National Clinical Excellence Awards - Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum

By the time you read this newsletter the results of the 2005 Clinical Excellence Awards should have been announced.

The Society will then finalise its list for submission to the Advisory Committee. This year there will be two lists - one for people without National Awards who will be nominated for Bronze awards and one for people with B awards who will be nominated for Silver/Gold awards. Those on the BGS list for 2006 will be notified and asked to submit an up to date CVQ on the 2006 forms. Citations will be prepared (usually from Regional Advisors) and the list and citations will be submitted. It is vital to read the guidance which may have changed from 2005.

For the first time, the Society has been asked to submit names for Platinum awards. This will be done indirectly via the Royal College of Physicians of London.

The procedures in Scotland and Northern Ireland are different and members in those countries are advised to contact Margaret Roberts and Bob Stout for up to date information.

Overseas members

For the first time the BGS held a separate meeting at the Scientific conference in Harrogate, to discuss with our overseas members and visitors how we might improve communication and participation.

I was surprised when virtually all the delegates from overseas, who responded to our invitation, were from Australia, and I wondered if the small delegation of our Netherlands colleagues who I had encountered during my wanderings through the Harrogate venue, and whom I had hoped to meet at the Overseas members meeting, had got waylaid in Betty’s Tearoom!

Nevertheless, our Australian colleagues suggested that we might promote our meetings and membership via their newsletters and that we could also advertise exchange training opportunities. We will discuss this further at another meeting planned in Gateshead, when I hope more of our European colleagues will join us.

Peter Crome