The Royal College of Physicians demonstrated “organisational bias” and was dysfunctional in its handling of members’ concerns over physicians associates, a damning review has found.
An independent inquiry by the health think tank the King’s Fund into the events surrounding a “painful” and “shocking” RCP extraordinary general meeting on 13 March 2024 was published on Tuesday 10 September, just a few hours before the college’s annual general meeting.1 The 45 page review found a “range of collective failures in leadership” across the college, a “clear lack of accountability and due process,” and evidence of “poor behaviours” in council meetings, including shouting and use of intimidatory language.
The review called for a major reset by the RCP and described how reputations had been damaged. The RCP Council “is not operating effectively,” decision making processes are unclear, and “more generally there is a pervasive lack of trust and confidence in its governance,” it warned.
The King’s Fund found failings in the way the …
