“By creating we think, by living we learn” Patrick Geddes
1. General Principles on the Allocation and Spread of Points
1.1 Consultants' Discretionary Points will be awarded in line with NHS Circular PCS(DD)1995/6 (Appendix I) as amended by the SEHD in its letter dated 12 January 2000 (Appendix II)
1.2 In determining the number of discretionary points available to be awarded in each year the Employer will take account of any consultant who has retired or who has been awarded a B or A Distinction Award in the previous year and consideration must be given to adding that consultant's Discretionary Points to the overall number of Discretionary Points to be awarded in the current year. The employer will provide the LNC with a list of retired consultants and those receiving Merit Awards and the number of points released. Each year, before the first meeting of the Discretionary Points Committee (DPC) and subject to the minimum set out in NHS Circular PCS(DD)1995/6 (as amended by the SEHD letter of 12 January 2000), NHS Tayside (the Employer) in consultation with the Local Negotiating Committee (LNC), will determine, the overall number of discretionary points to be awarded by the DPC with effect from 1st April of the year in question. This consultation will take place within the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) in a timely fashion to give adequate time for Remuneration Committee verification.
1.3 The Employer and the LNC will review this Agreement annually in the light of experience. Any changes will only be made with the agreement of the LNC.
2. Eligible Consultants
2.1. For consultants on the 'old' consultant contract the eligibility criteria outlined in NHS Circular PCS(DD)1995/6 amended by the SEHD letter of 12 January 2000 ('Discretionary Points for Consultants'.) will be applied. Consultants on the 'new' consultant contract who have reached point 5 of the pay point scale will be eligible to be paid discretionary points.
2.2. The Employer will provide a list of all eligible consultants as at 1st April each year for discussion and agreement with the LNC. This should be broken down by directorate and have been sent out to each directorate for verification by clinical leaders prior to discussion with LNC.
2.3. Consultants who are on split contracts (between two or more employers) will be considered on their overall contribution. It will be the responsibility of the 'lead' employer to implement the application process, to liaise with the other employers and to consider applications from split contract medical staff. Points will be awarded as if the 'lead' employer were the only employer. Review of this Scheme will expressly take account of steps taken by the Discretionary Points Committee to ensure that no disadvantage has been suffered by doctors on split contracts.
2.4. The approach of the Discretionary Points Committee will be to award discretionary points flexibly. This means that the DPC may distribute points on a single or multiple basis as it sees fit. The award of more than 2 points should only be considered for the most exceptional cases.
2.5. Part-time Consultants receiving an award will be paid pro-rata to the full value of the award. Allowance must be made for the reduced hours of work when assessing the value of the contributions made by part-time staff. Clinical academics with honorary contracts eligible for Discretionary points will be considered equally with other consultants.
2.6. Consultants can apply on a yearly basis but will not normally be considered for a further point in the year following an award unless it is warranted due to exceptional circumstances. Any such exceptional applications will be considered by the DPC at the first meeting to decide whether they should be included for consideration with other applications.
3. Criteria
3.1. The criteria to be used for the local implementation of the policy are detailed in the Annex to the SEHD's letter of 12 January 2000, which is reproduced as Appendix III of this Agreement. No other criteria will be used in awarding discretionary points.
3.2. The format of DP Form applications (Appendix IV) and an appropriate scoring system (Appendix V) shall be agreed between the Employer and the LNC and reviewed each year. It is agreed that the scoring system must be as demonstrably objective as possible and clearly based on the above-mentioned criteria. The scoring system and weightings shall be agreed between the Employer and the LNC. DP Forms must be verified and countersigned by the clinical line manager - Clinical Leader / Clinical Director/ Medical Director as appropriate. If the line manager and applicant are unable to agree that the submission is accurate it may still be submitted along with an explanation by the line manager of the point(s) at issue, and a statement in support by the applicant. The DPC and LNC DP Subcommittee will have access to these statements and will proceed to score the DP Form but will first have to make a judgement on whether to accept the contested fact. Careful minutes should be kept.
