GMC Chief Executive : £190,000 + Benefits : Candidate Brief
Job Title : General Medical Council Chief Executive
Candidate Brief :
Brief for the position of
Chief Executive, General Medical Council
May 2009
About the GMC
The purpose of the General Medical Council (GMC) is to protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public by ensuring proper standards in the practice of medicine.
The law gives the GMC four main functions under the Medical Act 1983:
keeping up-to-date registers of qualified doctors
fostering good medical practice
promoting high standards of medical education
dealing firmly and fairly with doctors whose fitness to practise is in doubt.
The GMC ensures proper standards in the practice of medicine by controlling entry to the medical register and setting the educational standards for medical schools. It also determines the principles and values that underpin good medical practice and has the power to take action where those standards have not been met.
The GMC has strong and effective legal powers designed to maintain the standards the public have a right to expect of doctors. The GMC has the power to act to protect patients from harm where any doctor fails to meet those standards, if necessary by removing the doctor from the register and removing their right to practise medicine.
The GMC is a regulator independent of government (as the dominant provider of healthcare in the UK); independent of domination by any single group; and is publicly accountable for the discharge of its functions. It is a registered charity in England and Wales and in Scotland.
The GMC’s governing body is a Council newly appointed in January 2009. The Council is chaired by Professor Peter Rubin who took up post in April. The Council now comprises 24 members of whom 12 are doctors and 12 are lay members. Members are reflective of the following four key interest groups: patients and the public; doctors; the NHS and other healthcare providers; and medical schools and medical Royal Colleges. (For further details on the Council and its subcommittees please see Appendix 1.)
The GMC operates from offices in London and Manchester and, reflecting devolved government across the UK, has established offices in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to respond effectively to devolution and contribute to ensuring regulation remains appropriate in each of the four countries.
The total staff number is over 550 across all five offices and the total annual operating budget is £85 million. (For an organisational chart with details of the GMC executive structure please see Appendix 2.)
The work of the GMC
Registration and Revalidation
Registration is a key part of the GMC’s work. Doctors must be registered with the General Medical Council to practise medicine in the UK and over 40 doctors are registered everyday with the GMC. The GMC's duty is to protect the public interest by keeping up-to-date registers of qualified doctors, with the aim of ensuring that all registered doctors maintain the standards the public and the medical profession expect.
The GMC has also been working with others to develop proposals for the revalidation of doctors, the process by which doctors will, in future, demonstrate on a regular basis that they remain up to date and fit to practise.
Revalidation has three aims:
To confirm that licensed doctors’ practise in accordance with the GMC’s generic standards.
To confirm that doctors on the GMC’s specialist register or GP register continue to meet the standards appropriate for their specialty.
As a backstop to identify for further investigation, and remediation where appropriate, doctors whose practise is impaired or may be impaired.
The first milestone towards implementing revalidation will come in the autumn of 2009 when the GMC will introduce licences to practise. All doctors will be required by law to hold a licence if they wish to exercise the privileges currently reserved for registered medical practitioners (such as prescribing medication and signing death certificates).
The plans for implementing licensing and, in due course, revalidation are well underway and rigorous and extensive piloting of the new arrangements is now beginning across different practice settings across the four countries of the UK to ensure that the proposals are efficient, effective and fit for purpose. The GMC is also working very closely with the medical profession, the Royal Colleges, employers and patients.
Dealing with complaints
The GMC has the power to issue a warning to a doctor, remove the doctor from the register, or suspend or place conditions on a doctor's registration.
The GMC deals with complaints by investigating cases to assess whether they need to refer them for adjudication. The GMC investigates around 1,200 cases each year.
Adjudication consists of hearing those cases that have been referred to a Fitness to Practise (FTP) panel. The Fitness to Practise Panel hears evidence and decides whether a doctor’s fitness to practise is impaired. Fitness to Practise Panel hearings are the final stage of the procedures following a complaint about a doctor.
