Clinical Excellence Awards become Clinical Impact Awards

Clinical Excellence Awards become Clinical Impact Awards

As a result of a recent review of the National Clinical Excellence Awards (NCEA) system, which is managed by the Advisory Committee on CEAs (ACCEA), some significant changes are about to be made, including a change of name: they will now be called National Clinical Impact Awards (NCIAs), and the committee becomes the ACCIA.

What are the main changes to the system?

The changes go well beyond a simple change in name, and include:

  • The number of NCIAs will be around double the number of NCEAs awarded in recent years: about 600 per year.
  • There will be three levels: Levels 1, 2 and 3 will replace Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
  • The value of the awards will be approximately halved: £20,000 for Level 1, £30,000 for Level 2 and £40,000 for Level 3.
  • The NCIAs will not be pensionable.
  • They will last for 5 years and will not be renewable, although it will be possible to apply for a new award in the fourth year of an NCIA.
  • Applications will not be made for a specific award. Instead, you will simply apply for a national award, and will receive the award that corresponds to the score given to your application form.
  • You will not need to have a local award (LCEA) to be eligible for a national award.
  • Applications from less than full time consultants will be encouraged and paid at full rate for those on 3 PAs or more.
  • The scoring process remains largely similar, but there are changes to the form:
    • Domains will be limited to 2000 characters without supplementary forms.
    • The new Domains will be:
      • Service Delivery & Development
      • Leadership
      • Education (undergraduate, postgraduate and the public)
      • Innovation & Research
      • Other contributions.
    • More space will be allowed on the form to list publications.
  • National Nominating Bodies (NNBs) such as the RCoA will become National Nominating Organisations (NNOs). There will be fewer NNOs than there were NNBs, and applicants will only be allowed to be given support, ranking and a citation from one NNO. No third-party citations, i.e. citations from individuals or organisations that are not NNOs, will be allowed.

What does this mean for the RCoA’s members?

In past years, the number of applicants that the RCoA could support was greatly limited by the ACCEA’s processes. However, the new system will allow the RCoA to support many more applicants. We hope that this and other changes will lead to more successful applications from RCoA members, who are currently under-represented as holders of national awards.

The new system will be complex, and full details are not yet available. It is thought that the 2022 process will be open for online application in April and will close in June, with the process completed at the end of the year. The guidance for the new award round will be published here.

What should consultants do now?

The RCoA will have very little time to create and conduct its process for supporting applications from its members, so the more that you can do now to make progress on the content of your form, the easier it will be for you and for us. Please start to plan which of your achievements you will put on your form in the five domains listed above. There is no example of what the new form will look like, but we will highlight the new form as soon as it is announced through our website and social media output. Please also think about who can provide you with a citation if you are successful in being supported by the RCoA – guidance for choosing a citation writer for your application in the previous round is here. It is likely that applicants will have a very short time to submit their forms to the RCoA for support once the start of the awards round is announced, so please make all the preparations that you can.

Financial arrangements for LCEAs, NCEAs and NCIAs

The financial arrangements for the transition between pensionable NCEAs and non-pensionable NCIAs are complex and may affect the value of applicants’ pay and pensions. NHS Employers have published guidance here, and we hope that more information will become available when ACCIA publishes its guidance for the 2022 award round. It is likely that it will not to be possible to hold an LCEA and an NCIA simultaneously for at least the first 5 years of the new system. This may mean that successful new applicants for an NCIA have to relinquish their LCEAs. The RCoA cannot offer advice to individual members on the impacts of these transitional arrangement on their salaries and pensions, so we strongly recommend that any member planning to apply for an NCIA seeks and acquires guidance from a professional financial advisor with experience of NHS pay and awards.

Any questions?

Please contact accea@rcoa.ac.uk with questions – we will answer them if we can!