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 Education Board. It was administered by the Postgraduate Education Department. The first 5-year CME cycle was completed in December 1998. In 1998 CME 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 their broader professional development (i.e. non-clinical or non-specialist clinical activities). The Postgraduate Education Department was disbanded in October 2003 at which point the CPD Office was transferred to the Clinical Governance and Standards Department.
The working party was set up by the Council of the RCOG in 1989, under the chairmanship of Professor E M Symonds FRCOG, with the following terms of reference: "to review the current activities of the RCOG, to consider future strategy and to report through the Finance and Executive Committee to Council. All aspects of the work of the College and details of its present structure and function should be considered." (terms of reference of the working party, ref M50/1). The working party made its final report in 1991. The College Secretary's Office provided the secretariat for the working party.
This area was traditionally the responsibility of the Director of Corporate Affairs. The College employed freelancers for occasional press work until 2000 when they decided to appoint a permanent Press Officer. In 2006 the College set up a Department for Communications and External Affairs, reporting to the Directorate of Corporate Affairs.
The position of Deputy College Secretary was established in the late 1970s. The Deputy College Secretary is the head of the College's Administration Department and also provides secretarial and administrative support for all the Honorary Officers. The Deputy College Secretary is responsible for: management and supervision of the department, editorial, production and circulation of all major printing requirements for the College, the RCOG website, public relations, the Fellows & Members database and Admission ceremonies, RCOG publications and the Bookshop, travel for College business, international meetings and congresses, representatives on outside bodies, attendance at Committee meetings, special projects given by Officers. The department services the Consumers' Forum, the Ethics Committee, the Services Board, Joint Standing Committees with other Medical Colleges and associations and related sub-committees, and working parties. The Annual Report, Register of Fellows and Members and The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist are compiled within this department, as are proceedings of study groups and reports of working parties. The department is additionally responsible for the issue of press releases, press conferences and all media contacts. The College has an appointed Honorary Public Relations Officer who is a Fellow of the College.
In 1964 the Lord Chancellor's Law Reform Committee began a review of the law of evidence in civil cases, with particular reference to the law governing evidence which a medical practitioner might have to give in a court of law. It requested a response from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which forwarded its evidence in 1965.
The joint working party to consider a proposed Faculty of Family Planning arose out of discussions between the National Association of Family Planning Doctors and the Joint Committee on Contraception of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP)(normally referred to as the Joint Committee on Contraception). The first meeting was held in November 1987. Initially it was expected that a joint RCOG/RCGP Faculty would be established; in 1991, however, the RCGP withdrew and the RCOG finally set up a Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care (FFPRHC) within the College in 1993. In 1998 the FFPRHC withdrew from the College to its own premises.
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 1973 the Board of Science and Education of the British Medical Association set up a series of exploratory meetings, it was from these meetings that the Committee of Enquiry into Competence to Practise evolved. The Committee comprised representatives from all Royal Colleges and their faculties, the Joint Consultants Committee and the BMA. The Chairman of the Committee was E A J Alment (later President of the RCOG). The terms of reference were: `To review the present methods of ensuring the maintenance of standards of continuing competence to practise and of the clinical care of patients, and to make recommendations.'
An Executive Committee was established as a standing committee of the RCOG in 1926. By June 1930 it had combined with another standing committee, the Finance and Establishment Committee, to form the Finance and Executive Committee (F & E). The office of Honorary Treasurer was created by Council under the 1929 bye-laws of the College (ref: A1/9/1 p. 48), which state that the Honorary Treasurer's duties were to be as follows:- to pay all monies received by him on behalf of the College into a College account; to keep accounts of all monies received and expended and report monthly to the Finance and Executive Committee; to prepare quarterly reports to Council; to maintain an Income and Expenditure account and balance sheet. At an Executive Committee meeting in October 1929 it was decided that the Treasurer be given authority to arrange with the Auditors for one of their clerks to keep the necessary financial books of the College for £50 per annum. The President and Honorary secretary were also authorised to obtain any clerical assistance found necessary (Executive Committee meeting B1, 10 Oct 1929; Archives reference: A3M/1 p. 2). From this beginning the Accounts Department, renamed the Finance Department in 1999, developed. The Department, now headed by a Chief Accountant, offers financial support for the activities of the Honorary Treasurer and is responsible for the following functions:- banking all income which includes subscriptions, examination and course fees and sales from publications; paying all the College's purchase invoices; co-ordinating the budgeting process; preparing the annual statutory accounts.
