Academy of Medical Royal Colleges

Academy of Medical Royal Colleges
Name	Academy of Medical Royal Colleges
Formation	1974
Type	Professional body
Headquarters	London
Location	United Kingdom
Region served	United Kingdom
Membership	Medical Royal Colleges

Contents

Academy of Medical Royal Colleges is a coordinating body that represents and supports the collective interests of the United Kingdom's Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Surgeons, Royal College of General Practitioners, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Royal College of Psychiatrists, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, Royal College of Anaesthetists, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and other statutory Royal Colleges in Ireland and Crown Dependency colleges. It acts as a forum for coordination on clinical standards, postgraduate training, and health policy across institutions such as the General Medical Council, National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, Health and Social Care Northern Ireland, and Welsh Government.

History

The Academy was founded in 1974 amid discussions involving figures from the British Medical Association, Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, King's Fund, and leadership from the Royal Society. Early engagement included representatives linked to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Guy's Hospital, St Thomas' Hospital, Middlesex Hospital, and the Royal Free Hospital, reflecting a broader reorganisation following reports such as the Royal Commission on the National Health Service and inquiries resembling the scope of the Cumberlege Report. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s the Academy engaged with inquiries and reforms prompted by events like the Alderson Inquiry, the Bristol heart scandal, and the policy shifts associated with the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990, aligning with leadership drawn from colleges with roots in figures associated with Florence Nightingale traditions and later presidencies linked to clinicians with ties to institutions such as Oxford University, Cambridge University, Imperial College London, and University College London.

Membership comprises the Presidents and Chairs of the constituent Royal Colleges, including bodies historically linked to the Charterhouse, St Bartholomew's Hospital, Christ's Hospital, and provincial institutions like the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Belfast City Hospital. Governance features an elected Chair, Council, and committees mirroring committees found in the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens, and the Clinical Standards Advisory Group. The Academy maintains strategic partnerships with statutory regulators such as the Health and Safety Executive, educational bodies like the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, and research funders including the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Wellcome Trust. Affiliate and observer relationships extend to colleges and faculties in jurisdictions represented by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and specialist societies such as the British Medical Association-affiliated groups.

The Academy convenes multidisciplinary forums with stakeholders like the General Medical Council, the Medical Schools Council, the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board, and the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management to advise on clinical governance, workforce planning, and postgraduate curricula. It produces consensus statements and joint guidance alongside bodies such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Care Quality Commission, the British Association of Critical Care Nurses, and the Royal College of Nursing. It acts as an interlocutor with ministers from offices including UK Department of Health and Social Care, Scotland Office, and devolved health ministries while coordinating responses to crises involving pathogens referenced by the Department of Health and Social Care and emergency responses similar to those by Public Health England and its successors.

The Academy issues joint policy positions and advocacy briefs with institutions like the British Medical Association, the Royal Society of Medicine, the Nuffield Trust, and the King's Fund, addressing workforce shortages akin to debates involving the BMA Junior Doctors Committee and service resilience paralleling concerns raised by the Keogh Review. It contributes to parliamentary inquiries and consultations involving the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee, the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, and cross-party groups reminiscent of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health and APPG on Coronavirus. Its policy work intersects with legal frameworks such as the Equality Act 2010 and regulatory regimes exemplified by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 and the Mental Health Act 1983 reforms.

The Academy develops shared curricula guidance and assessment frameworks in collaboration with the Joint Committee on Surgical Training, the Foundation Programme, and the UK Foundation Programme Office, alongside exam boards like the Royal College of Surgeons' MRCS and the Royal College of Physicians' MRCP. It liaises with medical schools at University of Edinburgh Medical School, King's College London GKT School of Medical Education, University of Oxford Medical Sciences Division, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, and Imperial College School of Medicine to harmonise postgraduate progression, simulation-based training exemplified at Hammersmith Hospital, and intercollegiate examinations echoing structures used by the Intercollegiate Board for Training and Assessment.

The Academy promotes quality improvement initiatives in concert with the Care Quality Commission, the NHS Improvement, the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership, and professional bodies like the Royal College of Anaesthetists and Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. It endorses audit programmes similar to the National Joint Registry, supports multidisciplinary audit networks like those at Royal Liverpool University Hospital and Addenbrooke's Hospital, and contributes to national patient safety campaigns with partners such as NHS England and the Patient Safety Commissioner-style offices. Work on clinical guidelines links to organisations including the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

The Academy engages with international counterparts such as the American Board of Medical Specialties, the European Union of Medical Specialists, the World Health Organization, the Commonwealth Medical Association, and national colleges like the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Canadian Medical Association. It participates in global health forums involving the World Bank, the United Nations, and multilateral partnerships resembling those convened by the Global Fund and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, influencing standards, reciprocal recognition arrangements, and postgraduate training harmonisation with bodies such as the General Medical Council and international accreditation agencies.

Category:Medical associations based in the United Kingdom