1

New members and apologies for absence

1.1

TP welcomed the following new members to Council, Teresa Davies (Secretary), Jonathan Waters (Ordinary Member), Fiona Harding (Junior Member) and Michelle Fenlon, an MTO representative co-opted onto council from the Technical Staff working group.  New members attended as observers.

1.2

Apologies were received from  Rod Howell, Nick Telford and Selwyn Roberts.

1.3

TP reminded all council members that proceedings were confidential, unless otherwise agreed.

2

Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 1 June 2004.

5.2  Para 2 Change “KS made the point that trainees receive… “ to “KS stated it is recognised that trainees should receive…”

5.2 Para 2 Change  “The ACC is active in…” to “The ACC will be…”

5.4.1  Para 2 Insert “for” so sentence reads “…that will be the recognised qualification for registration.”

6.5.2 Para 2 Insert “consent” so sentence reads “…so that a generic consent form can be produced.”

10.2 Para 3 delete “the” so sentence reads “…as candidates are assessed in light of their experience.”

15.1 Delete sentence “The secretary also needs… …at a number of meetings.”

15.3 Change “volunteers” to “volunteer.”

3

Safety Advisor’s Report

There was no report.

4

NEQAS

4.1

Website

The online EQA and website have been reviewed by the Steering Group. Case 1 has been available since April, Case 2 will be available after the BSHG meeting at York. A copy of the user manual has been sent to all participants. Some laboratories have requested a second password for sending reports.

4.2

EQA Rounds

AML: Reports have been sent.  There were seven poor performers who have received additional rounds.

Prenatal 2003: Reports were sent in July. There were five poor performers two of which were  non-compliance.

ALL 2003: Reports sent in July. Six poor performers were identified.

Postnatal 2004: Reports sent. Good performance overall. Most problems were with completing the report forms properly.

Appeals from prenatal, ALL and postnatal rounds will be heard at the end of the month.

CML and Solid Tissue reports will be sent out at the end of the month.

TP reminded council that VD is on NQAAP, where poor performers are discussed.

4.3

Pilots

QF-PCR: Organised jointly with the molecular geneticists, sent August 2004.

FISH: Constitutional Case 2 will be loaded onto the website after the BSHG meeting in York.

4.4

Ongoing Rounds (April 2004-March 2005)

September 2004: Prenatal, AML and ALL rounds will be distributed.

Budget revalidation is complete and Trusts will be invoiced.

4.5

Eurogenetest

This is an EU funded 5 year project to develop the infrastructure, resources and procedures to harmonise genetic testing across Europe. It will affect Cytogenetics, Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry and Clinical Genetics.

RJH has been involved in the set up of the cytogenetics section. There is funding for a part-time post, with the funding channelled through Oxford.

5

Education and Training

5.1

ETC Report

5.1.1

A-Grade training

A grade courses will be run in Newcastle, the Introduction and Postnatal course will run from 25-29 October and the PND and Oncology course will run from 22-28 April.

5.1.2

Workforce data for 2003-04 will be available in the next few weeks and will be sent to Heads of Departments.

5.1.3

Funding for the DoH Whitepaper trainees through WDCs has been confirmed, and there will be money available to purchase extra microscopes.

5.1.4

Trainers: KS spoke to Sue Hill about the job descriptions for trainers and discussed the role of  co-ordinator/manager to ensure the delivery of training to the trainees. SH saw the need to branch out into training technical staff and higher B training, but the role of the trainers was principally the delivery of training to A-grades. Strategic development is the responsibility of the professional bodies.

Trainer posts were advertised during August. The response was poor and there were insufficient applicants to fill the posts. There followed a discussion on how best to provide and co-ordinate A-grade training. Any solution would only need to be short term as the MSc is due to start in 3 years. Suggestions included

·        The person specification could be re-written, possibly to attract applicants from outside the profession. If this were done we would also need to re-contact the original applicants.

·        Inviting universities or Genetics Knowledge Parks to tender for providing A-grade training.

·        Paying the laboratories that are providing the training, although this would not remove the pressure of training.

·        Appointing an educationalist to co-ordinate training.

TP made the point that we need to act quickly and that we need to respond to the applicants. There also needs to be discussion with the CMGS.

Action: KS to circulate revised plan to ETC and council.

5.2

ACC membership

5.2.1

The laboratories need to be contacted to invite technical staff to be members.

Action: RM to circulate all laboratories.

5.2.2

MF reported on meetings held in June and July. In June the DoH arranged a meeting in Birmingham for groups approaching registration in 2007. The ACC was represented by RM, MF, Frankie Shaw and Eileen Roberts. Clinical Scientists and MTO members of CMGS were also present, as were members from other MTO professional groups. The meeting was addressed by Sue Hill and members of the Physiologists Registration Council. The start up of the Voluntary Registration Council (VRC) will be financed by the DH.

