In order to assist the work of the Clinical Standards Department and the Standards Board in planning the development of clinical standards, clinical directors of obstetrics and gynaecology in the UK were invited to a meeting in October 2000 to consider the College's approach in this area; to enable liaison with clinical directors and to define how the College's programme of work might help them. From this date regular bi-annual meetings were held 'to identify issues of importance to those at the coal-face and to exchange experiences and views.'
The first edition of The Obstetrician and Gynaecologist appeared in July 1999 as a quarterly journal aimed particularly at those participating in continuing medical education (CME, later known as CPD, continuing professional development) programmes. It included multiple-choice questions to be completed and submitted in return for the award of CME / CPD credits. The responsibilities of Editorial Board members were to advise on the commissioning of review articles in their area of specialty; commission and/or construct multiple-choice questions with explanation of answers; edit and subsequently proof-read their commissioned articles; write guest editorials; advise on new scientific, clinical and technical developments, clinical governance, risk management, areas of educational importance and medico-legal matters, and on the potential need for coverage in the journal; and to proof-read complete editions of the journal. The Board held its first meeting in June 1999.
The Reinstatement Committee was established in 1999 to consider how applications for reinstatement to the College Register from those removed as a result of GMC (or other) disciplinary action should be assessed. The remit of the Committee was:
1) To consider all applications for reinstatement to the RCOG Register of Fellows and Members from those who have been removed for reasons of misconduct;
2) To make all necessary and proper enquiries, as it saw fit, and to act according to equity and rules of natural justice;
3) To produce guidelines on the assessment procedure to be followed by both the applicant and the Committee, including appropriate criteria for reinstatement and an indication of the timeframe for the procedure;
4) To recommend to Council, in writing, the reinstatement, or otherwise, for each application. In 2001 the Committee reported to Council on progress and advised that it was necessary for the College to set up systems to ensure equity following rules of natural justice. This was particularly pertinent following the 1998 Human Rights Act. It was also recommended that the Committee deal with both removal and reinstatement. In 2001 a Removal and Reinstatement Committee was established in order to:
1) Review the membership of the College of those Fellows and Members who had been removed from the Register of Medical Practitioners maintained by the GMC or by the relevant body of any country overseas;
2) Review the membership of the College of those Fellows and Members referred to it by the President or his/her deputy where it was thought the individual had brought the College and/or profession into disrepute;
3) Assess applications for reinstatement received in the College from those who had previously been removed from the College Register for misconduct;
4) Comply with the regulations for removal from or reinstatement to the College Register as approved by Council. The Committee was to reach an agreed decision, which, if necessary, was a majority decision, and advised Council on these decisions. All discussions of the Committee were confidential to the Committee.
In 2005, the Post Graduate Medical Education Board (PMETB) was established as an independent regulatory body responsible for postgraduate medical education and training. It assumed its statutory powers on 30 September 2005 taking over the responsibilities of the Specialist Training Authority of the Medical Royal Colleges (STA) and the Joint Committee on Postgraduate Training for General Practice (JCPTGP). PMETB's statutory responsibilities included establishing, promoting, developing and maintaining standards and requirements for postgraduate medical education and training across the UK. In order to practice in the UK, doctors are legally required to be on the registers of specialists and general practicioners (GPs) maintained by the General Medical Council (GMC). A major facet of PMETB's work was to ensure that doctors were appropriately qualified and certified for application to the specialist and general practice (GP) registers. In response to this national development, the Equivalence of Training Committee was set up in August 2005, reporting to the Education Board. Its remit was to: redefine "equivalence" in respect of Specialist Registration; determine the standards required for an NHS Consultant within the specialty of obstetrics and gynaecology; agree methods of assessment according to guidance issued by PMETB; assess applications and submit recommendations to PMETB; liaise with PMETB on all appropriate issues; consider the liability to the College and how this may be indemnified. The Committee's primary function was to assess applications from O&G doctors applying to be included on the Specialist Register maintained by the General Medical Council: assessing and judging if a doctor's medical experience can be seen to be equivalent to the medical training they would have undertaken if they had passed the MRCOG. Previously the College had been responsible for deciding who should be entered onto the Specialist Register, but PMETB as an independent body took over this function in 2005. The Equivalence of Training Committee was established to report to the PMETB with recommendations on the equivalence of training, the College was no longer responsible for making the actual decision.
