Managing Medical Staff

This topic explains how to manage the performance of medical staff and the procedural aspects including the understanding the work pressures on medical staff.

• While medical staff are subject to the disciplinary procedures of an organisation and, where necessary, to the law, they are also subject to a number of policies and procedures which have been developed specifically for them. Managing Performance — How are Medical Staff Different?

• Medical performance has traditionally been governed by peer review focusing on improving performance rather than punishment. Medical Performance — Procedural Aspects

• Medical staff work under a great deal of pressure and endure long hours of work. They also have to try to satisfy the continually rising levels of expectation which patients, not unreasonably, demonstrate in respect of their health. Understanding the Work Pressures on Medical Staff

• When assessing medical staff performance it is extremely important to understand the way in which they work, the way they relate to the government and its agencies, and the relationships which they develop and maintain with their patients and other staff in the hospital. Medical Performance — Understanding the Context

• All medical staff are employees of the trust in which they are employed and the fact that they may work for periods of time in other trusts does not alter this situation, although in other ways it can give rise to difficulties, especially in performance monitoring. Monitoring and Managing Medical Staff

• When managing consultant medical staff, NHS employers need to ensure that they are aware of which contractual arrangements relate to each individual doctor. The 2003 Consultant Contract

• In addition to management, other professional relationships involving doctors also have a direct bearing on the way in which medicine is practiced in hospitals and other places of treatment. Management of Clinical Departments

• First introduced in 2001, the Consultant Staff Appraisal Scheme is firmly based on the principle of peer review and has the overall aim of ensuring the regular review of consultants using appropriate comparative performance data from local, regional and national sources. The Consultant Staff Appraisal Scheme

• In order to practice and therefore to be employed by the NHS, all medical staff are required to register with their professional regulatory body, the General Medical Council (GMC). The Professional Regulation of Medical Staff