3.3. Applicants must complete all DP Forms accurately and ensure that all information relating to work already remunerated, job plan details and support staffing etc is completed. The purpose of the DP process is to award above average contributions in relation to the remunerated job plan. It may be considered a disciplinary matter for applicants to misrepresent their achievements through the Discretionary Points process.
4. Application Procedure
4.1. The Medical Director in conjunction with the Director/Associate Director of Human Resources will, stating clearly the year of award, invite all eligible consultants to apply for discretionary points using the DP Form (Appendix IV), giving details of how to download an electronic copy. Included with the invitation will be Guidance Notes for applicants regarding the process, completing the DP Form and scoring system. In addition there will be a set of timelines for completion of documentation. The invitation will emphasise that those consultants who received discretionary points the previous year may still apply but would need to submit a case on the appropriate form, detailing the exceptional circumstances that would mitigate against waiting until the following year to next apply. It will be for the DPC to decide at its first meeting whether the stated case warrants consideration of the application for points.
4.2. The completed questionnaire must be verified and countersigned by the relevant Clinical Leader or other appropriate Clinical Line Manager. There will be an agreed time limit for presenting the DP Form for countersigning and for return of the countersigned DP Form to Human Resources. It will be the responsibility of the applicant to ensure their application form is submitted to the HR Department by the agreed deadline date.
4.3. Late submissions will be accepted only in exceptional circumstances, and will be considered only if the DPC agrees by majority decision at its first meeting.
5. Discretionary Points Committee
5.1. The function of the DPC is to take the annual decision as to which consultants will receive discretionary points. The DPC will base its decisions on the criteria laid down in the SEHD letter of 12 January 2000 and the other provisions of NHS Circular PCS(DD)1995/6. The points scoring system agreed with the LNC will be strictly adhered to. The composition of the DPC will be as follows:-
5.2. Group 1
5.2.1. One Non-Executive Board Member (Chairman and non-scoring)
5.2.2. One Medical Director of the Single Delivery Unit or NHS Tayside: in the event that DPC Chairman is absent the Medical Director will be deputy chair(but will continue to score).
5.2.3. One other executive of the Board or the Single Delivery Unit
5.2.4. One Clinical Director from CHPs as nominated by CHP Clinical Directors
5.2.5. One other Clinical Group Director (non CHP)
5.3.Group 2
5.3.1. A total of eight NHS consultants not holding Clinical Director posts
5.3.2. One clinical academic staff member appointed by a process acceptable to the body of Honorary Consultants.
5.4. Group 3
5.4.1. Two LNC observers from the LNC DP Subcommittee group (for observation purposes). The role of the two observers from the LNC DP Subcommittee will be to scrutinise the DP procedure at each stage of the process and to ensure full participation and confidence in the process for members. The LNC DP Subcommittee will independently score forms to ensure consistency and that any anomalies or significant variations will be addressed by the DPC as it sees fit.
5.4.2. Role of the LNC DP Subcommittee
The role of the LNC DP Subcommittee is to scrutinise the DPC procedure at each stage of the DP process, in order to ensure full participation and confidence in the process for its members.
5.4.3. Membership of the LNC DP Subcommittee
The LNC DP Subcommittee members will be elected from the LNC elected members. The Subcommittee will consist of a chair, and 4 other members to act as scorers and observers of the DP Process.
5.4.4. Function of the LNC DP Subcommittee
The LNC DP Subcommittee will ensure adherence to the agreed procedure by participating in all aspects of the process. At the first meeting of the DP Committee, all scorers will be informed of the scoring procedure. Guidance notes will be distributed. Subsequent to the first meeting of the DP Committee, the LNC DP Subcommittee will score selected DP Forms prior to the second meeting of the DP Committee and highlight any anomalies or significant variations in scores in order that these can be addressed at the second meeting of the DP Committee. The purpose of this audit is to ensure consistency and confidence in the Discretionary Points process.