Following the Royal Commission on Medical Education and the establishment of the Central Committee on Postgraduate Medical Education it was felt, in 1967, that the College should increase its role in sponsoring and organising postgraduate education and an ad hoc Sub-committee on Continuing Education met to discuss the issue. This led in 1968 to the establishment of a Postgraduate Medical Education Committee to deal with postgraduate training for the three year period from registration up to the MRCOG examination and beyond. It was to oversee the administration of existing programmes, such as demonstrations, conferences, symposia and scientific meetings, and also to determine overall policy with regard to postgradute training regionally and locally. It was renamed the Postgraduate Committee in 1973. The Committee was disbanded in 1992 when it was replaced by the Education Board. From 1968 Regional Advisers (subsequently known as College Advisers and then Regional College Advisers) enabled the College to be better informed about postgraduate training at a local level. Their role included promoting the views of the College locally, providing the College with information on education and training in their regions, giving advice on the specialty to those organising training and also to trainees. From the early 1970s meetings of these Advisers were held quarterly and their discussions reported to the Postgraduate Committee.
The Population Investigation Committee (PIC) was established by the Eugenics Society in 1936 to promote and undertake inquiries into various aspects of population questions. In 1945 a Joint Committee of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the PIC was established with the aim of conducting a survey of maternity services in selected areas throughout England, Scotland and Wales; the survey was funded by the Nuffield Foundation. All women in Great Britain who had given birth during a single week in March 1946 were interviewed by health visitors, and information collated on their use of maternity services, economic and social background, infant feeding and survival of the baby. The results were published in Maternity in Great Britain (Oxford University Press, 1948). In 1948 the Joint Committee's scope was broadened to include the study of child health and development, and a Follow-up Survey Sub-committee comprising RCOG, PIC and the Institute of Child Health (London School of Economics, University of London), was established to conduct a survey of the children enrolled in the 1946 survey. Two studies were made, in 1948 and 1950, again with funds from the Nuffield Foundation. In 1951 the College withdrew from the Joint Committee on the grounds that the work now extended beyond the scope of the College.
The Joint Steering Group of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care on teenage pregnancy was set up in July 1993. Its terms of reference were in line with the definition in Section D of the government document "Health of the Nation"(1993):
- To reduce the rate of conception amongst the under 16s by at least 50% by the year 2000.
- To reduce the number of unintended teenage pregnancies.
- To ensure the provision of effective family planning services for those people who wanted them. The first chairman was Stanley Simmons PRCOG, followed by David Bromham, chairman of the Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care (FFPRHC). Members of the group also included representatives of the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Nursing, the Department of Health, the Health Education Authority and the Brook Advisory service. On 24th August 1993 it established three working groups to consider: emergency contraception, its availability, access and promotion; the need and content of research and audit; all aspects of sex education and promotion in relation to teenagers and other related groups. In 1994 the second working group passed its research and findings to the Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care who were establishing an audit unit, and ceased to investigate further. The Steering Group organised a consensus conference on emergency hormonal contraception in December 1994; a book was produced.
This Working Party was a multidisciplinary group set up by the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) in 2000. It was also supported by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), amongst others. It acted as an independent multidisciplinary body that campaigned for improvements in maternity care. It was formed to raise awareness of the public health implications of the rising caesarean section rate; to highlight the health and social needs of women and their families; and to emphasise the contribution that women-centred maternity services might make to the promotion of public health. In 2001, the NCT, RCM and RCOG, commissioned by the Working Party, published a commissioning toolkit for Primary Care Trusts designed to help them to update themselves on current thinking in maternity care provision and to improve local maternity services. In 2006 a second edition of this report was produced.
