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Foundation Trust Network reaches historic agreement with Royal Colleges
Sep 8, 2005 - 1:12:00 AM, Reviewed by: Dr.
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�We particularly welcome the royal colleges� recognition that they are providing a professional service to help the foundation trusts as independent organisations by offering independent advice.�
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By Foundation Trust Network,
The Foundation Trust Network, which represents all 32 NHS foundation trusts, has signed a concordat with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges to enable the two organisations to work together on the appointment of consultant medical staff.
Foundation trusts, which have been created under government legislation as self-standing, self-governing entities that are fundamentally different from traditional NHS trusts, have no formal obligation to involve the royal colleges in making consultant appointments.
In this new context, the concordat is a groundbreaking agreement that underlines the vital role that independent professional medical advice will continue to play in foundation trust consultant recruitment, while recognising that the medical royal colleges will be acting in an advisory capacity to these new organisations to help them make the best possible appointment.
The concordat and its accompanying guidance to foundation trusts and the medical royal colleges commits both parties to work together to ensure greater clarity on:
* What the medical royal colleges are able to offer at each stage during the whole recruitment process, to enable foundation trusts to choose the relevant degree of involvement that fits their appointment needs.
* What foundation trusts require from the medical royal colleges at the start of any recruitment process so that both parties understand the nature of the medical royal college involvement in the process.
Sir Jonathan Michael, Chief Executive of Guy�s and St Thomas� NHS Foundation Trust, chaired the Foundation Trust Network team which negotiated the concordat with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges.
He said: �Both the royal colleges and the foundation trusts want to ensure the appointment of the best possible consultants in our hospitals.
�We particularly welcome the royal colleges� recognition that they are providing a professional service to help the foundation trusts as independent organisations by offering independent advice.�
Professor Sir Alan Craft, Chairman of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, said: �We are pleased that the foundation trusts and the colleges are going to work together to ensure that standards of consultants are maintained for the benefit of patients.�
Sue Slipman, Director of the Foundation Trust Network, said: �We believe this concordat marks a new era in the relationship between the royal colleges and independent foundation trusts.
�We believe it paves the way for more effective collaboration on consultant appointments, for the benefit of patients and the quality of care provided by foundation trusts.� 
- Foundation Trust Network
www.foundationtrustnetwork.org
# The Foundation Trust Network, which is hosted by the NHS Confederation, represents all 32 existing foundation trusts as well as 10 NHS trusts that are aspiring to be foundation trusts.
# The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges represents all the medical royal colleges.
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