This Committee, under the Chairmanship of Mrs Peggy Jay, J.P., was appointed in July 1975, with the following terms of reference: ‘To consider Recommendation 74 of the Report of the Committee on Nursing (Briggs Committee), in particular to enquire into the nursing and care of the mentally handicapped in the light of developing policies, to examine the roles and aims of nurses and residential care staff required by the health and personal social services for the care of mentally handicapped adults and children; the inter-relationship between them and other health and personal social services staff; how existing staff can best fulfil these roles and aims; in the interest of making the best use of available skills and experience, the possibilities of the career movement of staff from one sector or category to another; the implications for recruitment and training; and to make recommendations.’

In the past few years the overseas doctor working in the National Health Service has been surveyed, discussed, exposed and sometimes adversely criticized in reports and in the press. Realizing the seriousness of this situation in order to attempt a remedy the Royal College has set up a working party in the form of the Overseas Trainees Sub-Committee.