Members of council from the ACC and CMGS, along with MTO representatives met in July to discuss a joint approach to registration, grandfathering and other issues around registration. The MTOs will register as Genetic Technologists. The next meeting of the VRC will be on September 30.

TP asked council if they supported the joint approach to registration, and all agreed.

With 2007 as the target date for registration the MTOs now need to consider qualifications for entry to the profession, grandparenting, and education and competency training. Council agreed to co-opt an MTO sub-group of ETC. VD agreed to lead the Technical sub-group, members will be co-opted initially, and as the group becomes established council will advertise for members. The size of the Technical Group should be 6 members.

Action VD

JW asked how much will be covered from ACC funds. TP said that some MTOs are members and others are not, but that he hoped MTOs will join the ACC. He asked council if they were prepared to support the MTOs in the short term. It was felt that continued support would require technical staff to join as members.

HHS enquired if MTOs would be represented on council as a coherent group. TP replied that the structure of council will have to be examined. A technical liaison group would lead to a larger council. Changes in council would require a rule change, and the earliest this could be done is at the AGM in 2005.

KW suggested going through the membership database to produce a list of associate members, and inviting those who are qualified to become full members. It was pointed out that the ACC and BSHG databases may be different. The BSHG database does not discriminate between ordinary and associate members. It is a list of members who have paid their membership subscriptions. Jonathan Waters offered to become involved with Nick Telford in the membership secretary role. KW said she would discuss this with NT.

Action KW

5.3

Professional Standards Committee

5.3.1

The FISH Oncology best practice guidelines have been published on the ACC website.

click here

5.3.2

Gordon Lowther has stood down  and will be replaced by Zoe Docherty. Val Davison will be replaced by Sarah Ryley.

5.3.3

The draft QF-PCR guidelines have been published on the CMGS website. http://www.cmgs.org/BPG/Guidelines/2004/QFPCR.htm

There was discussion about the status of the guidelines. It was felt that the guidelines were produced at a joint ACC/CMGS workshop and that ownership of the guidelines should be joint. Council members were concerned that the guidelines appeared to have been published before consultation with participating laboratories and the ACC. JW and LG made the point that review by the ACC and CMGS should be concurrent and were concerned that closure of CMGS consultation could occur before the ACC had reviewed the document.

There were also concerns raised about some of the content of the document and the level of involvement of registered Molecular Geneticists in report authorisation. As cytogenetics laboratories take on more molecular techniques establishing appropriate reporting procedures would be important.

TP is to speak to Edna Maltby to clarify the process, to ensure that the membership are made aware, and to discover who comments should be directed to. Action TP

5.3.4

RJH reported that the PSC will be considering revision of the banding scoring system. Other scoring systems used worldwide will be examined and a new system brought back to council for approval.

5.3.5

Part 1 data will be  collected in the autumn. Data collected will also include FISH and Haematology FISH/PCR tests. It is hoped that it will be collected on line.

5.3.6

A major revision of the Professional Guidelines is also planned. It is hoped to produce more focused guidelines. It is hoped to produce a draft prior to a meeting in October/November.

5.4

PND data collection – reported by TP

1. All data to be published on ACC website.

2. Allan Caine (Leeds) to draft short paper for rapid publication presenting key data,in time to feed into the ongoing consultation,.

3. Follow up with a fuller version of the data in J Med Genet.  The total data is about 240,000 amnios and 23,000 CVBs.

The data will be presented neutrally.

VD reported that the RCOG have formed a sub-committee to consider changes in PND. The committee is chaired by a Professor of Feto-maternal Medicine at Birmingham.

KW enquired what the time table was. TP replied that they are close to finalising the data and uploading it onto the ACC website.

There is a meeting at the Wolfson Institute to discuss the integrated test on 7 October.

There will be posters at York on QF-PCR and karyotyping.

5.5

One DipACC certificate has been awarded.

5.6

A thank you letter and honorarium are to be sent to Shelia Cross.  Possibly also pay costs to the hospital.

6

Chairs Report

6.1

Association of Clinical Scientists

Meeting 6 July, TP did not attend. Sue Hill has appointed 2 project managers to establish pre-registration qualifications for all Healthcare Scientists. There will be a working group for Clinical Scientists, but at the moment it is not certain how we will be represented.

There will be update training for CS registration assessors in November/December.

6.2

FHCS

No meeting

6.3

Joint Committee. Change of membership. Liz Woodeson has been replaced by Mark Bale, who has joined the  DoH Genetics Branch.

6.4

BSHG

The BSHG held a timeout on the 7-8 July. They looked at the society, its structures and the direction it was going in.

The BSHG council is to be restructured, with only a single member from each constituent group, but there will be flexibility to co-opt other members as required.

Post-Meeting Note:  BSHG subsequently reverted to having two members per constituent group.

The remit of the BSHG is to be widened. At present it is thought to be to focused on Medical Genetics, rather than Genetics, or Human Genetics or Genetics in Medicine. As a group they want to be more pro-active in other areas, and bring them into the core remit.