The National Birthday Fund for Maternity Services (later National Birthday Trust Fund) was founded in 1928. In the inter-war period it campaigned for the provision of analgesia in childbirth and improvements in midwifery services and also conducted research into nutrition. Following the Second World War, its primary activity became sponsoring research, particularly into perinatal mortality. It conducted nationwide surveys in 1946, 1958, 1970, 1984, 1990 and 1994 and also supported on-going cohort studies of the development of children. At the end of the 1960s there had been proposals that the Fund be merged with the RCOG, although this never came to fruition, although in subsequent years the Fund developed a close relationship with the RCOG, which became involved in a number of its research projects. Ties between the two organisations were enhanced by the involvement of Professor Geoffrey Chamberlain, later President of the RCOG, in several Fund projects. The second perinatal survey in 1970 focused on the care of mother and baby for the first week after birth. The RCOG offered specialist advice and underwrote some of the salary costs for the survey. The survey was published as 'British Births 1970: A survey under the joint auspices of the National Birthday Trust Fund and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' edited by Dr Roma Chamberlain and others (London, 1975-78). Following the establishment of the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit in 1978, the Fund decided to focus instead on single-subject surveys. One such was a 1984 confidential enquiry into place of birth, the results of which were published as 'Birthplace: Report of the confidential enquiry into facilities available at the place of birth conducted by the National Birthday Trust Fund' edited by Geoffrey Chamberlain and Philippa Gunn (Chichester, 1989). In 1993 the Fund joined forces with Birthright, a charitable branch of the RCOG which had been founded in 1963 and funded medical and scientific research into women's health. Birthright became the corporate Trustee of the Birthday Trust and the official merger of the two organisations accompanied its renaming as Wellbeing.
The College acts as a pressure group and as an advisory body for the Department of Health, its predecessors and various government agencies, on particular issues relating to obstetrics and gynaecology. It also liaises on these issues with private and international organisations concerned with womens' health and the medical profession.
In 1968, the Ministry of Health was dissolved and its functions transferred (along with those of the similarly dissolved Ministry of Social Security) to the newly created Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS). (Twenty years later, these functions were split back into two government departments, forming the Department of Social Security (DSS) and the current Department of Health.)
The College has released annual reports since its establishment as the British College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1929. In 2006 the Annual Report was renamed the Annual Review, with the Annual Report and Accounts being published on the College website.
These books contain the minutes of more than one College committee, joint committee or working party. The practice of maintaining multi-purpose minute books was discontinued in 1987.
General meetings of College Fellows and Members were held annually from 1930 onwards.
Under the By-laws of the College drawn up in 1929, two Vice Presidents were to be chosen from among the Fellows of the College. The Senior Vice President, or in his absence, the Junior Vice President, was to undertake the President's duties in the case of the latter's inability or unwillingness to undertake his duties. The Senior Vice President was to be the Vice President who had held office for a longer period. The Vice President assumed primary responsibility for overseas affairs in the early 1980s; prior to this time the College Secretary was responsible for overseas affairs.
The Committee was established in 1987. It consisted of representatives from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and one representative from each of the three Defence Societies; the Medical Protection Society, the Medical Defence Union and the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland, plus a senior solicitor and an observer from the DHSS. Its remit was to advise the RCOG Council of the RCOG and the Defence Societies on medico-legal matters as they related to obstetrics and gynaecology. The Committee's secretariat was based at the RCOG. The Committee was disbanded in 1998.
In November 1981 a meeting was set up at the instigation of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists between representatives of the Department of Health and Social Security, Royal College of General Practitioners, British Paediatric Association, Royal College of Midwives and the RCOG to discuss the implications of establishing a system of confidential inquiry into perinatal mortality throughout England and Wales. After further discussions the committee was reconvened in 1984 as an interdisciplinary working party, with the objective of producing a document on guidelines.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and British Paediatric Association (BPA) Standing Joint Committee evolved out of various ad hoc committees of the two bodies set up in the 1940s to discuss issues of mutual concern. The committee lapsed for some time during the 1950s but was officially reconstituted in January 1965 to discuss in particular the staffing structure of maternity units for the care of the newborn (ref: C4/3/1). The joint committee is made up of equal numbers of members of the two organisations. Its remit is to consider matters of common interest to members of both specialities. In 1998 the BPA was reconstituted as the Royal College of Paediatric and Child Health (RCPCH). Servicing the RCOG's contribution to this committee is the responsibility of the Committee Secretary, Administration Department.
