Â鶹Çø Council met in open session on 28 January to discuss social media and digital harms and hear updates about the Â鶹Çø’s campaigns work on training reform, workforce pressures and corridor care.
Social media and digital harm
Council agreed that the Â鶹Çø would stop posting on the social media channel X (formerly Twitter) with immediate effect. The normalisation of unacceptable online behaviour, including the use of AI tools to create and post harmful, non-consensual material involving real individuals, has raised serious concerns about safety and governance and does not align with the Â鶹Çø’s values and professional responsibilities as a medical royal college.
Council heard a presentation from Dr Shamila Wanninayake from the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) on the growing evidence of harm associated with excessive screen use and smartphone exposure in children and young people. Council members agreed that this is an important area for collective action and were supportive of work being led by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in this space.
President's update
Â鶹Çø president Professor Mumtaz Patel provided Council with an update on key activities.
She described ongoing engagement with government, NHS England and other stakeholders on competition ratios, welcoming the introduction of the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill as a means of tackling specialty training bottlenecks and emphasising the importance of ensuring that international medical graduates (IMGs) already working in the NHS are also valued and supported with high quality training, supervision and career progression.
- Â鶹Çø welcomes announcement of Bill to prioritise UK medical graduates for training places
- Â鶹Çø writes to The Times with call for urgent action on training bottlenecks
She highlighted the Â鶹Çø’s annual peers’ breakfast meeting at the House of Lords, which this year focused on prevention of ill health, and noted a number of new reports launched by the Â鶹Çø since November, including the Â鶹Çø View on digital and AI, an updated Green physician toolkit and a joint paper with the RCGP on integrated care in Wales.
- Â鶹Çø publishes View on digital and AI report
- Â鶹Çø publishes updated Green physician toolkit amid rising climate and health risks
- Royal colleges in Wales unite in call for an end to fragmented services
Professor Patel also updated Council on Â鶹Çø engagement with the NHS 10 Year Workforce Plan, which is expected in spring 2026. Â鶹Çø officers have attended several focus groups, the Â鶹Çø has submitted written evidence based on member engagement and the president continues to meet with senior civil servants to advocate for investment in the medical workforce, an expansion of specialty training places and stronger measures on retention.
She explained that phase 2 of the national medical training review is expected to build on the initial diagnostic report with a UK-wide, collaborative approach, with themed work streams examining training structure, flexibility, capability and career progression. Â鶹Çø representatives have attended focus groups to emphasise our next generation campaign messages.
On corridor care, the Â鶹Çø continues to call for the publication of data all year round on how many patients are being treated in temporary care environments, with the president recently attending a roundtable event with NHS England chief executive, Sir Jim Mackey. She also attended a recent parliamentary event calling for an end to corridor care.
‘We are still asking NHS England to publish corridor care data at every opportunity. This isn’t just about measuring the scale of the issue as it stands – it’s about identifying solutions and monitoring progress. We know it’s a problem and it’s not going away.’ – Professor Mumtaz Patel
- Corridor care is a year-round issue, says Royal College of Physicians
- Confronting corridor care: guidance for physicians
Member engagement at the Â鶹Çø continues to go from strength to strength.
In the devolved nations, the president was joined by local Â鶹Çø regional advisers and resident doctor representatives to host a senior stakeholder roundtable in Belfast in November 2025, visited the Ulster Hospital to meet with residents, SAS doctors and consultant physicians, and later joined a resident doctor networking event in Cardiff in December.
- Â鶹Çø visit to Ulster Hospital finds clinical innovation in the face of extreme system pressures
- Find a regional Update in medicine conference near you
Our regular ‘Meet your president’ sessions will continue through 2026. These online forums bring fellows and members together online to explore how the Â鶹Çø can better support and advocate for physicians and their patients.
‘Your voice matters – share your views, ask questions and help to shape the strategy and direction of the Â鶹Çø. We’re here to listen.’ – Professor Mumtaz Patel
Finally, Professor Patel pointed Council members towards the first update report from the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK on the implementation of recommendations from Professor John McLachlan’s independent report on the MÂ鶹Çø(UK) part 2 written exam.
Â鶹Çø Â鶹Çø Council
Â鶹Çø Council meets six times a year to debate, develop and approve policy on professional and clinical matters. Council met most recently on 28 January 2026. Since July 2025, the Royal College of Physicians (Â鶹Çø) has published summaries of Council open sessions on its website.
- Learn more about the governance of the Â鶹Çø
- View the agenda for this meeting of Council (Â鶹Çø members only)
Full Council meeting minutes (open section) are published in the member-only section of the Â鶹Çø website once they are approved at the following meeting. The closed section of the meeting will be reserved for fellowship and business-sensitive information. For more information, please contact Council@rcp.ac.uk.