1

Apologies

Apologies were received from Edna Maltby, Gordon Lowther, Kim Smith, Carol Brooker and Lorraine Gaunt.

2

Minutes of the AGM held on 14^th September 2004

Approved without amendment.

3

Chairs Report

3.1

Council Election Results

Treasurer               John Wolstenholme

Assistant Secretary   Rob Morgan

Ordinary Members   Ros Hastings

                              Gordon Lowther

JLC Member            Simon McCullough

3.2

Council – Retiring Members

The Chair thanked Professor Malcolm Ferguson-Smith (President) and Nick Telford (Ordinary member and Membership Secretary) for their enthusiasm and effort on behalf of the Association over the past three years.

3.3

ACC Council

The Trustee’s of Council have been asked to look at the structure and membership, including sub-Committees and their representation. Council needs to grow to include the Technologists, but remain small enough to function effectively. Any rule changes required will be brought to the 2006 AGM for approval.

3.4

Technologists’ Voluntary Registration Council (VCR)

A VRC has been formed, with Michelle Fenlon and Frankie Shaw (both MTO3s) representing cytogenetics technical staff. ACC and CMGS are working together to formulate training requirements for registration to: 1) TO OPEN UP THE voluntary Register for grand-parenting of existing technologist staff; and 2)prepare a submission to HPC for regulation. The VRC application process and Code of Conduct are agreed, an Executive has been formed (Frankie Shaw is Company Secretary), and meetings are taking place with a Solicitor to establish the VRC as a Limited Company. Applications for registration will attract a fee (still to be set), as the VRC must self-finance once the pump-priming money from the DH runs out. A newsletter has been published and regular updates are planned.

3.5

ACC Spring Meeting

Thanks were extended to all the staff at the Salisbury laboratory for an exccellent2004 Spring Meeting, which included the Cameron lecture on behalf the Royal College of Pathologists. The 2006 meeting is being jointly organised by GOS and Kennedy-Galton in London. Subsequent meetings will be :- 2007 Sheffield, 2008 Liverpool and 2009 Edingburgh.

3.6

Down Syndrome Screening Programme: Rapid Test vs Karytoype

Data were collected from 24 UK Cytogenetics laboratoriesto examine the impact of a decision to withdraw karyotyping from the Down Syndrome Screening Programme (DSSP), and to obtain feedback on the accuracy of rapid vs karyotyping. Allan Caine presented these data at a one-day meetingon Down Syndrome Screening in London in December 2004, hosted by the National Screening Committee (NSC). The dataset was placed on the ACC website, and published in Lancet on 9^th July 2005. A decision from the NSC on karyotyping in the DSSP is still awaited. The PND Working Party comprised Allan Caine (Chair), John Crolla, Edna Maltby, Tony Parkin and Jonathan Waters.

3.7

Agenda for Change (AfC)

Three Clinical Scientist job profiles were published, but little progress was made with Technologists profiles because of variability in job descriptions. Implementation of AfC matching is progressing, and should be completed by 30 September 2005 (although it appears unlikely). UK labs are collaborating to draft KSF profiles, to aid decisions about career progression (these need to be in place by 31 December 2005).

3.8

National Occupational Standards (NOS), and Pre-Registration Training

Council has signed=off the Clinical Cytogenetics NOS. Other work has mapped NOS onto the proposed Healthcare Science Career Pathway stages (still to be officially launched), and explored use of NOS to create training modules – this work is not yet professionally signed off. The next NOS Workshop in October will look at incorporating NOS in KSfs, and may start applying NOS to modernise pre-registration training (ie MSc for Clinical Scientist registration, and probable degree for Technologist registration). In preparation for this, suggestions have been obtained from Heads of Laboratories on requirements for pre-registration training, and scope of practice at registration. Further discussion, and a joint meeting between ACC-ETC/CMGS-TAB on training, will occur during this year. 

3.9

Shortage Profession

A submission has been made by Barbara Gibbons on behalf of the ACC to the Home Office to identify Clinical Cytogenetics as a shortage profession, because of recruitment and retention issues, a response is awaited. This may assist in the granting of work permits to employ suitable persons from abroad, and/or offer a possibility to pay recruitment/retention premia to staff.

3.10

ACC Newsletter

Thank you to Katie and Jonathan Waters who stood down as Newsletter editors. The new editors are Amanda Dixon-McIver and Chris Wragg.

