal care delivery and will design a program to address these issues. Going forward, this programme will be implemented by similar teams over the following five years. The programme will aim to build the capacity of local staff and improve provision of care at the community level.

MARCUS WOOTTON Project Manager, International Operations

Calling all general paediatricians The British Association of General Paediatrics (BAGP) has existed for many years, yet many people are still unaware of it.

All paediatric system specialties have a professional organisation, and it is important that an equivalent organisation exists to promote the cause of General Paediatrics within the UK. This is particularly important at a time when postgraduate training is being reviewed, and there is a real risk that General Paediatrics might be considered by some authorities to be second-rate.

BAGP exists to fly the flag for General Paediatrics within the College and beyond.

Membership includes both District General Hospitals (DGH) paediatricians who do everything, and teaching hospital colleagues with a specific generalist remit. As a member, as well as supporting the cause, you will have the opportunity to get involved with the training curriculum and workforce planning, to comment on important national clinical guidelines including NICE, and to collaborate with existing

research networks relevant to us, such as Medicines for Children Research Network (MCRN) and General and Adolescent Paediatric Research Collaborative - UK and Ireland (GAPRUKI). Trainees are welcome, and BAGP members can advise and support trainees planning a career in General Paediatrics. Members receive a regular online newsletter.

Have you seen the latest feature added to PCO UK? The Guideline Directory has now been made available exclusively through Paediatric Care Online (PCO UK).

Searchable by paediatric condition, specialty area and keywords, this new feature contains quick links to national clinical guidelines.

All guidelines are either developed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) or the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN); or endorsed or supported by the RCPCH. Go to PCO UK today to browse through the directory. You will need to be signed in to your PCO UK account to make the most of the quick links available in this feature.

The BAGP hosts a hugely popular session at the RCPCH Conference, and holds other meetings sporadically. The membership fee has recently been waived and you can now join for free.

To join and for further information: www. bagp.org.uk

Not activated yet?

ROBERT SCOTT-JUPP, SALISBURY PETER HEINZ, CAMBRIDGE

If you haven’t yet activated your PCO UK account, go to www.rcpch.ac.uk/pcouk and follow the instructions.

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Celebrating 30 years of the BPSU To mark its 30th birthday, the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit (BPSU) has produced a special highlight report which is now available to download.

Since 1986, the BPSU has facilitated over 100 surveillance studies, contributing to important public health priorities, health policy decisions and clinical practice. The founders of the BPSU can hardly have predicted the enduring success of their simple but robust active surveillance system.

As Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer for England writes, ‘From its outset, the BPSU has been at the forefront of gathering evidence that has been used to monitor and influence the nation’s child health policies.’ She adds, ‘[The BPSU] in its small and quiet way,

contributes hugely to the health of the nation’s children, and for that we are all grateful.’

The report highlights the BPSU’s achievements over the past 30 years and while it is rightly a celebration of the impact that the BPSU has had on health policy, child public health and clinical practice, the emphasis throughout the report reflects the BPSU philosophy of looking forward, identifying opportunities and possible developments to improve the working of the Unit. It might be rash to predict another 30 years of success, but not unrealistic.

However, the success of the BPSU would not have been possible without the enthusiasm and engagement of paediatricians from across the UK and the Republic of Ireland who have embraced the idea of an active surveillance methodology, returning their ‘Orange Card’ every month and completing the data collection forms.

Download the report: www.rcpch.ac.uk/bpsu/30yearreport JACOB AVIS Research Facilitator, BPSU

Facing the Future: Making Standards Reality best practice event In 2015, the RCPCH launched the revised Facing the Future: Standards for Acute General Paediatric Services and (jointly with the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of GPs) the new Facing the Future: Together for Child Health Standards.

These standards set out a vision for delivering safe, high quality healthcare for infants, children and young people, 24/7 and as close to home as possible.

One year on, the RCPCH held a best practice event on Thursday 3 November to examine the challenges and successes of the past year, and to explore how the standards can be implemented going forward.

Delegates heard from NHS England and the College about the challenges of commissioning to meet the standards, supporting their implementation and getting the right workforce in place. Clinics from across the country shared their experiences, from rapid access clinics in Rotherham to child health hubs in London.

We also developed a lay version of the report and the & Us team unveiled an animated video for children and young people to ensure they are aware of their right to healthcare.

ISOBEL HOWE Health Policy Lead

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Facing the Future: Together for child health 2015

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A Breath of Fresh Air report Air pollution has been in the headlines all too frequently of late.

A Breath of Fresh Air outlines a series of recommendations that tackle both climate change and air pollution for the benefit of public health.

