Dr Gerrard Phillips MA DM FRCP
Consultant physician and respiratory physician, Dorset County Hospital
CV
I’ll improve our college’s governance, democratise it to represent you better, strengthen college presence in your workplace and advocate strongly for you, our residents, our patients, with system leaders.
A frontline acute take clinician and former VP, I created the chief registrar programme, and recently led Federation (JRCPTB, MRCP(UK), CPD, International), a large semi-commercial business, as Executive MD for six years, transforming its leadership, structure, governance, improving diversity, leading differential attainment and the environment. I created a research division, moved 13 exams online, implemented PACES23, prevented completely virtual PACES during Covid, oversaw 30 new curricula, protected CPD.
Physician morale is low. Staff shortages, infrastructure/system problems prevent us delivering the excellence we’ve trained for, causing moral injury. As some roles shift to others, like PAs, I’ll promote our USP - managing diagnostic/therapeutic uncertainty, complexity, leading research. Notwithstanding Leng’s review, I’ll advocate our PA subgroup recommendations – pausing rollout, introducing a national scope of practice. To emphasise, I’ve had no college leadership role for years and wasn’t involved in last year’s crisis. Federation’s three-college.
I’ll champion our residents, promote RCP’s next generation work, lobby for implementing medical students doubling by 2031/2, but cannot support shortening undergraduate training (4 years) or non-doctor educational supervisors. Recruitment currently disadvantages our own graduates!! Core/specialty posts must increase, but inflexible NTN programmes push residents towards portfolio training. This needs action but, to uphold standards, these doctors should engage with our curricula, e-portfolio, exams.
Although a charity, RCP’s foremost a professional membership organisation. Its missions - “educating, improving, influencing” - omit its key role, representing. Three years ago, I highlighted the gap between leadership and members, advocating stronger representation in trusts on wider college policy. I’ll deliver this. Whilst college has no statutory role, our size and diversity, enhanced by democratisation, amplify our influence.
RCP’s governance - Executive, Council, Board of Trustees - must ensure power checks power (Montesquieu). The profession’s voice, through Council, should be paramount. Last year's EGM reflected the executive's failure to properly consult/listen. I’ll improve governance, as I did for Federation. I’ll empower council to check the executive and be better represented in the BOT (8 physicians).
Our college faces serious financial questions (the reserves) and challenges regarding its London leases and the Spine. The President needs business experience.
Many challenges lie ahead. The comprehensive spending review, ten-year and revised LTWF plans, will shape government’s health/social care strategy. I support the “three shifts,” but addressing primary/social care and getting workforce right are key to implementation, requiring more doctors and improved diversity, career progression, retention, work-life balance. Improved IT is essential for productivity and AI, but excellent clinical skills are crucial. We’ll hold the Health Mission Delivery Board to its own missions of addressing lifestyle risks, health inequities, wider health determinants - all RCP policies.
We must be a strong voice on assisted dying.
The PRCP must be able to run a large business and represent and advocate for you. They’ll need to listen, be strong, have integrity. You must decide who can best do this.