3.11

ACC Website

Gavin Cuthbert is the current Webmaster (taking over from Mike Creasy), and Gavin has substantially revamped the website. BSHG is currently updating its website, to improve communication with its membership, and has invited ACC to participate (with ACC retaining control over its own content, logos, style etc). Council has agreed to explore the benefits of such a joint approach.

3.12

Consent and Confidentiality

The Joint Committee for Medical genetics (JCMG) is expected to agree and publish this document later this year. It will include clear statements on the circumstances for sharing of technical and clinical information (including reports) between Clinical Cytogenetics Departments.

3.13

Consultations – ACS

ACC has contributed to HPC consultations (via ACS) on CPD and Returners to Practice, and the Foster Review of Non-Medical Regulation. As post-consultation documents are published, these are usually placed on the ACS website.

3.14

GenCAG

Draft ‘currencies’ for Clinical Cytogenetics were produced in 2001, but DH has not progressed this work as a means for creating our tariffs for Payment by Results (PbR)(although CMGS has undertaken pilot costings for PbR with DH). Since implementation is unlikely before April 2008, there is no urgency; and some delay may ensure that cost-impacts from AfC are incorporated into our eventual PbR costings.

3.15

IT in Genetics

The Manchester Reference Laboratory has produced an Output Based Specification (OBS) for Genetics IT systems, which has been circulated to Council and all Heads of Cytogenetics Labs.

4

Resolutions

4.1

Proposal for rule changes

1)      Rule 10.1

The Sentence

“The association shall have the following officers, who shall form the Council of Management (herein called “The Council”): three Trustees, a General Secretary, an Assistant Secretary, up to six ordinary members, up to five junior members.”

To be replaced by

“The association shall have the following officers, who shall form the Council of Management (herein called “The Council”): three Trustees, a General Secretary, an Assistant Secretary, up to six ordinary members, up to five junior members, and up to three technologist members of Council.”

Proposed Tony Parkin

Seconded Val Davison

Passed unanimously.

2)      To add

       To insert after 10.3.5 a new 10.3.6 (and increase the numbering of the current rules 10.3.6, 10.3.7, 10.3.8 and 10.3.9 by one, i.e. to have the final number 7, 8, 9 and 10 respectively.

       “10.3.6 Technologist members of Council shall be elected for three years and shall be eligible for re-election.”

Proposed Tony Parkin

Seconded Val Davison

      Passed unanimously

3)      Proposal for President

Professor Maj Hulten

Proposed by ACC Council

Passed unanimously

4)      Nomination for Trustee

Mr Rod Howell

Proposed by ACC Council

Passed unanimously

5

JLC Report

The report was presented by Chris Wragg

5.1

The JLC have maintained the contact established with the laboratory representatives in each laboratory throughout the year – passing on all relevant information received.  This included job advertisements and courses of professional interest, as well as fielding any questions and/or concerns of the junior members.

5.2

At the last AGM, we raised  the concern that a large number of junior members had expressed with regards to the introduction of new molecular technologies and the effect that this may have on the profession and job security.  Following discussion with council a letter was written to the junior members with council’s response.

The JLC organised a session at the Spring Meeting in Salisbury, which included speakers from the companies involved with array-based technology.  The session highlighted the need in future to obtain speakers from within the profession rather than representatives from the companies themselves, whose interest is more in the financial rather than the educational.  A slightly longer time-slot may also have facilitated a more informative session.  The ACC however did organise a workshop on Molecular Technologies later in the year which was well attended by junior members.

5.3

A JLC session has been organised to be held at this year’s BSHG meeting in York in September.  Peter Howard will present a session on registration giving an assessors insight into the whole process.

5.4

The JLC flyer which was established last year has been maintained and is available on request, as well as being distributed at A-grade training workshops.

5.5

Most correspondence to the JLC has been centred around lack of information available with regards to the registration portfolio.  A number of attempts have been made by the JLC to have a cytogenetics portfolio placed on the ACS website -  this is still yet to happen.

5.6

The JLC have also ensured that an article from the JLC and/or an article of interest to the JLC members appears in each issue of the ACC newsletter in the BSHG bulletin.  Two of the current JLC members of council have also undertaken the editorship of the ACC newsletter, which should ensure that this continues.

5.7

Finally, we would like to welcome Simon McCullough, who has been recently elected to council as a member of the JLC and to congratulate Fiona Harding on the eminent arrival of her first baby.

6

Education and Training Committee Report

6.1

White Paper

As part of the Genetics White Paper initiative, the DoH has funded Clinical Scientist trainee posts in 04 and 05 to supplement the WDC commissioned posts. The yearly intake of trainees is now at the required level identified from workforce planning.