Education
The GMC has a statutory role to promote high standards and co-ordinate all aspects of medical education. It does this through setting the standards and outcomes for basic medical education in the United Kingdom including both undergraduate and post-graduate medical education.
The GMC works with UK medical schools that issue UK primary medical degrees to set standards for the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours that medical students should learn.
In 2008 the Secretary of State for Health announced that the Post Medical Education Training Board (PMETB) would merge with the GMC, following a recommendation from Sir John's Tooke's independent inquiry into Modernising Medical Careers. The merger aims to build on the strengths of both bodies, while securing gains from the single oversight of all stages of medical education and training. The formal transfer of functions is expected to take place in April 2010.
The GMC is also responsible for promoting high professional standards so that doctors can keep up to date; this includes continuing professional development guidance. The guidance sets out the principles on which continuing professional development should be based, and the roles of the relevant organisations involved in its delivery and quality assurance. This will be one of the criteria for the NHS appraisals and revalidation with the GMC.
Ethics
The GMC also has a statutory role to provide guidance to doctors on medical ethics. The GMC produces documents on core guidance on which good practice is founded and also guidance on how to comply with the principles.
For further information about the GMC please see: www.gmc-uk.org
The role of Chief Executive
Working with a new Council and Chair; the Chief Executive will lead the GMC as it delivers significant and fundamental change to medical regulation. The introduction of licensing and revalidation will underpin far reaching changes to medical regulation in the UK and be central to the GMC’s strategic plans.
Alongside revalidation the post-holder will lead the GMC in meeting its strategic aims in its key functions: education, standards, ethics, fitness to practise and registration. In doing this the Chief Executive will play a pivotal role in shaping and communicating the GMC’s vision while engaging successfully with all key interest groups – patients, the profession, government, employers and educators.
The Chief Executive, whilst working closely with the Chair, leads the executive in delivering the GMC’s statutory duties to protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public by ensuring proper standards in the practice of medicine.
The Chief Executive’s remit is to deliver a regulatory system that is independent, fair, efficient and effective, and that contributes clearly and visibly to raising standards and enhanced patient safety. It is also crucial that the Chief Executive implements and develops a strategic vision of how these systems will develop and change to meet future requirements.
The Chief Executive is accountable to Council and is also the Registrar of the GMC, fulfilling a statutory duty to maintain the accuracy of the medical register.
The Chief Executive is also accountable for delivering a wide range of complex services to the highest of standards. Central to the role is the personal accountability for delivering and reporting on both the GMC’s annual business plans as well as the organisation’s strategy.
The Candidate
The ideal candidate will have considerable chief executive or senior director level experience. He/she will ideally have operated at the highest levels in a public or regulatory sector body and have an understanding or experience of working in the healthcare sector.
Displaying the following attributes he/she will:
Be a natural and visible leader with substantial experience at a strategic level within an organisation and an environment of similar political and cultural complexity, with the personal vision, presence and style to act as a role model to inspire and empower those around him/her.
Have the ability to develop and maintain an effective partnership with the Council’s Chair, working closely and effectively to ensure a clear corporate vision and culture.
Have extensive experience of leading an executive team whilst developing and coaching them to deliver strategic priorities to the highest of standards.
Have a proven track record of leading organisations through change and the delivery of significant operational or policy changes of national significance.
Have a demonstrable record of securing exceptional performance within similar governance arrangements characterised by the very highest standards of service to deliver the strategic aims of the GMC.
Be a clear strategic and creative thinker with the ability to drive forward change to realise the vision of the GMC.
Have the ability to set out a clear vision for the GMC’s future and be able to deliver organisational change and development while successfully engaging with colleagues and key external partners.
Display a capacity to lead the debate on the future direction of medical regulation, understanding the impact of social, legal and technological change and ensuring the organisation is equipped to deliver ambitious plans in the long term.