The sub-specialisation advisory group was established in 1983 by Council to advise it "on practical ways of implementing the recommendations of the working party on further specialisation with particular regard to training and the recognition of training [and] to consider the need for an advisory board or boards to control sub-specialisation and to maintain high standards" (meeting SSG 1, 4 Jan 1983: reference M17/1). The group first met in January 1983, under the chairmanship of T L T Lewis, with instructions to report back to Council within one year, initially on gynaecological oncology. The final report was produced in 1984. In July 1983 Rustum Feroze, PRCOG, and Professor R W Beard, chairman of the Scientific Advisory and Pathology Committee (SAPC), decided that the SAPC should make proposals on the training programme of individuals undertaking two-year sub-specialisation training in reproductive endocrinology, gynaecological oncology and fetal medicine. Three groups of specialists were formed, as sub-units of the sub-specialisation advisory group, to make proposals on each of these sub-specialities. These proposals were then to go to the SAPC for discussion, with final proposals to go to Council for ratification.
The RCOG working party and confidential enquiry into laparoscopy was formed under the chairmanship of G V P Chamberlain in order to conduct an investigation into the use of laparoscopy within the United Kingdom. The College was to be assisted by the DHSS, which agreed to handle all data processing and analysis, and by the Defence Societies, which were to help finance printing and postage (see first meeting, 10 June 1975, in minute book: Archives reference M21M/1 p. 1). Although the working party produced its final report in 1978, and no minutes appear to have survived after 1977, it continued to carry out its investigations until 1982.
The committee was set up in 1962 by Council under the chairmanship of Professor C H G Macafee to examine and report on trends in the development of obstetrics and gynaecology as a speciality with particular reference to recruitment, teaching research and training in the United Kingdom. It obtained information from undergraduates through a questionnaire and a random sample of personal interviews by the chairman. The committee produced a report to the College in 1966, and the information it amassed was used in the College's submission to the Royal Commission on Medical Education in 1968.
The working group was set up in 1978 at the request of Sir Henry Yellowlees, Chief Medical Officer, in order to "advise on what guidance might be given to health authorities on the introduction into routine antenatal care of a service to detect neural tube defects". The group was chaired by the President of the Royal College of Physicians and the RCOG was represented by the College President. The final report was produced in July 1979.
In November 1994 the Council of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) set up a working party under the chairmanship of the Senior Vice President/Overseas Officer to examine the international affairs of the College and to make recommendations. The working party was particularly concerned with training for overseas postgraduates. The resulting report was circulated to all College members world wide.
The working party was set up by the College President in 1984 to "look into ways of improving the management of parents who had had a stillbirth or neonatal death" (Guidance notes in the minute book of the working party; see M16M/1). This body was also known as the working party on the management of perinatal deaths. Its Chairman was R D Atlay FRCOG.
The working party was established by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) Council following a request from the General Medical Council's Standards Committee for guidance on the clinical aspects of conducting intimate examinations with a view to establishing recognisable standards of good practice. The working party's terms of reference were:- 1:to review the draft guidance issued by the GMC; 2:to prepare guidance in relation to obstetrics and gynaecology; 3: to consider the implications of the guidance for future training and research in obstetrics and gynaecology; 4: to make recommendations to the Council within six months. A draft report was produced in 1997.
This committee was set up by the Finance and Executive Committee in 1962 under the chairmanship of H J Malkin to consider the government white paper A Hospital Plan for England and Wales. It reported to Council later that same year.
This committee was first convened in May 1972 under the chairmanship of Norman Jeffcoate PRCOG. Its terms of reference were "to consider the medical staffing at all levels in hospital departments of obstetrics and gynaecology in the United Kingdom in relation to training, service and career structure" (minute book, meeting 23 June 1972: Archives reference M29M/1). The committee was asked also to bear in mind the staffing situation that existed at the time, registrar "freeze" and the limited opportunities for trainees to secure promotion to senior registrar and consultant status. Seven meetings were held with Sir Norman Jeffcoate and later Sir Stanley Clayton in the chair. The Medical Officer of the Department of Health, Dr W J Modle, joined the committee on one occasion. The committee reported to Council in 1973.
