Page 4 - IDF Journal 2023

IDF News – Spring 2023
Editorial 2023
Dr Greg Williams Editor
Although the IDF was founded by a group of private GPs in 1989, it now has just over 1500 members in the
UK from across the range of medical specialties.
The multidisciplinary nature of the IDF
is both a feature of the organisation
and one of its greatest strengths. The lectures delivered at the IDF Study Weekend in Stratford in November and the regular webinars given by members throughout the year offer continuing medical education across the breadth
of medicine and surgery. A selection of those educational offerings are published in the following pages. I come from a plastic surgery background having spent just under a decade as an NHS burns consultant in London but I have been working solely in private practice for
the past ten years as a hair transplant surgeon. I am immensely privileged to have been the editor of the IDF Journal for the past four years as it gives me the chance to read in detail the many varied articles that are submitted for publication each year and keep up to date with the standard of care and recent advances in a wide range of specialties. I list the CME I get from doing so as part of my IDF appraisal portfolio and you can do so too.
Members who work entirely in the independent sector can become professionally isolated but the frequent gatherings listed in the IDF Social Events summary offered the chance over the
past year to meet and network with colleagues from the same and different medical backgrounds. I would like to see the IDF attract more young consultants in private practice and I encourage you to spread the word about the IDF. There will be ‘meet new member evenings’ aimed
at welcoming them and the more people who attend these, the more fun they are for everyone! I would also like to see the IDF become less London-centric and
offer social events that connect members more locally across the UK. I know that the Education Committee, under Dr Susan Alexander’s leadership, has an exciting
webinar and in-person agenda planned for the upcoming year including the Study Weekend being held from 29 September to 1 October in Estoril, Portugal. A list
of social and educational events can be found on the calendar on the IDF website.
Although IDF members come from different medical specialities, many of the challenges faced in independent practice are similar. A good example of this in England has been CQC inspections.
It has taken some time for the CQC to accommodate for the wide variety of organisations in the private sector both in terms of size (from sole practitioner practices to large clinics and hospitals) and in what services are offered. The IDF, through the Regulations Committee, has engaged with CQC for many years to enable fair inspection and rating in the private sector and this remains a work in progress. The IDF has influenced policy in other areas through meetings and contacts with the GMC, Department of Health, Royal Colleges and insurance companies. It remains the main source of advice for many agencies seeking information about our sector and it is
fair to say that the influence of the IDF exceeds its actual membership size.
IDF members are not only diverse in
their practices but also in their personal demographics. However, without an understanding of its members’ needs, the IDF cannot address them so I encourage all members to complete the socio- demographic data within your personal account on the IDF website which will
take less than one minute. Instructions
on how to do so can be found in the Equality and Monitoring Report within this journal. Last year, only 6.5% of members had completed their personal profile.
This year it is still only 9.7%. The data
you provide is completely confidential
and cannot be viewed by the IDF staff or officers. If you have experienced any form of discrimination, please report this to the IDF administrative team - the IDF is there to support you. The IDF believes that the need for diversity, equity and inclusion
is not an abstract concept but a term of value, depth and character. Neil Haughton, during his presidency, recognised some
of the gaps within the IDF in this area
but also that many members faced challenges in their professional practice because of their diversity. This led to the establishment of the Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Support (DIBS) Group which aims to support not just those from
the LGBTQ+ and BAME communities but also members with neurodiversity and other forms of difference. Phil Batty has stated in his President’s Report that one of his three priorities is to increase awareness of diversity. Both his Equality and Diversity Book Reviews published in this journal and his fireside chats dealing with mental health struggles and coming out in personal and professional life have been
a testament to this commitment. I look forward to his future thought-provoking fireside chats. There are social events planned in the next year aimed specifically at LGBTQ+ and BAME members but all members should feel that they belong in the IDF and have access to support when facing discontent, for whatever reason, in their professional life.
We know that our healthcare colleagues in the NHS are experiencing unprecedented levels of discontent to the point where ambulance workers, nurses and junior doctors have been driven to take strike action. This has put additional pressure
on the NHS in terms of waiting times to be seen and have procedures done. The COVID-19 pandemic no doubt took its toll on the goodwill of staff that has held the NHS together for so long. Brexit and the war in the Ukraine have impacted the economy and, with inflation, each year many healthcare workers earn relatively less than the year before. Some of them are turning to the private sector for practice or employment. Furthermore, patients who are frustrated with delays
in their care will turn more and more
to private care. The IDF will therefore continue to grow and represent unity despite its multispecialty makeup. We are lucky in the independent sector because we get to offer patient care without the restrictions imposed by the limitations of the NHS. Please tell colleagues about the IDF whenever the opportunity arises as the more members we have, the stronger our voice will be.
I hope you enjoy reading this year’s journal!
Dr Greg Williams FRCS (Plast)
Fellow, International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery
Diplomate, American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery
Hair Transplant Surgeon, Farjo Hair Institute
www.farjo.com
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