Prior to the first meeting of the DPC the LNC DP sub-committee will send each member of the DPC three anonymised applications from a previous year to score, as a calibration exercise. At the first meeting of the DPC they will then be shown how their scoring compares to the other new scorers, and the actual scores awarded to those applications by scorers in the original committee. This is to give the new members of the DPC an idea of the range of scoring between scorers and a feel for the level of score appropriate to applications with different content. The three applications which will be provided will be those which are near to the 25%, 50% and 75% position down the list of final ranking in the previous years DP process. The DPC Chair will direct the DPC on any action to take following the outcome of this exercise.
5.5. Any consultant eligible for points participating in the DPC, whether as member or observer, shall be deemed to have ruled themselves out of consideration for points that year.
5.6. The composition of the DPC as a whole should adequately reflect the balance across the body of consultants reflecting all specialty, ethnic and gender groupings and the diversity of the employment locations of NHS Tayside to ensure that the individuals in these groups are not seen to be disadvantaged in the awards process.
5.7. The DPC will be chaired by one of the Non-Executive Board Members, who will not take part in the scoring process.
5.8. The Associate Director of Human Resources will act as Administration Secretary to the DPC and will not take part in the scoring process. The Secretary will:
5.8.1. Provide the Medical Director then the LNC with the names and contact details of eligible consultants; following verification by Clinical Leads;
5.8.2. Provide the DPC with the number of eligible consultants;
5.8.3. Be responsible for convening the briefing and scoring meetings;
5.8.4. Receive applications and check that acceptability criteria have been met . Those that lack necessary details should be returned to the applicant with appropriate explanation and will be only be considered if correctly re-submitted and verified by the relevant clinical line manager or clinical leader as per Section 4 before the closing date.
5.8.5. Be responsible for keeping the records of all scores and raw score sheets;
5.8.6. Be responsible for keeping full minutes of all the meetings, together with a list of those attending and collate the scores jointly with LNC observers. These minutes to be prepared and circulated at least two weeks prior to the second meeting of the DPC to allow review by the LNC DP Subcommittee prior to the second DPC meeting.
5.8.7. Advise the DPC of the total number of points available for award and record the DPC's decisions and rationale behind decisions within the Minutes.
5.8.8. Prepare the communication to successful applicants and all Consultants.
5.8.9. Ensure that the Remuneration Committee has met prior to the first meeting of the DPC in order to confirm the number of available points (including any points made available by consultant retirals and through promotion to Distinction Awards) and ensure proper consultation through the JNC prior to the first meeting of the DPC.
5.8.10. Advise NHS Tayside of the decisions of the DPC and the results of any appeals decisions.
5.8.11. The LNC DP Subcommittee will have full access to all records.
5.8.12. Be responsible for an equal opportunities analysis and its circulation
5.9. Once dates for the two DPC meetings have been set, all consultants will be invited to nominate themselves to sit on the DPC, with reminders that if successful they will be ineligible to apply for points in that round and will need to be available for both meetings. If insufficient nominees present themselves, the LNC will seek representatives through the LNC. In the event of a surplus of volunteers, a ballot shall be conducted by the BMA and overseen by LNC.
5.10. Every effort must be made by the Discretionary Points Committee to reflect the clinical body of consultants with representation from female consultants, consultants based outwith Ninewells and at least one from an ethnic minority, and proportionate spread between SDU and the CHPs. Ballot results will be ranked, and the highest ranked individuals from the relevant minority groups will be promoted as necessary to allow the LNC to select a group of representatives that provides the appropriate spread as above.
5.11. These arrangements must have the confidence of the profession.
5.12. Scoring committee members must be present for both DPs meetings. Those failing to attend the first DPC meeting will not be given copies of the applications to score.
5.13. The DPC will hold its first meeting with the new round of discretionary points and will be quorate with at least three members from Group 1, six members from Group 2 and one member from Group 3 present for the entire meeting. Members of the Committee must be clear before putting themselves forward that they must be in a position to attend both meetings, or their scores will be excluded (advice for scorers included). The quorum requirements for the second DPC meeting are the same.