This working party was set up in October 1982 under the chairmanship of J D O Loudon to consider the role of medical gynaecology and the training of medical gynaecologists. It carried out its investigations by the circulation of a questionnaire and produced its report to Council in 1984.
This working party was set under the chairmanship of E A J Alment to consider staffing structures for obstetrics and gynaecology in relation to standards of practice, training and service. It reported to Council in September 1980.
The sub-committee was established at the instance of Council in 1942, to be instructed by the Finance and Executive Committee, following the receipt of a memorandum on the subject forwarded from the Department of Health for Scotland. Its terms of reference were to report, if so instructed by the Finance and Executive committee, upon the steps to be taken to safeguard the health, from the gynaecological aspect, of women war workers.
The Nurtrition Committee was appointed by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' Council in October 1944, following a request to the Nutrition Society from Lord Woolton for advice on certain aspects of the diets of pregnant women and the effect of diet on the fetus. Sir Joseph Barcroft felt that the College was the body to make authoritative statements on the issue, and the Committee was set up to make a comprehensive investigation. Its terms of reference were to correlate and gain information with regard to the effect of nutrition on the health of pregnant women and their offspring.
In January 1991 a health committee was formed by the House of Commons. One of the matters under enquiry was the provision of maternity services, and the College was asked to provide evidence on pre-conception and ante-natal care. At the same time the College was conducting a series of meetings with the RCGP and the RCM to produce a joint document on maternity care (a copy of this document is held by the RCOG Archives at C15).
The Council of the RCOG convened the sub-committee under the chairmanship of Mr V Lack in March 1955 at the request of the General Medical Council in December 1954. The committee's remit was to comment on the General Medical Council Recommendations Committee as to the medical curriculum of 1947. The sub-committee concluded: 1) The purpose of the medical curriculum should be to train General Practitioners. 2) The medical curriculum should be shortened. 3) No reduction of time in the training of Midwifery should be allowed.
The working party was established by the Council of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in March 1992 with the following remit: "to consider all matters relating to training, with particular reference to the length of training and structured training programmes" (report, p.3 Ref: M52).
The working party was established following a proposal by the Education Committee of the RCOG to consider assessment for the Diploma of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (DRCOG) with the following remit: to consider the need for change in the current system of assessment leading to the award of DRCOG; to define the educational objectives upon which training and assessment should be based; to suggest modifications to the current training and assessment; to make recommendations about the implementation of these modifications. The working party met on seven occasions under the chairmanship of Professor Dunlop. It made its report in 1993.
The sub-committee was set up by Council in 1977 to discuss the College's future attitude to the Joint Committee on Contraception (JCC) and to family planning in general. The sub-committee met on two occasions, and presented its conclusions to the Finance and Executive Committee on 16 February 1978 and to Council on 1 April 1978.
The committee was first established in June 1976 as the Joint Staff Committee, and later renamed the Staff Committee. Its aims and objectives were to:
1) Act as a liaison body between staff, management and the officers of the RCOG and affiliated organisations
2) Provide a forum for staff to express concerns or give recommendations
3) Participate in the decision making process concerning employment, working practices and general welfare of staff
4) Advise on the content of procedures, personnel matters and employment related policies
5) Act as a consultative body for health and safety issues in the College as required by the appropriate legislation
6) To organise social activities for staff
The Committee consisted of departmental representatives nominated by election, one head of department representative, one union representative member, a representative from senior management and the Honorary Secretary as the ex-officio member. Staff Committee is elected to take office every other year, with representatives elected for two years. The Committee meets four times a year to discuss workforce matters such as disciplinary policy, diversity and equal opportunities, as well as more practical issues relating to the working environment at the College (such as catering and facilities).
Up until 2005 the College Secretary's Office was responsible for staff management matters, when a separate Personnel Department was formed.