On 26 April 1973, at a meeting of the RCOG Committee on Contraception and Family Planning, it was decided that the committee should be renamed the Joint Committee on Contraception of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of General Practitioners, normally abbreviated as the Joint Committee on Contraception (JCC). In December 1974 the RCOG agreed to take over the secretarial and accounts work for the JCC. In 1993 the JCC was superseded by the Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care (FFPRHC); from this time the Faculty began to operate independently of the College. In 1998 the FFPRHC quitted its premises in the College.
The working party was established by the College in July 1980 in order "To consider developments in further specialisation within the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, including training implications, and to make recommendations" (minutes 6 Nov 1980: ref M12/1). The working party first met in November 1980. It presented its report to Council in 1982. The report was published as a discussion document in November 1982.
This working party was set up at the request of Council to prepare the report listed below. The report, chaired by David Painton FRCOG, set out the current legal position in England, Scotland and Wales regarding termination of pregnancy for fetal abnormality and made recommendations of relevance to obstetricians and gynaecologists who are prepared to carry out termination of pregnancy under these conditions.
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.
This committee was established in 1959 under the chairmanship of H J Malkin to define the general principles to be followed in the building of maternity units. It reported in May 1960.
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 set up in 1969, under the chairmanship of E A J Alment, then Honorary Secretary of the College, to consider DHSS plans for maternity accommodation and to provide advice on the planning and design of maternity units and gynaecological departments.
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.
In 1967 the RCOG, in collaboration with the Simon Population Trust, carried out a survey among practising gynaecologists in order to determine their views and experience of the sterilisation of women, and the extent to which this operation was carried out in NHS hospitals. The results of the survey were subsequently written up in a report under the joint authorship of Sir John Peel, PRCOG, and Mr C P Blacker, Chairman of the Simon Population Trust. The report was published in the British Medical Journal in March 1969.
The working party was established in January 1999 by the Council of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists under the chairmanship of Peter Niven FRCOG. Its remit was "to agree measures of success in structured training and to audit those measures"(report p.5: Ref M53/2). It made its report in december 2000.
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.
this working party was set up under the chairmanship of Professor Ian Cooke FRCOG with the following terms of reference: 1: to consider ways by which Fellows and Members can be represented within the College. 2: to examine the mechanisms by which Fellows and Members are represented on Council. 3: to consider the special needs of Fellows and Members overseas. 4: to review the method of appointment to office in the College. 5: to report to Council within six months. The working party held 5 meetings between September 1995 and March 1996 and presented its final report on 30 March 1996.
