A Celebration of 150 years of the Medical Act
The Royal Society, London
21 and 22 October 2008

Consensus statement

The medical profession has now reached a consensus on the role of the doctor which responds to the need to provide clarity on the doctor’s role in order to inform medical education, training and workforce planning. Health demands and expectations are increasing, which has made it even more important to define the contribution of doctors in the healthcare team. The consensus statement provides a unified view and is supported by the four Chief Medical Officers.

Delegates and speakers have commented that the conference was a particularly useful forum to celebrate the medical profession's past achievements, and to consider doctors' roles in the context of current challenges facing the health professions.

Themes

Over the two days of the conference, speakers and panel based discussions considered the medical professions' past achievements and future challenges, and examined the role of the doctor in the 21st Century. In order to reach a consensus on the role of the doctor, delegates answered questions via a touch pad response system and considered the views of patients as demonstrated by results of a national survey.

People

This event drew on the expertise of the medical profession, the general public, patients, trainee doctors, medical students, other health professionals, policy makers and academics from a range of disciplines.

Speakers and panelists included:

Professor Sir Graeme Catto - GMC
Baroness O'Neill - House of Lords
Harry Cayton - Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence
Baroness Julia Cumberlege - House of Lords
Niall Dickson - The Kings Fund
Professor Kenneth Ludmerer - Washington University, St Louis
Professor Alison Wolf - King's College London

Outcomes

The medical profession has now reached a consensus on the role of the doctor which responds to the need to provide clarity on the doctor’s role in order to inform medical education, training and workforce planning. The consensus statement provides a unified view and is supported by the four Chief Medical Officers.

The consensus statement reveals a set of abiding attributes that are required by doctors and also anticipates that the role of the doctor will develop to fit the changing needs of society.

The final consensus statement is now available for download

Role of Doctor Consensus Statement.pdf