The Committee was founded by Council in 1950 as a standing committee of the RCOG, its terms of reference were: 'to advise the Council on matters relating to the National Health Act in Scotland'. (extract from Council minutes 20 May 1950: reference T16 p.1). Its first meeting was held on 17 July 1950 in Edinburgh, and committee meetings took place regularly in either Edinburgh or Glasgow. In 1968 following discussions with Council, the Committee was reconstituted as an executive sub-committee of Council. The new terms of reference of the Scottish Executive Committee were "to advise Council on matters relating to legislation and practice in Scotland affecting the objects and interests of its members, and to communicate on behalf of Council with the appropriate Scottish authorities on these matters and others of particular relevance to Scotland". By 2008 its remit was more general: "to advise on specialty-related matters within Scotland; to keep under review the provision of training and service; to monitor and advise on workforce issues". Minutes of all meetings were kept by the secretary and submitted to RCOG Council, this practice continues today.
This committee was formed after it was decided to combine the responsibilities of the Audit Committee (disbanded in April 1999) with the administration and production of RCOG guidelines, formerly a responsibility of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC). The first meeting of the new committee, known initially as the Guideline and Audit Sub Committee (GASC), and later the Guidelines and Audit Committee (GAC) took place in April 1999. Reporting to the Clinical Effectiveness and Standards Board, and later the Standards Board, it oversaw the development of guidelines and co-ordinated audit and guideline activity in obstetrics and gynaecology and prepared funding applications to support this work.
The Committee was established in 1930 to select members to be elevated to the fellowship. Fellows were Members who were judged worthy by their peers in distinguishing themselves in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology. Initially the Committee sat twice annually: in the autumn proposals were put forward for elevation, then after the Committee members had considered the list, a second meeting in the winter confirmed the names to be put to Council. Although the exact administrative arrangements varied, by the 1990s, the procedure was as follows:
1) Recommendations for elevation to Fellowship were invited from all Fellows. Members with sufficient experience were also encouraged to seek elevation by returning a CV form. The College Vice Presidents reviewed the papers in order to assess eligibility, with the assistance of the Chairmen of Overseas Reference and Representative Committees, if applicable. All cases were then put before the Fellowship Selection Committee before a final list was presented to Council for approval.
2) Nominations for Fellows Ad Eundem were collected by the Fellowship Selection Secretary throughout the year. The Finance and Executive Committee considered all the nominations and produced a shortlist. This was then brought to the Fellowship Selection Committee for approval.
In 1998 the process of Fellowship selection was reviewed and discussed. A simplified process was augmented and the Committee was disbanded. Discussions about those eligible for Fellowship became the responsibility of the Finance and Executive Committee, who then put the names to Council. The administrative departments of the College (the Membership Services Department and then the Administration Department) assumed responsibility for the procedure for selecting Members for elevation to the Fellowship, arranging admission ceremonies and maintaining the records of all Fellows, Members and Diplomates.
In 2000, the RCOG put in place a new board structure to free-up Council's time to concentrate on strategic and specialty wide issues. The three boards (Standards, Services and Education) were given executive and decision-making authority and were able to ratify the decisions of reporting committees and groups. They were be responsible to Council and met quarterly. The Services Board was set up to develop and co-ordinate services to Fellows and Members, Trainees, members of the public, the media and RCOG internal departments. Its original terms of reference were to co-ordinate and facilitate publishing activities, including responsibility for editorial production, management, marketing and distribution services. Its remit was also to co-ordinate the production of information to Fellows and Members, the public and the media; whether paper, electronic or verbal/oral. The Board was intended to have executive and decision-making authority in addition to ratifying decisions by reporting committees. It was also expected to report matters of political, financial importance and/or which had personnel implications, to the Finance and Executive Group (FEG). It was also, ultimately, answerable to Council. Its original membership consisted of the Chairman (Honorary Officer), the Chairmen of the Publications Management Committee, the Information Technology Committee, the Information Services Committee and the Website Working Group, the Public Relations Officer, a Fellows and Members representative each from Council, the Head of the Services Division and any other 'relevant managerial staff' according to agenda items, i.e. they were to attend on an ad hoc basis. A later remit was agreed or dated 23rd January 2002, but it is apparent that there were amendments made to the membership in the early stages of its existence. In 2003 the Services Board was disbanded because Council felt that there was duplication of reporting. Responsibility for awards, overseas activities, fellowship selection, publications management and press were passed to the Finance and Executive Group. A new Services Committee was established on 23rd May 2003, reporting to Finance and Executive. It incorporated the remits from the old Services Board, House Committee and Information Services Committee and was responsible for the activities of Administration, Facilities, Information Services, Information Technology, Membership Services and Premises. However, in 2005 Council ratified Finance and Executive's decision for the Services Committee to revert to its former title and executive status as the Services Board. So despite some to-and-froing, by 2008 the Services Board's remit was essentially little changed from that of its establishment in 2000. The Board was to develop and co-ordinate services for Fellows, Members, Trainees, Associates and Affiliates, and to assist in supporting College strategy by developing new services and regularly reviewing the provision of current services provided by the College departments of Administration, Facilities, Information Services, Information Technology, Premises, Communications and External Affairs, and Publications. It retained its status as an executive authority and had the power to ratify the decisions of the following groups and committees that report to it: Public Affairs Committee, Publications Committee, Services Group, Website Group, Cross-Departmental Marketing and Focus Group, and Red Eventful Cuisine/RCOG Group.
