Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
Founded	1928;97 years ago
Headquarters	Theobald's Road, London
Location	United Kingdom;
Membership	22,000 (2024)
President	Steve Turner
Publication	Archives of Disease in Childhood
Website	www.rcpch.ac.uk

Last updated July 14, 2025

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) is the professional body for paediatricians (doctors specialising in child health) in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the postgraduate training of paediatricians and conducts the Membership of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (MRCPCH) exams. It also awards the Diploma in Child Health (DCH), which is taken by many doctors who plan a career in general practice. Members of the college use the postnominal initials 'MRCPCH' while Fellows use 'FRCPCH'.

History

The United Kingdom's first national group of paediatricians was established in 1928 as the British Paediatric Association or BPA. Its first president was George Frederic Still. The BPA's initial aims were the advancement of the study of paediatrics and the promotion of friendship amongst paediatricians. Most paediatricians also belonged to the Royal College of Physicians and took the examination MRCP(Paeds). The BPA was granted royal college status in August 1996. The MRCP(Paeds) exam was replaced by the MRCPCH in 1999.

The College's official journal, the Archives of Disease in Childhood, was founded in 1926.^{[ citation needed ]}

The RCPCH's first home was in Hallam Street, London. On 21 March 2008 the College moved to new premises at 5-11 Theobalds Road, London, where it is still based.^{[ citation needed ]}

Aims of the College

The RCPCH's stated aim is to 'transform child health through knowledge, innovation and expertise'.^[1] In practice it has a number of roles:

Postgraduate training for paediatricians: the RCPCH defines the paediatric curriculum, advises Local Education and Training Boards and records and monitors trainees' progress from entry to specialist training to achieving the certificate of completion of training (CCT).
Running examinations: both the MRCPCH, considered an essential qualification for British paediatricians, and the DCH, a qualification in child health for non-paediatricians.
Provides courses and e-learning resources.
Campaigns to improve child health nationally and globally.
Organises research conferences, notably the RCPCH Annual Conference.
Publishes the Archives of Disease in Childhood, a peer-reviewed journal of paediatrics.
Develops clinical guidelines and standards.

The college works closely with other bodies, including the Department of Health (United Kingdom), the Local Education and Training Boards, the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board, the General Medical Council, the National Clinical Assessment Service (NCAS), the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), children's charities and the other medical royal colleges.^{[ citation needed ]}

Fellowship

Senior doctors who have completed paediatric training can apply for Fellowship of the RCPCH, after which they can use the letters FRCPCH.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the college commemorate June Lloyd, first female President of the British Paediatric Association and Thomas Phaire, whose Boke of Chyldren from 1545 was the first book on paediatrics in English. The crest is a baby, taken from the arms of the Foundling Hospital in Coram's Fields.

List of presidents of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

The President is the elected head of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

British Paediatric Association

Start date	End date	President	Notes
1926		George Frederic Still	first president of the BPA
1935		Albert Ernest Naish
		James Holmes Hutchison
1965		Richard Ellis
1968	1969	Alfred White Franklin
1973	1976	Donald Court
		Otto Herbert Wolff
1988	1991	June Lloyd	first female president of the BPA
1991	1994	David Hull
1994	1996	Roy Meadow	Disgraced by his misuse of statistics