MC asked if BSHG objectives matched ACC objectives. TP replied that BSHG wanted more engagement in human genetics, rather than medical genetics. It was thought that we could benefit from more explicit links with the commercial sector. KW said that the membership will be accommodated in the process, the website will be redesigned and that a welcome pack will be sent to new members.

7

Genetics Commissioning Advisory Group

There has been no meeting since the last ACC council. KW will attend the next meeting as she is taking over from VD.

8

Scientific Committee

No report from UKCCG or CAD.

9

RCPath Report

Jonathan Waters attended a SAC meeting in May. The MHRA have issued new guidelines on the IVD directives application to British laboratories.

Teresa Davis is to be the new chair of the panel of examiners.

There was discussion about the amount of feedback that examiners receive after assessing casebooks. They will now be made aware of the final grade awarded.

10

JLC Report

10.1

CW had received a letter about new molecular techniques which had been discussed at the last meeting. ADM has written a response which will be circulated to junior members and HoDs.

10.2

AN ACC flyer was circulated for comment. Some changes will be made to reflect the recruitment of technical members.

10.3

The JLC would remind members of the AGM, because of the low attendance in 2003.

10.4

The JLC asked if they could hold a separate meeting before the Council meeting, this would be supported if held in conjunction with the quarterly council meetings.

10.5

ADM requested that acronyms used in the minutes be expanded at the end. Action RM

10.5

ADM raised concerns that the JLC was not represented on all sub-committees. KW replied that there must be a role for them, they are not just there as observers. LG wondered if the ETC may have a role for a junior member. KS replied that they do not meet very often, and carry out most of their business by e-mail, but would consider the request.

LG also suggested that the JLC could be active in re-starting regional meetings.

10.6

HSS will be presenting the JLC report at the AGM.

11

Treasurer’s report

11.1

JW reported that funds are healthy.  A large part of the funds is made up of training money and JW feels that this may represent a risk. He feels that the training money should be in a separate account to the Associations other funds. KS requested that a decision is put on hold for a time, as the SHAs may start paying directly to academic institutions. JW agreed, but felt that we cannot run both sets of funds in a single account on a long-term basis.

11.2

Travel expenses

Mileage rates have been 23p per mile for some time, and it is proposed to increase them to reflect current Government rates.

Rail travel should be 2^nd class, but council members can upgrade to first class if no seats are available and under exceptional circumstances.

11.3

Travel Awards

JW circulated a document outlining the travel awards scheme. This was accepted by council and will be announced at the AGM. Details will be published in the Newsletter and on the Website. LG pointed out that ACC members have a poor record of applying BSHG money, and that very few of those who apply are turned down.

11.4

KW enquired if a small honorarium could be paid to her secretary as a thank you for looking after the membership database. This was agreed.

12

Correspondence

Mark McKinley and others have approached council as they are having problems filling vacant posts. It may be possible to get cytogenetics listed as a shortage profession and attract a recruitment and retention premium.

Action Rob Morgan,  Barbara Gibbons and David Delmage

13

Matters arising from the minutes of the meeting held on 16 March not already covered on the agenda.

13.1

There were several applicants for webmaster of the ACC website.   Council decided to accept the offer from the Newcastle group. TD pointed out that there should be a remit for the job and a job specification.

13.2

Lorraine Gaunt reported that NHS staff members could order Office XP through their trust for £17.95 plus p&p.

14

Applications for Membership

There were no applicants.

15

Any Other Business

15.1

Freedom of Information Act.  TD brought to Council’s attention that a statement may need to added to the agenda and minutes as they are in the public domain.

Action:  TD to check.

15.2

An e-mail had been sent to all HoDs from Christine Harrison, who will be representing the UK at discussions about revising the ISCN. PH wondered if there should be a response from the profession.

Action RJH to co-ordinate a response from Council.

15.3

PH raised the concern of ACS assessors who have had to send a number of portfolios back for more information and will contact other assessors for idea on the number. He would also like to see an exemplar published on the website.

15.4

Newsletter

KW and JonW now have only two editions of the newsletter to do (having completed 7 of 9) and are now looking for volunteers to take over. It is a benefit if they are on council and it is easier if there is more than one.

Action  AMD and CW volunteered to take over.

15.6

TP has been approached by John Barber and Peter Farndon, to see if cytogenetics want to join the GTN, completely or in part.

LG proposed that discussion should be held over until the next council meeting, so members can be briefed and there will be more time for discussion.

Council needs to consider if the UKGTN is delivering.

15.7

KW pointed out that after AfC council will have to consider changing the rules for JLC membership as point B17 will disappear.

15.8

TP thanked  KW, MC and LC for their work on council. He also thanked VD for hosting the meeting.

15.9

Please bring diaries to the next council meeting as we will be setting dates for 2005.

Meeting closed at 16:05.

Next meeting will be on 7 December in the Bloomsbury Room, Canterbury Hall, 19-26 Cartwright Gardens, London WC1H 9EF