In July 1988 the College established a working party 'to review current post-graduate activities of the College and to consider the need, feasibility and the format of assessment of the individual's maintenance of skills'. In 1991 this reported that the majority of consultants were not taking advantage of the existing educational opportunities offered by the College. It recommended that the College develop a programme of mandatory Continuing Medical Education (CME) for all its Fellows and Members in active specialist practice. This began in January 1994. The RCOG was the first of the UK Colleges to establish such a programme and also the first to offer it (from January 2000) to overseas members. The programme catered for consultants and other members of career grade staff not in training posts. The scheme was developed and overseen by the CME Committee, which held its first meeting in July 1992, and reported to the newly-established Education Board. It was administered by the Postgraduate Education Department. The first 5-year CME cycle was completed in December 1998. In 1998 CME also became part of the wider sphere of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and in 1999 the CME Committee changed its name to the CPD Committee. In January 2002 the CME programme also changed its name to the CPD programme. At this date the programme was expanded to take into account, not just the continuing medical education needs of obstetricians and gynaecologists, but also broader professional development (i.e. non-clinical or non-specialist clinical activities). The Postgraduate Education Department was disbanded in October 2003 and the CPD Office was transferred to the Clinical Governance and Standards Department.
The Hospital Recognition Committee (HRC) was first established in 1944 as a sub-committee of the Examination Committee. It became a full standing committee in 1947. From 1935 the inspection and recognition of hospitals had been a regular part of the Examination Committee's work. The impetus behind the establishment of the Hospital Recognition Sub-committee in 1944 was provided by the Interdepartmental Committee on Medical Schools (Goodenough Committee). The Hospital Recognition Sub-committee was established to draw up a list of hospitals which could be recognised for training to consultant status. The Sub-committee reported in January 1945. Its earliest extant minutes (numbered K1) date from September 1946, and show that the Sub-committee was performing the functions previously routinely performed by the Examination Committee in administering the recognition of hospital posts. The first meeting of the HRC as a full standing committee took place on 19 March 1947 (K2). In the 1950s and 1960s its membership was co-extensive with that of the Examination Committee. In 1973, however, Council undertook a review of the College's committees and decided to streamline the Examination Committee, making it into a small executive committee. The existing composition and functions of the HRC were maintained. In 1998 the HRC took over the functions of the Higher Training Committee (HTC) (which had been dissolved) relating to recognition of Specialist Registrar hospital posts. The HRC's current remit is: to undertake regular assessment and, where appropriate, recognise as satisfactory, training in obstetrics and gynaecology in defined posts, against defined standards, for hospitals who request such recognition, both in the UK and overseas; to make recommendations for the improvement of training and monitor the implementation of such recommendations. The HRC is serviced by the College's Postgraduate Training Department.