Startling statistics show that air pollution contributes to 40,000 deaths per year in the UK. Some locations, such as Oxford Street, are notorious for being among the most polluted in Europe.

The Alliance is calling for:

Exposure to air pollution is responsible for premature death and associated with heart disease, cancer, stroke and both chronic and acute respiratory disease.

When coupled with climate change, which, in the UK, sees health impacts from flooding, heatwaves and the spread of vector-borne diseases, we are facing a major public health issue that threatens to overwhelm the NHS. The RCPCH is a member of the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, who have just launched a new report examining the links between air pollution, climate change and health.

• •

•

•

The phase-out of coal – a severe pollutant – by 2025, replacing it with a renewable energy source The expansion and strengthening of ultra-low emission zones across urban centres other than London, to both reduce air pollution and tackle emissions that cause climate change UK governments to make active transport, such as walking and cycling, a central priority to promote health and wellbeing and decrease harmful emissions Health professionals to lead by example in reducing emissions and advocating for the report’s recommendations.

Membership subscriptions 2017

Subscription rates for 2017

The College aims to keep subscription increases in line with, or below, RPI Inflation. It is hard to predict RPI in advance but we expect most subscriptions will not increase by more than RPI.

See below for 2017 subscription rates (excluding training fees). Membership subscriptions are tax deductible for UK tax payers.

From January 2017 there will no longer be a £10 surcharge for opting to pay in monthly instalments by direct debit. Members can opt to pay annually or monthly and the amount will be the same.

If you are working part time, on maternity, paternity, sick leave or a member of another Medical Royal College you may be eligible for a discount. If you are having difficulty paying your subscription due to financial hardship then you can apply for a non-standard concession.

Changes to the Membership Subscriptions Refund and Discount Policy from January 2017 The RCPCH Executive Committee has agreed that from January 2017, discounts due to changes in circumstances will no longer be backdated. This includes discounts for less than full time working, maternity/paternity leave, retiring or moving outside the UK. It will be your responsibility to inform us of changes in your circumstances as soon as you know of any. Details of the policy, discounts available and how to inform us of changes of circumstances can be found in the “subscriptions and how to pay” page on our website.

For more information, please call Member Services on 0207 092 6060 or email membership@rcpch.ac.uk.

Membership type

2017 Annual Subscription

Rate shown include Archives?

Honorary Fellow

£0

No

Fellow UK*

£527

Yes

Fellow rest of EU and North America

£398

Yes

Ordinary UK*

£438

Yes

Ordinary rest of EU and North America

£337

Yes

Ordinary Elsewhere

£217

Yes

Senior Fellow/Member

£79

No

Associate UK, EU and North America

£239

No

Associate Elsewhere

£224

No

Junior (UK only)

£101

No

Foundation Doctor

£64

No

Medical

£0

No

*as in previous years, UK residents pay additional levies and payment surcharges may apply for some payment methods.

DR LISA KAUFFMANN Honorary Treasurer

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Conference 2017

Healthy child, healthy future. 24-26 May 2017, Birmingham.

Join your colleagues to discover cutting-edge paediatric research, hear from prominent speakers in their field and engage in practical learning to support your professional development.

RCPCH Conference 2017 will explore the developmental origins of health and disease, with insights from leading experts such as Professor Johan Mackenbach, from the Department of Public Health and Professor Mark Hanson, Director of the Institute of Developmental Sciences at the University of Southampton.

A wide range of workshops and symposia will allow you to create a programme to match your interests and areas of practice, and you’ll also have the chance to share your knowledge and experience at our networking events.

Reserve your place early for discounted rates.

RCPCH 21st Anniversary Ball and Dinner To celebrate 21 years of advocating for child health, we’ll be holding a ball on 25 May to follow the second day of Conference. Please come and join the festivities with inclusive arrival drinks, a 3 course meal and night of music and dancing, including a performance from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Children’s and Youth Chorus.

Explore the latest programme and register at www.rcpch.ac.uk/conf17

What makes a great paediatrician?

This is the key question we have been asking when reviewing the paediatric training curriculum.

Consulting with trainees, consultants, children and young people, parents and carers, employers and other professionals, we are currently redeveloping the curricula for General Paediatrics and the sub-specialties to create a framework that ensures trainees develop the full range of skills and knowledge required in their day to day work and for progressing to a specialist consultant post.

The new curriculum will move away from the current ‘tick box’ list of competences, which have been replaced by 11 Learning Outcomes for each training level. These are based on the GMC’s Generic Professional Capabilities, helping trainees develop their knowledge and skills across all key areas of practice. A supporting document (syllabus) will give guidance on how the trainee can evidence each learning outcome, and will be far more flexible, allowing trainees to apply the curriculum to the context in which they are working, and the emphasis will be on quality rather than quantity of evidence.