5.14. Applicant anonymity is to be preserved up until after the point where the DPC determines the thresholds for allocation of the available discretionary points to applicants. Up until this point applicants will not be identified by name, but only by number, letters or some similar arrangement.
5.15. Members of the DPC will not act as advocates or representatives for any applicant or specialty.
5.16. Scoring will be undertaken independently. Scoring for each criterion should usually be within the middle 50% of available points. The bottom 25% should be reserved for clearly below average activity, and the top 25% for outstanding level of contribution in the relevant box. Blank boxes will be scored 0 and there can be no duplication or transfer of data for scoring purposes from one box to another.
5.17. The deliberations of the DPC will be based on the contents of the DP Forms only and it will not make any decision based on facts or suppositions not contained therein. The LNC DP Subcommittee will score a sample of DP forms to ensure an internal audit of the process and complete an analysis of the scores to check for any anomalies or significant variations in the scorings. The scoring forms from the DPC will be copied to the LNC DP Subcommittee prior to the second meeting in order that the comparative analysis can be completed. The outcome of this analysis will be reviewed at the second meeting by the DPC and the LNC DP Subcommittee and any anomalies or significant variations will be addressed by the DPC as it sees fit. It is important that there is transparency throughout the scoring procedure between the DP Committee and LNC DP Subcommittee in order to ensure confidence throughout the process
5.18. Collation of scores and production of rankings will be conducted by the DPC secretary with the DP Subcommittee members present. Once all valid scores have been collected, median scores shall be calculated in order to produce a rank order. Full minutes, including scoring sheets, rankings and rationale for decisions, e.g on thresholds, will be maintained throughout the two meetings. All paperwork is to be available to the LNC DP Subcommittee. Any applicant formally appealing against the decision of the DPC will be given full access to the set of scores, scoring sheets, minutes and full records of the two meetings but other applicants' DP Forms must not be removed, scanned or copied.
5.19. Each year the DPC will review the names of eligible consultants who have not received discretionary points in the previous five years to ensure that they are not being overlooked.
5.20. Appropriate guidance and training regarding the process and equal opportunities will be given to each member of the DPC (guidance notes included).
5.21. Members of the DPC must treat person-identifiable data confidentially. The deliberations of the DPC will be subject to the terms set out at Section 6 and decisions of the Committee will be recorded as an official minute, which will be sent to the Remuneration Sub-Committee of NHS Tayside for confirmation. These minutes will be available to the LNC DP Subcommittee and to any applicant appealing the decision of the DP panel to ensure transparency. Doctors applying for points will be advised of the outcome within ten working days and a list of those who have been awarded points in the current year, shall be published within one week and will be available on request to all Consultants employed by NHS Tayside. Details of the outcome will be also sent to the Scottish Advisory Committee on Distinction Awards (SACDA).
5.22. The DPC shall report to NHS Tayside Remuneration Committee who shall ensure that the operation of the DPC is appropriate in terms of probity and governance. In addition, the Remuneration Committee may request Internal Audit to undertake an independent review of the Discretionary Points process.
6. The Process
6.1. Within the timetable laid down (Appendix VI) the Secretary of the DPC will arrange dates for both DPC meetings, and ensure that these are given to all those invited to sit on the committee prior to their nomination. He/she will convene an initial meeting to set the agenda for the detailed process for the year in question and to brief members on the procedure to be followed. (Guidance notes distributed at this meeting).
6.2. All of the members of the DPC attending this meeting will be given the applications for consideration. The complete list of applications will be simultaneously given to the LNC DP Subcommittee which will select and score forms prior to the second meeting of the DPC. Each scoring member of the DPC will independently score each of the applications and forward these scores to the Secretary of the DPC who will be responsible for collating the information (Appendix VII) along with LNC DP Subcommittee) for the next meeting of the DPC. The DP Forms will be kept anonymous throughout.
