Lay Committee

Established in 1998 as the Patient Liaison Group, the committee provides an independent, non-clinical view across the majority of College activities and aims to advise and support the College in its work to improve patient care. Latterly, the group's title was revised to ‘Lay Committee’, to clarify that its members are not recruited based on experience of having been patients; rather, they offer comments and advice on the work of the College from a non-medical viewpoint.

All lay members of the Committee are unpaid volunteers and are recruited through advertisement and undergo the College’s robust application and interview process. The clinical members of the Committee are usually members of Council, including a vice president, and a representative from the Anaesthetists in Training Committee. There are three meetings a year plus a strategy meeting. The Chairman, a lay member, is co-opted to College Council, which gives a good overview of College activities and ensures our involvement in all areas of work.

Lay members:

• have a seat on most College committees, the three Boards and Boards of the Faculty of Pain Medicine and the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine
• regularly contribute articles to the Bulletin
• are invited to contribute to the Guidelines for the Provision of Anaesthetic Services
• receive training and contribute to the clinician-led peer review visits to hospitals under the Anaesthesia Clinical Services Accreditation scheme, to assess how the hospital experience might appear to a patient
• contribute to the College’s responses to consultation documents published by external professional bodies
• advise on, review and provide input into the production of the College’s patient information resources
• observe and provide feedback on College examinations
• contribute to question setting in the Primary OSCE exam, with a particular emphasis on doctor/patient communication
• have received equality and diversity training, and are required to make public any declarations of interests that may relate to their role on the Committee.

The Lay Committee supports the Joint Statement by the College President and Deans of the Faculties of Intensive Care Medicine and Pain Medicine which condemns racism and discrimination in any shape or form.

We join our President and Deans in celebrating diversity and promoting inclusion. In our work within the Lay Committee, we aim to represent people from all backgrounds and communities in the UK, ensuring that their voices are heard in College activities.

The Lay Committee welcomes members who share our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. We are especially keen to receive applications from people from minority groups who are interested in influencing and promoting the work of the College.

If you are interested in volunteering with us please get in touch via email at laycom@rcoa.ac.uk.

Thank you from the Lay Committee to anaesthetists and key workers during COVID-19