The new curriculum will be published in late 2017, ready for implementation in autumn 2018. Come along to our curriculum workshop at the RCPCH Conference 2017.

Further information: www.rcpch.ac.uk/2018curriculum JENNI THOMPSON Quality and Standards Manager

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Learning, no matter where you are Compass is the RCPCH online learning system. It houses numerous RCPCH eLearning courses on a range of topics including many clinical subjects, safeguarding and education and leadership and contains the pre- and post-course information for our face-to-face courses.

The website and our eLearning is free to access and all RCPCH members have already been set-up with accounts. It’s a great way to engage in distance learning for both UK and overseas members, who can apply for CPD for all completed courses. The RCPCH encourages the use of blended learning and for several of our face to face courses, we ask our delegates to undertake tailored eLearning modules to boost their knowledge prior to the course.

All new eLearning courses are designed specifically for mobiles and tablets.

Courses offered on Compass include: • • •

Paediatric Prescribing Principles Female Genital Mutilation Bacterial Meningitis and

• •

Meningococcal Septicaemia Vaccines in Practice Pain Management.

Compass will be undergoing a major upgrade in the near future to improve the interface, overhaul the branding and make the navigation more intuitive. If you have any suggestions about improving the website, or would like the College to run certain courses not currently featured, please email education. provision@rcpch.ac.uk.

Access Compass today using your RCPCH website login at www.rcpch. learningpool.com IAN O’DONOGHUE Project Manager, Education Provision

RCPCH courses and events 2017 EVENTS TEAM

email: events@rcpch.ac.uk

How to Manage: Children with benign haematological problems 20 January 2017 RCPCH London How to Manage: Safe prescribing for you and your team 25 January 2017 RCPCH London FGM in Children: Overcoming challenges faced by health care professionals (Scotland) 30 January 2017 Edinburgh

tel: 020 7092 6000

Child Health in Low Resource Settings 6 February 2017 RCPCH London Clinical Leads Day: Getting your voice heard 9 February 2017 RCPCH London St David’s Day Conference 2017: From Fetal Life to Adulthood: Focus on neural tube defects 16 February 2017 Cardiff

web: www.rcpch.ac.uk/courses

Working together to improve the diagnosis, treatment and management of asthma in children and young people 8 March 2017 RCPCH London How to Manage: End of life care and bereavement 13 March 2017 RCPCH London

Dates correct at time of going to press.

Limited places available.

Join the conversation on Twitter #RCPCHcourses

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The impact of Brexit on the RCPCH The vote to leave the EU and its implications has dominated the UK news agenda ever since the referendum, with stories ranging from the massive political fallout to the removal of Marmite from supermarket shelves. But what about the effects that Brexit will have on paediatrics, both on the workforce and infants, children and young people themselves?

Before the EU referendum was even announced, paediatricians across the UK voiced their concerns about staffing levels and the impact on patient safety.

The decision to leave the EU will make it even more difficult to sustain the provision of safe healthcare services for children in the UK, as the NHS relies on overseas doctors and nurses. The freedom of movement of people has meant that until now the NHS has been able to recruit healthcare professionals from across the EU without visa restrictions. At the time of going to print, it remains unclear whether Brexit will mean that the UK will turn away much needed doctors and nurses, or even whether EU doctors and nurses currently employed in our health system

will be allowed to remain. The details of any potential “post-EU” staffing system are being debated at a time where trusts are already struggling to fill paediatric rotas.

Morale amongst the health profession is at an all-time low due to a range of factors, but the extreme pressure placed on paediatricians is a major contributor to this problem. The increased pressures put on paediatricians as a result of Brexit will only serve to worsen already low morale. Paediatricians will, as always, go the extra mile, placing patient wellbeing before all else, but it goes without saying that a safe and sustainable health service for infants, children and young people must be

staffed by a happy and well-resourced workforce.

The RCPCH has called on Government to ensure that EU staff working in the NHS will be allowed to remain, and to work closely with the medical profession to develop a workforce strategy to ensure a sustainable NHS in the turbulent years ahead. We will continue to monitor the many varied potential impacts of Brexit in the months and years ahead and strive to ensure that the safety of our nation’s most vulnerable patients – infants, children and young people – is upheld, whatever happens.

MARGARET DONNELLAN Public Affairs Lead

RCPCH’s relationship with formula milk companies We consulted members on our relationships with Formula Milk Companies (FMCs). The majority of those that responded felt that we should accept funding from FMCs and allow them to advertise at conferences and events, but only with a robust set of safeguards in place. This decision was ratified by RCPCH Council.