6.3. On completion of the collation and monitoring analysis the Secretary of the DPC will reconvene the meeting to decide the allocation of points to the applicants. The Secretary will at this point provide the re-convened DPC and LNC DP Subcommittee with the collated scores (Appendix VII). DPC and LNC DP Subcommittee members will initially be given an anonymised, ranked list of the median scores of all of the applicants together with a spreadsheet of scores by each scorer. Any anomalies or significant variations between the DP Committee and the LNC DP Subcommittee scores will be addressed by the DPC as it sees fit. Using this anonymised list the DPC will decide on the thresholds between the allocations of available discretionary points. Immediately after the thresholds have been determined an otherwise identical but de-anonymised, ranked list of the total scores will be circulated to the DPC members for perusal and discussion.
6.4. Once allocated the Secretary of the DPC will write out to all applicants within ten days informing them of the allocation of points. The letter will:
6.4.1. Detail the process to be followed in the event of an appeal and provide information regarding the appeal process and information available to appellant.
6.4.2. Remind consultants whose applications have been unsuccessful that formal feedback may be requested from the DPC.
6.5. Following the allocation of points the DPC shall hold a final meeting to review the process for the current year.
6.6. The agreed nominee(s) of the DPC will provide formal feedback to individuals on request after the award process has been completed in order to assist with future applications and appeal process. The information provided during the feedback will be anonymised and will refer to the scoring process.
7. Appeal Arrangements
7.1. If a consultant has grounds to believe that the process of awarding points has not been carried out fairly, he / she will have the right to appeal to the Secretary of the DPC within one month from the date of receiving the results of the allocation of discretionary points. Late appeals will not normally be considered unless the applicant can show good reason for the delay and it would be inequitable for the appeal not to proceed. The Secretary of the DPC will be responsible for setting up the appeal.
7.2. Any consultant formally appealing will be granted access to copies of appropriate records including the minutes of the DPC meetings, scored forms, scoring sheets and any other relevant documentation considered by the DPC/LNC DP Subcommittee.
7.3. All appeals must be heard within two months of the date of receipt. The outline reason for the appeal should be stated by the applicant in his / her letter of appeal. A further more detailed explanation may be made in writing prior to the appeal hearing once the appellant has had the opportunity to review the necessary documentation. Applicants will have a right to be represented by a working colleague or trade union representative not acting in a legal capacity. The appeals panel shall be comprised as follows:-
7.3.1. A Non-Executive Board Member of NHS Tayside who is also a member of the Remuneration Sub-Committee will act as chairperson;
7.3.2. A further member nominated by NHS Tayside;
7.3.3. A representative of the Local Negotiating Committee;
7.3.4. An independent (from outside NHS Tayside or retired) consultant acceptable to both the Employer and the Local Negotiating Committee;
7.4. None of whom shall have been involved in the scoring of the original process. The Appeal Committee will have access to all relevant documentation. The Appeal Committee have the authority to allocate the number of points they deem appropriate based on the case presented at the Appeal.
7.5. A member of the Human Resources Department will service the appeal.
7.6. Following the appeal:-
7.6.1. The appellant will be informed in writing within three working days of the decision;
7.6.2. The DPC will also be informed within the same time period by sending to each member a copy of the letter sent to the appellant;
7.6.3. If successful, the appellant will receive the allocation of discretionary points for the current year.
8. Support for Applicants
8.1. The Board shall ensure that appropriate advice and support is made available to all consultants in regard to the completion of DP Forms in order to promote equality of opportunity.
8.2. The Board will ensure that all applicants have adequate access to secretarial and IT resources in order to ensure that applicants are not disadvantaged in completing their DP Form .
9. Status of the Agreement
9.1. This agreement has been negotiated between the management and staff side of the Medical and Dental Negotiating Committee and formally approved at its meeting held on.
On behalf of the Medical and Dental LNC
On behalf of NHS Tayside
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