The Office of Honorary Secretary is elected to Council by Fellows and Members, the term of office is a maximum of seven years. The post has been in place since 1926, where William Fletcher Shaw was made Secretary. In 2008 the Honorary Secretary's main responsiblities were:
Supporting and assisting the President
The agenda for Council and Finance and Executive Committee
Chairing the Services Board and Services Group
Deputy Chair of the Consumers Forum
Representing the College Officers on the Staff Committee
RCOG Press Officer
RCOG awards, prizes & lectures
Attending meetings of Regional College Advisers, College Tutors and Overseas Chairmen
Fellows ad eundem selection process
Representation on European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Ex officio member of all Boards and Standing Committees
Department of Health Workforce matters
The Honorary Secretary works closely with Membership services in respect of:
a) Approving requests for the purchase of data about Fellows and Members
b) Corresponding with the family members of deceased Fellows and Members
c) Advice and approval of applications for Associates and Affiliates
d) The organisation of MRCOG and FRCOG Admission Ceremonies
He also works closely with the Communications and External Affairs department in respect of:
a) RCOG communications to Associates and Affiliates
b) Communications with Fellows and Members on contemporary issues
c) Membership benefits
d) Approving publicity material for national and international meetings
e) Medical Students' Evenings
The Honorary Secretary is a member of various Committees/Working Parties including: Management Audit Committee; Work life Balance; RCOG/APOG Working Group; Clinical Standards Working Party; Future Workforce in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
The Examination Committee was established by Council in 1929 as a standing committee of the College. Its first chairman was Dr T Watts Eden and its members comprised representatives from Scotland, Ireland and the provinces, with the College president, treasurer and two honorary secretaries as ex-officio members. The Committee's function was to select candidates for Membership through an examination of applications and qualifications. Examinations were carried out by a panel selected by the Committee.
The Committee drafted the regulations for the Diploma and Membership examinations. The first membership (MRCOG) examination was held in the Summer of 1930 (see B1M/1 p.12); from this time it has been held twice yearly. The Membership examination is designed for doctors who wished to specialise in obstetrics and gynaecology. In 1931 the Committee first agreed a fee should be levied on those taking the examination, although there was much wrangling over this issue. There was no formal decision to make candidates take a written examination, rather the process evolved from the initial examinations process of considering a candidates case history and qualifications. As the examination regulations evolved, the examination process became more analogous and less subjective. In 1970 it was decided to split the examination into two parts, known as the MRCOG Parts I and II (B1M/10 meeting C383); the first Part I examination was held in September 1970 and the first Part II examination the following year. The first Diploma in Obstetrics examination (DRCOG) was held on 2 March 1934 (ref: B1/3/2), primarily this examination has been intended for general practioners (GPs) who wish to include obstetrics and gynaecology as part of their service to patients. Organisation and administration of the examinations became the responsibility of the College's Examination Department.
Inspection and recognition (or otherwise) of hospitals was a regular part of the Committee's work from 1935 until 1944, when the Hospital Recognition Sub-committee was established. In 1947 this committee was recognised as a separate standing committee (see B4), removing the hospital recognition function from the Examination Committee. The process of managing the MRCOG and the DRCOG led to the establishment of the following sub-committees of the Examination Committee, to deal with specific issues:
1) Assessment
2) DRCOG
3) Part 1 MRCOG
4) Part 2 MRCOG EMQ's
5) Part 2 MRCOG essays
6) Part 2 MRCOG MCQ's
7) Part 2 MRCOG oral
By 2008 the functions of the Committee were listed as:
1) Responsible for establishing the content and recommending to the Education Board the format of College examinations.
2) Responsible for setting, marking and reviewing questions and question papers.
3) Ensuring the standard, validity and fairness of examinations and producing appropriate pass lists.
4) Overseeing the function of the Examination Department, including communication with candidates, the logistics of preparing for examinations and communications with overseas centres.
5) Recommending to the Education Board suitable individuals to become DRCOG and MRCOG examiners and suggesting suitable Members and Fellows to be Members of the various Sub-Committees of the Examination and Assessment Committee.
6) On a regular basis, reviewing relevant overseas examinations, in particular those where successful candidates gain exemption from the Part 1 MRCOG. Giving advice and help to overseas examinations and, from time to time, making recommendations with regard to suitable College representatives to be external examiners for these examinations.
7) Joint responsibility for the RCOG/London School of Tropical Medicine Diploma in Reproductive Health in Developing Countries.
8) Responsible for the examination for the Advanced Training Programme in Obstetric Ultrasound organised by the Standing Joint Committee of the RCOG/Royal College of Radiologists.