Be able to represent the GMC in a way that quickly establishes confidence, credibility and influence with key interest groups. A high level of political sensitivity and the ability to work constructively with a range of influential bodies is essential.
Have the skill and acumen to act as an ambassador for the GMC representing the organisation in the media, and responding positively to high levels of scrutiny.
Have exceptional communication skills with the ability to convey the ideas, principles, standards and vision of the GMC and specific initiatives to a range of external audiences in a convincing, constructive and compelling way.
Display a clear understanding and insight into the political environment the GMC operates within, with the ability and expertise to work successfully with both central and devolved government.
Have a strong track record of building and managing effective partnerships and communications across traditional and non-traditional boundaries to deliver high-profile and innovative projects against tight deadlines.
Be able to effectively communicate the GMC’s policy and decision making to key interest groups and organisations through media and personal representation in the UK and internationally.
Have the ability to maximise the value of key working relationships, including those with other regulators, to support the strategic objectives of the GMC.
Have the insight and expertise to ensure the provision of high quality service to all the GMC’s service users including patients, doctors, employers and educational institutions.
Make a major and visible contribution to a positive culture covering every aspect of the GMC’s work consistent with the public service values of accountability, openness and transparency.
Have the ability to understand the impact of valuing and managing difference on organisational effectiveness while delivering plans for equality of opportunity with relevant goals, action plans and targets.
Have a demonstrable track record of prudent and effective resource management, building on exceptional performance in key areas such as financial management, information security and the delivery of effective management systems (especially in IT).
Reflecting the GMC the post-holder must have the qualities to command the confidence and support of: patients and the public; doctors; the NHS and other healthcare providers; and medical schools and medical Royal Colleges. A personal understanding of working successfully with devolved governments is important.
The role requires a Chief Executive who has a demonstrable understanding of the cultural, social and political landscape in which the GMC operates. Ambition, energy, drive and resilience are required with an ability to deliver initiatives of national significance.
The role requires the intellectual ability to analyse the most complex issues in a systematic and logical manner, whilst providing clear recommendations and guidance to Council.
The Chief Executive must have the drive and resilience to thrive in the public eye, have a strong sense of personal accountability and the ability to develop a deep understanding of the wide range of views on the GMC’s work.
Terms and Conditions
A highly attractive salary in the region of £190,000 will be offered for this post and will be for confidential discussion with the chosen candidate. The GMC remuneration package will also include a final salary pension scheme, private medical insurance, and 30 days annual leave.
Application and selection process
All applications will be acknowledged.
Candidates wishing to apply should either:
Apply online via the Odgers Berndtson website:
www.odgersberndtson.co.uk/28022
or
Submit the following information by email:
A detailed CV to include names and contact details of three referees
A covering or supporting statement which addresses the criteria set out in the candidate specification.
All candidates are requested to complete an Equal Opportunities Monitoring form available online at www.odgersberndtson.co.uk/28022.
Applications should be emailed to 28022@odgersberndtson.co.uk
Telephone number (enquiries): Melissa Horn: 020 7529 1071
Closing date for applications is Friday 5 June 2009
Candidates will be long listed by scrutiny of their application. Long listed candidates will then be interviewed by Chris Stanford and Melissa Horn of Odgers Berndtson during the weeks of 15 and 22 June.
A shortlist meeting will then take place to decide which candidates will be asked to attend final panel interviews which are scheduled to take place during the week of 6 July.
Chris Stanford and Melissa Horn
Odgers Berndtson
May 2009
Appendix 1 - The General Medical Council and its Subcommittees
The Board (Council)
Audit and Risk Committee
Remuneration Committee
Resources Committee
Education and Training Reference Group
Fitness to Practise Reference Group
Registration Reference Group
Standards and Ethics Reference Group
Research Reference Group
Equality and Diversity Reference Group
Undergraduate Board
Postgraduate Board
Continued Practice Board
GMC and Academy of Medical Royal Colleges Group.
Appendix 2 – Executive Organisational Chart