The DoH has also funded a 0.5WTE National Pre-registration Training Officer, who will be responsible for A Grade training administration as well as undertaking first assessments on all trainees and collating and disseminating information on current post A grade/pre-registration training. Training laboratories were invited to tender for the additional Trainer funding and proposals equivalent to 3 WTE have been submitted to the DoH. A poll of training laboratories indicated support for collation of existing training material into a basic e-learning package and a costed proposal will be submitted to the DoH.A-grade training courses are now firmly established in April and November.

6.2

A-grade Training Courses

The A grade courses are now established and will run annually in November and April. After a successful first external assessment, the trainee will normally have the remaining modules assessed internally. Final external assessments will be scheduled according to demand, rather than a pre-set timetable, to meet the variable demand throughout the year. The ACC Clinical Cytogeneticist training programme will operate until the implementation of the new vocational MSc training structure currently being devised by the DoH and HPC, in consultation with ACC and CMGS.

6.3

Study Days

A series of Study Days are being run throughout the year to support post-registration training.

6.3

Technical Training

A national training programme for Genetic Technologists is being developed and ratified as part of the process of discipline registration with HPC.

7

Professional Standards Committee

The committee has met three times over the 2004-05 period. A workshop was held in Sheffield in November 2004 for the revision of the 2001 General Guidelines in Clinical Cytogenetics. This meeting identified the need for discipline-specific Best Practice guidelines and a workshop hosted and led by Mark McKinley and Helen Dickinson was held in Cardiff in February 2005 for guidelines in Haemato-oncology Best Practice. The results from this meeting indicated the complexity of producing guidelines in this area and members of the PSC together with Helen Dickinson from the Leeds Cytogenetics Service are currently working on a second draft to go out to the profession.

The first joint CMG and ACC workshop which was on the topic of QF-PCR for Rapid Prenatal Testing had been hosted and led by Kathy Mann and Caroline Ogilvy in April 2004. Best Practice guidelines for this were finally ratified by both ACC and CMGS in March 2005.

A workshop was held in March 2005 in Bristol hosted and led by Teresa Davies for guidelines in Prenatal Diagnosis Best Practice. The final draft of these has been considered by ACC Council in September 2005 and will be ratified and available this autumn following minor agreed modifications.

UK service activity data for 03/04 was collected by Ros Hastings on behalf of the PSC earlier this year with the aim of setting up on-line annual collection for the future. This data is almost ready to be disseminated on-line from the NEQAS website and the ACC is grateful for NEQAS allowing the website designer to work on this for us.

A second draft of the revised 2001 General Guidelines is due to go out to Heads of Department for discussion in October and a follow-up questionnaire on Best Practice for CVS samples is to be devised by Teresa Davies as an adjunct to the current Prenatal Guidelines.

For 2005-06, we are anticipating a workshop in Postnatal Cytogenetics and a working group to extend the current QF-PCR guidelines to include trouble-shooting action. There will also be a protocol produced for running a Best Practice workshop.

I would like to thanks all members of the Professional Standards Committee for their hard work this year, and extreme thanks to all members of the profession who have contributed enthusiastically by attending or leading the workshops and feeding back their opinions. The next year should see consolidation of many efforts made in 04/05.

8

Treasurer’s Report

John Wolstenholme, the ACC Treasurer, presented the Treasurers report. The accounts of the Association were distributed at the start of the AGM.

8.1

JW pointed out the difference in expenditure between 2003 and 2004 for A-grade training, and that there was no loss in A-grade training.

The Spring meeting again showed a profit.

There were only four requests for Travel awards, which was slightly disappointing

8.2

The adoption of the accounts was proposed by Eddie Maher and seconded by Norman Pratt. The reappointment of the auditors Wilkins Kennedy was proposed by Eddie Maher and seconded by Hazel Harvey-Smith.

9

Correspondence

There was no correspondence

10

Matters arising from the AGM held on 14th September 2004

There were no matters arising.

11

Any other business

11.1

Norman Pratt asked how attendance at the AGM could be encouraged. TP explained that there are benefits to the ACC in holding the meeting at BSHG, but that the venue is discussed at council. Ideas for increasing attendance will be discussed.

11.2

TP informed the meeting that council will need to redefine the definition of a junior member following AfC. The current definition is members below point B17, and may change to members on Band 7 and pre-registration scientists. Proposals will be brought to an Extra-ordinary general meeting at the Spring meeting in London.

12

Date of Next Meeting

September 2006