RCPsych Special Meeting

All College AGMs and EGMs will now be held as virtual events following a unanimous vote.

All College Annual General Meetings (AGMs) and Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMs) will now be held as virtual events following a unanimous vote, held at a face-to-face Special Meeting of the College on 28 November, in support of the change. This decision overturned the old-fashioned wording of the College constitution, which had stated that all AGMs and EGMs had to be held in person.

The proposal was one of four proposals put forward at the last AGM in June. Of these four, two (including this one) were selected to be put to the vote at September 2022's EGM, which was abandoned in the middle of proceedings due to the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II.

If the motion at the Special meeting on 28 November is passed, it is hoped that – subject to approval by the Privy Council – our 2023 AGM, on 11 July, will be held as a hybrid event with separate votes being held on the following proposals:

  • extending voting rights within the RCPsych to College Affiliates – who are SAS doctors who have not passed the MRCPsych but are on the GMC Medical Register and working as psychiatrists
  • enabling the Chairs of International Divisions to become full members of Council
  • changing the name of Council to ‘Council of the College’ instead of ‘UK Council’ to reflect the fact the College is a global organisation.

At this stage, it is accepted that the other proposals that the College Officers put to the AGM - having been signed off by Council and Trustees – will not now be put to the membership.

These proposals included the following ideas:

  • creating new post-nominals for doctors working in psychiatry other than those with the MRCPsych
  • enabling Specialist Associates to become entitled to apply for Fellowship of the College after 10 years
  • enabling International Associates to become entitled to vote in general meetings and elections of the College
  • lifting the current annual and total limits on the numbers of people who can be Mental Health Associates to be removed, so that the College can increase its engagement with allied mental health professionals who work in multi-disciplinary teams with psychiatrists
  • enabling students at international medical schools, recognised by the equivalent of the GMC in other countries and by Council, to become eligible to become Student Associates
  • introducing a power for the Board of Trustees to adopt a Code of Conduct to apply to Trustees, Council, Officers, Members, Associates, Affiliates and others
  • ensuring annual elections during an Honorary Officer’s tenure of office to only be called following a vote of Council to hold such an election.
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