The establishment featured in the early vision for the College. In April 1933, A E Giles (1864-1936) was elected as the first Honorary Librarian and a Library Committee was formed. Giles became Resident Librarian in 1937. After the Second World War this post was discontinued, and in 1946 W J Bishop (1903- 1961) became part-time librarian (later Consultant Librarian). Hitherto the collection had been primarily historical, but when the College moved to new purpose-built premises in 1960, the Library was an important element in the design of the new building and it extended its activities to cover current literature in the specialty. Grant funding from the Wellcome Trust enabled major developments in the 1960s and in 1970 the Library premises were further extended. Meanwhile, the rare book collections continued to grow. Notable donors included Roy Samuel Dobbin (1873-1939), Sir Eardley Holland (1879-1967), and Miles Phillips (1875-1965). In 2000, the Library Committee changed its name to become the Information Services Committee in order to reflect the developing activities of the Library in this area. In 2001 it assumed additional responsibilities with regard to Information Technology and the College website from the previous Information Technology Committee and Website Working Group. In the same year, the Library became the major constituent, along with the College Archives, of a new department, the Information Services Department. The Information Services Committee met for the last time in March 2003. The Information Services Department continued to function, reporting to Services Board, and in 2005 acquired responsibility for the College web-site.
The first meeting of the Standing Advisory Committee on Obstetric Anaesthesia and Analgesia was held on 16 February 1982. The Committee was comprised of three representatives of the Royal College of Gynaecologists and three representatives of the Faculty of Anaesthetists, to 'consider and make recommendations on matters of common interest to its parent bodies' (minutes, ref: C20/5). It agreed on the following areas of common interest in teaching: anaesthesia for operative deliveries, pain relief in labour, obstetric intensive care and resuscitation of the newborn. In 1987 a Working Party on Resuscitation of the Newborn was formed by the Committee and included representatives from the Royal Colleges of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Anaesthetists, and Midwives, and from the British Paediatric Association. Its aim was to produce two instruction manuals covering basic resuscitation of the newborn and the special skills needed for advanced resuscitation. From 1995 the Standing Advisory Committee became known as the Standing Joint Committee of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Anaesthetists, following a review of the functions the committee performed. Its new terms of reference became: to discuss and advise on matters of mutual interest and concern in both obstetric and gynaecological anaesthesia, and to report routinely on discussions by submission of minutes to Councils. The Chair reported to the Finance and Executive Committee, then later to the Standards Board; traditionally the committee met twice a year.
A joint working party on gynaecological pathology was set up on the recommendation of the RCOG's Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) under the chairmanship of Mr S C Simmons. The working party was not given precise terms of reference but invited to report on all aspects of gynaecological histopathology exclusive of cytology. It reported in July 1988. In November 1986, a joint working party on fetal and perinatal pathology was established under the chairmanship of Professor G M Stirrat. Its remit was to consider earlier recommendations on the same subject made by a SAC sub-committee on fetal and perinatal pathology which had been disbanded in March 1986. The working party produced its final report in November 1988. In 1998 a working party was formed to review and update the 1988 fetal and perinatal pathology report. The party also included a co-opted member to represent the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Its first meeting took place on 11 December 1998, with a final report published in June 2001. The working party addressed several topics, including: subspecialisation and regionalisation; minimal standards for perinatal autopsy; neural investigation; DNA imaging; the role of IT; training; ultrasound; consent; transportation of babies over long distances; funding; HIV testing; stillbirth; storage of tissue.
Following on from two previous reports 'Towards Safer Childbirth' between the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives in 1994 and 1999, this third working party incorporated membership from the Royal Colleges of Anaesthetists, and Paediatrics and Child Health. The group reviewed the topic following changes in the National Health Service and concern over staffing levels and multiprofessional working.
This working party was established by the Councils of the two Colleges in July 1980 'to consider training in obstetrics and gynaecology for general practice, having regard to undergraduate education and training'. It met 14 times and published a report in November 1981 recommending realistic and satisfactory education for general practitioners so there can be a closer integration in maternal care between the general the doctor and the hospital maternity units.
By the early 1980s improvements in the management of very small babies meant that many were surviving below the 28 week gestation period on which abortion legislation was based. A joint committee representing the RCOG, British Paediatric Association, Royal College of General Practitioners, Royal College of Midwives and the British Medical Assocociation was formed to consider the subject and formulate a joint statement on the issue. The Department of Health and Social Security sent observers. The statement was issued in 1985.