An Accreditation Sub-Committee was established in 1970 to direct the accreditation of training and report to Council. The committee approved following procedure: - a member of the College should be eligible to apply for accreditation after three years further approved experience and training in obstetrics and gynaecology beyond the requirements of the MRCOG examination, of which two years were to be subsequent to admission to the membership of the RCOG and normally in a post of responsibility corresponding to that of a senior registrar in an NHS hospital; the administration of accreditation should be the responsibility of the Postgraduate Medical Education Committee. (Council minutes 26 Sept 1970; Archives reference: B13/1) Later known as the Accreditation Panel, and from 1973 as the Accreditation Committee, it became the Higher Training Committee (HTC) in 1984. Its role was to "oversee and regulate all matters pertaining to higher training" and was responsible for: inspecting and recognising higher training posts at registrar and senior registrar levels; agreeing higher training programmes for accreditation; monitoring the progress of trainees; recommending individuals to Council for accreditation; advising Council on the regulations for accreditation. In December 1985 a Subspecialty Board was established as a sub-committee of the Higher Training Committee; in July 1988 this Board became an independent standing committee. In 1998 the Higher Training Committee's functions relating to the recognition of specialist registrar posts was passed to the Hospital Recognition Committee (HRC). The Higher Training Committee continued to carry out its other functions under the new name of the Specialist Training Committee from 1999. The Specialist Training Committee was disbanded in July 2007 and was replaced by the Specialty Education Advisory Committee (SEAC). The function of the Committee is to be responsible for the content, structure and delivery of the Specialty Training Programme and to advise the eligibility of doctors for the award of the Certificate of Completion of Training. All the above committees were/are serviced by the College's Postgraduate Training Department (PGT) and reported to the Education Board.
A Subspecialty Board first met in December 1984 as a sub-committee of the Higher Training Committee. The Board was created to fulfil some of the recommendations of the Working Party on Further Specialisation within Obstetrics and Gynaecology and the Sub-specialisation Advisory Group. In July 1988 the Board became a standing committee. Its present remit is to advise and keep under review the development of subspecialisation in four fields (gynaecological oncology, reproductive medicine, maternal and fetal medicine, and urogynaecology) including requirements and regulations for subspecialist training and accreditation. It is also responsible for establishing the criteria and procedures for approval of subspecialty trainees, training centres and training programmes, and for subspecialist accreditation on completion of training. The Committee:
- Ensures visits are arranged to assess prospective training centres and trainees in post.
- Makes recommendations to the Education Board regarding the recognition of centres and programmes on the basis of advice provided in the visitors' reports.
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Makes recommendations to the Education Board regarding the award of certificates of Subspecialist Accreditation on the basis of advice provided in visitors' reports following trainee final review visits.
- Provides feedback to programme directors on the progress of trainees based on information submitted in the visitors' reports following mid-term review visits.
- Liaises with programme directors to ensure the syllabi, requirements for training and the various application and report forms are updated appropriately.
- Keeps statistics on current and past trainees, including manpower and funding information, and the number of centres and programmes approved.
The Committee reports to the Education Board, meeting four times a year and is serviced by the College's Postgraduate Training Department.
The European Committee of the RCOG was established in 1991 and held its first meeting in September that year. It was set up to monitor developments in Europe, as it was felt that the many changes taking place required more than an ad hoc approach from the College. It worked closely with a number of Europoean organisations, including the European College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (ECOG), of which the RCOG was a founder member, and the European Board of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (EBGO). These two organisations later merged to become the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (EBCOG), a section of the Union Européenne des Medécins Spécialistes (UEMS), based in Brussels. The Committee took a particular interest in the uniformity and reciprocity of training and in employment issues. It was disbanded in 1998.
The Academic Committee was established in 1996 under the chairmanship of Professor E M Symonds, to promote and safeguard all aspects of academic obstetrics and gynaecology including research and research training, undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and academic jobs and training, particularly in relation to recruitment and retention, and to monitor academic staff and funding in obstetrics and gynaecology. It worked closely with the Association of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and the RCOG Scientific Advisory Committee.
