The Society for Cardiological Science and Technology

This article from our Chairman appeared in the April edition of Cardiology News.

They say it’s a sign of getting older when the year flies in, or maybe its just being Chairman of SCST that ages you more rapidly ! Whatever the reason it’s hard to believe that almost a year has passed since the Harrogate conference. It’s good to be back in my home town of Glasgow for another SCST and BCS conference. There is an exciting new look to this conference which I hope will stimulate all delegates to the BCS to try out the changed format. In SCST we hope to develop our input to the Training Day and would welcome any suggestions from our membership for topics for next year.

SCST has seen a significant rise in membership this year and a subsequent increase in members taking the professional body examinations. We are continually looking at ways to improve the examination content and process for candidates. A working group is looking at the future level of the MSCST examination in light of the Clinical Physiology degree with the integrated ASCST Parts1&2. Examinations must continue to develop in line with new technological practice and clinical responsibilities.

As many of you will know the BSc Hons in Clinical Physiology began in a number of centres in England and Wales last autumn. I can confidently say that it has been an overwhelming success and we look forward to more centres being available throughout the UK.

The number of meetings that SCST Council members attend on your behalf continues to increase as does the variety of bodies that consult with us. There does seem to be a lot of repetition in these meetings , however SCST are very aware of the need to keep a high profile with all the healthcare bodies and to ensure that the information received and given is correct and consistent.

There have been a large number of initiatives through the NSF in CHD and the shortfall in trained Cardiac Physiologists has been highlighted. It is often cited by other groups that there is a recruitment problem .I can say quite categorically recruiting trainees into the profession poses no problem. What the Department of Health , some Workforce Confederations and some other groups affiliated to the BCS fail to recognise has been the singular failure in the past to provide trainee posts as supernumerary to the department establishment and thereby ensure the continuous provision of well trained and appropriately educated Cardiac Physiologists. It is not possible to train students if there are no posts to recruit to.

Our Cardiologist colleagues must also shoulder a proportion of blame for the current lack of trained staff. They did not support this profession between 1990 and 2000 during the rapid expansion of Cardiological services into District General Hospitals and the changes in clinical responsibilities of this profession. It ill behoves some of them now to lament loudly and publicly on the shortfall in trained staff. Given that we are looking at a further substantial increase in the number of Cardiologists, the British Cardiac Society in conjunction with SCST need to work together to ensure that both these professions develop in tandem. We no longer work in isolation from one another but as an integrated team We welcomed the publication of the 5th Report on the provision of services for those with Coronary Heart Disease and the opportunity to have meaningful input into the report on behalf of our profession. We also have been very grateful for the continued support of Professor Camm during his Presidency of the British Cardiac Society and we wish him well in the future.

SCST have been conducting a workforce survey to ascertain accurate numbers within the profession , the level of vacancies and the impact of the NSF in CHD. Results will be published in SCST Update and discussed at the SCST meeting in Glasgow on the 29th April

The next year will be one of change , the Health Professions Council will start to take submissions for State Registration, The Agenda for Change will be implemented and early signs are that we will have yet another struggle in achieving the appropriate recognition of our clinical responsibilities. It is vital that we remain a cohesive group with the aim of providing the best possible care for all cardiac patients through a well trained, well educated flexible profession. I take this opportunity to urge you all to support your profession in this coming year.