P253 How much is too much? sky rocketing cost of continuous professional development

Background Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is a mandatory requirement for revalidation. Financial constraints due to austerity have consistently upset study budgets. The high cost of CPD is a deterrent in the professional growth and may, in turn, impact the quality of patient care. The author efficaciously organised a multi-agency CPD event at an all-inclusive cost of £40. Objective To explore an alternative way of coping with the ever-rising cost of CPD’s! Methods Participants in a well-attended multi-agency safeguarding CPD event in England were surveyed. Out of 130 participants, 119 contributed to the survey. The response rate was over 90%. Results 70% of the responders were from Health, 16% from Education, 12% from Children’s Social Care and 2% from the Police department. From the health side, 60% were Consultants, 27% were Paediatric trainees, 10% were Nurses and 3% were GPs. 1 in 2 responders had no specific study budget. 1 in 3 had a study budget of between £500 and £1000. 1 in 10 of them was allowed to spend less than £500 and 1 in 20 had the luxury to spend £1000 per year. 2 out of 3 of the respondents reported that their study budget is inadequate. An overwhelming majority (80%) were of the opinion that the CPD events should either be free to attend or cost less than £50 per day. Conclusion Many CPD events are currently priced at £500 or more. Attending one such CPD may consume entire year’s study budget and seriously jeopardise clinicians ability to keep up with the on-going learning needs in a fast-changing world of medicine. Tax Payers’ money must not be used for institutional profiteering. Recommendations We strongly suggest rationalising and optimising the cost of the CPD events and putting up a cap on the maximum amount of money that could be charged.