Electronic Library for Guideline Developers

[Electronic Library for Guideline Developers]

8	Development of the guideline
8.1	Introduction
	Sign is a collaborative network of clinicians and other health care professionals, funded by the Clinical Resource and Audit Group (CRAG) of the Scottish Executive Health Department. The overall direction of SIGN’s development and SIGN’s guideline programme are determined by members of SIGN. Guidelines are developed using a standard methodology, based on a systematic review of the evidence. Further details about SIGN and the guideline development methodology are contained in "SIGN 50; A Guideline developer’s handbook" available at www.sign.ac.uk.
8.2	The guideline development group
	Dr Charles Swainson (Chairman)	Consultant Renal Physician and Medical Director, Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust
	Dr Neil Campbell	Cancer Research Campaign Primary Care Oncology Fellow, University of Aberdeen
	Dr Neil Dewhurst	Consultant Cardiologist, Perth Royal Infirmary
	Professor Martin Eccles	Centre for Health Services Research, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
	Dr Robert Finnie	General Practitioner, Livingston
	Sister Janice Fraser	Coronary Care Unit, Western Infirmary, Glasgow
	Mr Robin Harbour	Information Officer, SIGN
	Professor Lee Kennedy	Consultant Physician, Sunderland Royal Hospital
	Mr Stephen McGlynn	Area Pharmacy Specialist, R&D, Western Infirmary, Glasgow
	Dr Donald McLeod	Consultant Cardiologist, Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline
	Dr Caroline Morrison	Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Greater Glasgow Health Board
	Dr Ashley Mowat	Consultant Gastroenterologist, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
	Dr Moray Nairn	Programme Manager, SIGN
	Dr Sue Vincent	General Practitioner, Dundee
	Dr Steven Walton	Consultant Cardiologist, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
	The membership of the guideline development group was confirmed following consultation with the member organisations of SIGN. Declarations of interests were made by all members of the guideline development group. Further details are available from the SIGN Executive.
8.3	Systematic literature review
	The guideline development group reviewed the medical literature and existing guidelines published by a wide range of other bodies, including the North of England evidence-based guideline for the Primary Care Management of Stable Angina. The group decided that the quality and depth of the systematic review undertaken for the North of England guideline was such as to make duplication of this work unnecessary. It was decided to base the SIGN guideline on the North of England guideline, adapting it to produce a guideline suitable for use within Scotland. SIGN acknowledges the debt to the North of England project group and extensive reference is made throughout the guideline to their original document. The SIGN guideline quotes additional references reviewed by the SIGN group.
	Searches for other guidelines or systematic reviews were carried out covering key Internet sites, Embase, Healthstar, Medline, and Pascal. An additional search, covering the same databases, was carried out looking specifically at the management of stable angina and secondary prevention of coronary heart disease in primary care. The main searches were supplemented by material identified by individual members of the development group. All selected papers were evaluated using standard methodological checklists before conclusions were considered as evidence.
8.4	Consultation and peer review
	A national open meeting is the main consultative phase of SIGN guideline development. This takes place whilst the guideline is still in development and gives the guideline development group the opportunity to present their preliminary conclusions and draft recommendations to a wider audience. The draft guideline is also available on the SIGN web site for a limited period at this stage to allow those unable to attend the meeting to contribute to the development of the guideline.
	Specialist reviewers
	The guideline was also reviewed in draft form by the following independent expert referees, who were asked to comment primarily on the comprehensiveness and accuracy of interpretation of the evidence base supporting the recommendations in the guideline.
	Dr Phil Adams	Consultant Cardiologist, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle
	Dr Miles Fisher	Consultant Physician, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley
	Professor Charles Forbes	Consultant Physician, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee
	Dr John Forfar	Consultant Cardiologist, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford
	Dr Callum Fraser	Clinical Leader, Biomedical Medicine, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee
	Dr John Gillies	GP Guidelines Advisor, Borders Health Board
	Professor John Hampton	Professor of Cardiology, Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham
	Dr Graham Jackson	Consultant Cardiologist, Guy’s and St Thomas’s Hospital, London
	Dr Grace Lindsay	Lecturer in Nursing and Midwifery Studies, University of Glasgow
	Dr Gregory Lip	Consultant Cardiologist, City Hospital, Birmingham
	Dr Mandy MacIver	General Practitioner, Inverness
	Ms Mel Miller	Secretary, CHD Task Force, Scottish Executive Health Department
	Ms Fiona Reid	Clinical Pharmacist, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
	Professor Lewis Ritchie	Professor of General Practice, Foresterhill Health Centre, University of Aberdeen
	Dr Alex Watson	General Practitioner, Westgate Health Centre, Dundee
	Editorial group
	As a final quality control check, the guideline is reviewed by the SIGN Editorial Group to ensure that each point has been addressed adequately and that any risk of bias in the guideline development process as a whole has been minimised. Each member of the guideline development group is then asked formally to approve the final guideline for publication.
	Professor James Petrie	Chairman of SIGN, Co-editor
	Dr Jim Beattie	Royal College of General Practitioners
	Dr Marion Bennie	Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (Scottish Dept)
	Dr Doreen Campbell	CRAG Secretariat, Scottish Executive Department of Health
	Dr Patricia Donald	Primary Care Advisor to SIGN
	Professor Gordon Lowe	Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
	Ms Juliet Miller	Director of SIGN, Co-editor
	Dr Joanna Wardlaw	Royal College of Radiologists
	Mr Pete Wimpenny	Centre for Nursing Practice Development, Robert Gordon University
8.5	Acknowledgements
	The following former members of the guideline development group also commented on a draft version of the guideline and SIGN acknowledges their contribution
	Dr Ian MacLean	Director of Public Health, Dumfries & Galloway Health Board
	(Former chairman)
	Dr Nick Boon	Consultant Cardiologist, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
	Dr Gavin Brown	General Medicine, Fort William
	Dr Patricia Donald	General Practitioner, Edinburgh
	Dr Ursula Guly	Consultant in Accident and Emergency Medicine, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee
	Dr Helen Oxenham	Cardiologist, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
	Dr Howard Robson	Consultant Physician, Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle
	Dr Ian Starkey	Consultant Cardiologist, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh
	Guideline development and literature review expertise, support, and facilitation were provided by the SIGN Executive.
	Ms Juliet Miller	Director of SIGN, Co-editor
	Ms Francesca Chappell	Information Officer
	Ms Gail Crosbie	Networking Coordinator
	Dr Ali El-Ghorr	Programme Manager
	Mrs Lesley Forsyth	Conferences Coordinator
	Mr Robin Harbour	Information Manager
	Mr Graeme McAlister	Communications Manager
	Ms Elaine McKelvey	Guideline Coordinator
	Ms Fiona Moncur	Guideline Coordinator
	Dr Moray Nairn	Programme Manager
	Mrs Judith Proudfoot	Adminstrator
	Ms Gaynor Rattray	Guideline Coordinator
	Dr Safia Qureshi	Senior Programme Manager
	Mr Duncan Service	Information Services Officer
	Miss Leanne Stirling	Administration Assistant
	Ms Joanne Topalian	Programme Manager

8

Development of the guideline