In the Twittersphere The RCPCH’s twittersphere presence continues to gather pace. Here’s a highlight of our activity over the last few months, what’s coming up and how you can support us via our social media channels. #childhealthservices #superhero The RCPCH hosted the Facing the Future: Making Standards Reality best practice event where the CYP & Us team previewed a new Superhero video to attendees. We gave a sneak peak to Twitter followers, posting stills from the video highlighting the rights that children and young people have in healthcare.

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Keep up to date with College activity From the latest courses and events to the top child health news of the day, social media is the quickest way to keep up to speed.

Follow @RCPCHtweets on Twitter and visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/RCPCH

@RCPCHtweets followers top 10,700 The RCPCH twitter account recently reached a major landmark, surpassing 10,000 followers. Followers include members, journalists, campaigning organisations and politicians.

Are you following us?

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Committee news

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Training matters One of the largest contributors towards the low morale affecting paediatric trainees is rota gaps and the challenge of working to cover them, with 21% of tier two rota slots vacant nationally.

Taking geographical variation into consideration, some units are working with less than half of the trainees they expect. This has obvious adverse implications for the service, consultants who have to cover the service and on the trainees left, with ever increasing service demands further eating into precious training time.

There are no magic bullets to this significant and growing problem but we are very aware of it and are determined to find the solutions to ensure long-term sustainability of the workforce.

We will continue to use the Medical Training Initiative (MTI) to welcome our oversees colleagues. We must better utilise our allied health care professionals such as advanced nurse practitioners or, in time, perhaps physicians associates. We must continue with the drive of service reconfiguration set out in Facing the Future and most pressingly, must continue to evolve and improve paediatric training to minimise attrition wherever possible.

These solutions are long term, but we are facing this problem now. It is therefore more vital than ever that we

look after, value and appreciate one another. Almost all units are under the same workforce strain but trainee feedback can be very different. Have a think about what’s great about where you work and share it, but also what you would like to do better. We may not be able to fix this problem immediately but we do all have the power to make where we work a little bit better.

DAVID JAMES Chair, Trainees’ Committee www.rcpch.ac.uk/trainingexaminations

A message from Russell Viner, Officer for Health Promotion As Officer for Health Promotion, I have one of the most interesting jobs in the College, with responsibility for RCPCH work to promote children and young people’s health across public health, policy and clinical services.

Protecting children’s health has changed dramatically since the formation of the British Paediatric Association in the late 1920s. The burden of disease amongst our children and young people has shifted away from infectious diseases and towards obesity, mental health and injuries. I and the new Health Promotion Committee, set up in early 2016, coordinate College work across these key issues for the health of our children.

I’ve been in post since July 2015, and supported by our excellent College team, we’ve appointed a Deputy Officer for Mental Health (Max Davie), established the new Health Promotion Committee, undertaken considerable work around obesity and other priorities,

and overseen the writing of the new State of Child Health report.

The Health Promotion Committee has positions representing nutrition, mental health and public health, with representation from BACCH, the British Association of Child & Adolescent Public Health, Public Health England, representatives from the four nations and trainee reps. Listening to young people from the RCPCH & Us Network has also been an important part of setting our workplan.

Much of our focus is at the policy and political level, particularly around obesity and mental health and the impact of deprivation and inequalities on health. We will be producing

position statements and clinical/ public health guidelines on a range of topics, beginning with updating RCPCH guidance on breastfeeding, Vitamin D and obesity. But influencing the clinical work of paediatricians is equally in our sights. We run workshops at the RCPCH Conference on ‘making every contact count’ in paediatric practice and work with Education and Training to ensure all paediatricians have the skills to deal with obesity, mental health problems or even sexual health or substance use when they present in their clinics.

Promoting health is everyone’s business!

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BNF for Children 2016-2017

Guiding health professionals on all aspects of paediatric drug therapy

About the BNF for Children (BNFC) The BNFC provides essential, practical information to all healthcare professionals involved in the prescribing, dispensing, monitoring and administration of medicines to children.

Significant new content updates to the 2016-2017 edition include: ■ Updated guidance on the management of asthma, obesity, coeliac disease and irritable bowel syndrome ■ New safety information including: - Risk of abnormal pregnancy outcomes with sodium valproate and valproic acid - Risk of osteonecrosis of the external auditory canal with bisphosphonates - Risk of uterine perforation with intra-uterine contraception ■ Addition of new preparations including Orphacol® (cholic acid) and Intuniv® (guanfacine), and more ■ Significant dose changes including nystatin, diamorphine hydrochloride, colistimethate sodium, and more ■ Guidance on suspected or confirmed drug allergies Book: 978 0 85711 247 7 • September 2016 • £49.95

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www.bnf.org

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