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 House Committee met on only a few occasions during 2003 with the following remit: to advise and make recommendations on all matters relating to the care of College buildings including maintenance, health and safety, environmental health and security; to oversee the maintenance of a register of assets and to review the condition of fixtures and fittings, including paintings, furniture and fabrics; to develop, monitor and evaluate space allocation and the use of the building; and to develop and regularly review the domestic and social functions of the College. It reported to the College's Services Board.
The Committee held its first meeting in July 2001. It was established 'in response to the need for standards and benchmarks required by various external agencies as well as to assist Fellows and Members discharge their general clinical governance duties.' It had three key areas of responsibility: engagement with the National Health Service and review of national policy-making; developing, implementing and monitoring clinical and service standards to ensure patient safety; developing, implementing and monitoring professional standards for good medical practice. The Committee reported to the Standards Board. In May 2007 it was renamed the Professional and Clinical Standards Committee and a College Officer charged with responsibility for each of its three key areas. Its further activities included: developing service models in line with College recommendations; ensuring implementation of College policy on performance and service reviews; establishing and overseeing the reskilling/refresher training policy.
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.
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.
The first meeting of the Joint Standing Committee of the RCOG and RCM took place on 11 May 1988. The objectives of the Committee were to "consider and make recommendations on matters of common interest to parent bodies". It did not have an executive function and reported to the Councils of the RCM and RCOG; meetings took place at least twice a year.
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.
FIGO 'the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics' was established in 1954 to bring together professional societies of obstetricians and gynecologists on a global basis. It is incorporated under the Swiss Civil Code but has a Secretariat based in London. Since its foundation, every three years FIGO has organised a World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
Over the years the Publications department of the College has produced a range of booklets, prospectuses and audio-visual material to promote the specialty of obsterics and gynaecology.
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.
RCOG press releases are concise written statements distributed to the media to announce newsworthy events in relation to the College or obstetrics and gynaecology.
General meetings of College Fellows and Members were held annually from 1930 onwards.
In 1967 a bill to legalise the medical termination of pregnancy in certain circumstances was introduced to parliament by the MP David Steel. The College was closely involved with and monitored the provisions of the bill during its progress through Parliament until its enactment.
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.
In July 1975 it was agreed that a Conference of Royal Colleges and their Faculties of Medicine in the UK should be formed. Sir Rodney Smith was proposed as the first chairman. Membership was to include one representative from each constituent member. It was envisaged that, in addition to the UK Conference, the Scottish Colleges and perhaps those in England and Wales would need to meet separately from time to time. In October 1976 the name was changed to the Conference of Medical Royal Colleges.
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 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 party first met on 16 July 1993; the Chairman was Professor M J Whittle, Professor of Fetal Medicine at the University of Birmingham. Representatives from the General Practitioners and Midwifery Service were present, also other Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologists. The terms of reference were: a) To consider and develop suggestions made by the British Paediatric Association (BPA)/RCOG Joint Standing Committee regarding facilities required for childbirth in different settings. b) To define minimum standards of staffing, facilities and organisation in each setting for the guidance of managers, clinical directors and health professionals.
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 Group was set up by Council in 1991 to monitor the development of posts in community gynaecology. Its terms of reference were: to determine the role of the consultant in reproductive health/community gynaecology and to advise Council on its development; to formulate guidelines for training; to recommend procedure for recognition of training programmes; to recommend procedure for the award of certificates of completion of training; to monitor existing training posts; to propose procedure for RCOG/Faculty of Family Planning involvement in consultant appointments; to liase between RCOG, BAFPD and the proposed Faculty of Family Planning on reproductive health/community gynaecology; to liase with the Department of Health regarding manpower and funding for posts. The group was considered to have completed its work by mid 1993 and held its last meeting in October of that year.