Clinical Excellence Awards 2017 open soon

Clinical Excellence Awards (CEAs) are intended to recognise and reward exceptional contribution over and above what is normally expected in a post. The awards are made to medically or dentally qualified NHS consultants for a fixed term and may be renewed following review.

In England national CEA awards are assessed by the Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards (ACCEA) administered by the Department of Health (England). The Welsh Government has arranged that national applications for CEAs will also be assessed by the ACCEA. In Northern Ireland national level applications have been suspended in recent years.

Applying

The ACCEA 2017 application will open on 28 February and is expected to follow a similar format to previous years. The timetable is extremely tight, with a closing date of 25 April.

ACCEA guidance is expected to be made available on their website in line with the opening date.

At this stage, we will accept application on the forms used previously as any changes are expected to be minimal.

If you would like to be considered for RCS England support, please email your completed ACCEA application forms, as an attachment to cearcs@rcseng.ac.uk by: 

• 10am on Tuesday 21 February for Platinum awards
• 10am on Monday 20 March for Bronze, Silver and Gold awards

Please note that we must have newly completed forms for renewal applications by the same date. Late applications will not be scored. For enquiries contact cearcs@rcseng.ac.uk

RCS support for awards

The RCS is registered as a nominating body. The RCS CEA committee comprises representatives across a wide range of specialties, plus a lay member. We would not normally provide support for local awards. For those considering applying at the bronze level you must consider carefully the implications of leaving any local award scheme. If you decide to apply nationally and wish to be considered by the RCS or your surgical specialty association you will need to comply with the timetable of the sponsoring organisation.

If you are likely to move employer or retire in the next 18 months you should ask the ACCEA for their advice.

The ranking lists and citations which our organisations supply are considered to be important supplements to the evidence contained in the CVQs. It is encouraged you apply to both your specialist association and the RCS England for a place on their ranking list. If you wish both organisations to consider your application, you must send your CVQ to both organisations as we do not exchange CVQ information.

As with previous years, the responsibility for the actual on-line submission of the application to ACCEA will rest firmly with the applicant. The deadline is Tuesday 25th April 2017.