The BMA has elected Dr Tom Dolphin as its next leader. Dr Dolphin was elected chair of council by the Association’s council today, following the BMA’s Annual Representation in Liverpool. He was one of five candidates, with two of these running as a co-chair nomination.
Dr Dolphin takes over from Professor Philip Banfield, council chair since 2022, and will begin his term with immediate effect.
Dr Dolphin said: “It’s an honour and privilege to have been elected to lead the nation’s doctors at such a pivotal time.
“I’d like to thank Phil for his fantastic leadership over the last three years; it is a great responsibility to take over from him. It has been a period of huge change for the BMA which has seen doctors realise the power that they have as trade union members to change their working lives – and in turn health systems – for the better.
“The fight to restore doctors’ pay and pensions continues, with colleagues across the country furious that the promised ‘journey’ towards pay restoration that we were promised has already come to a grinding halt.
“I will empower BMA members so that everywhere that doctors work and medical students study, they know that they are stronger together, and the exploitation and erosion of our profession is stopped.
“The Government has the chance to reshape the NHS into a service that values its greatest asset: the staff who every day go above and beyond. But these staff are increasingly demoralised to see their pay eroding again as the service routinely strains in the summer under conditions we once would have considered the worst winter crisis we’d ever seen.
“Doctors are fighting back, standing up for standards and patient safety, standing up for pay and conditions, and standing up for health services that we can be proud of.”
Dr Dolphin is an anaesthetic consultant in London. He has been a member of BMA council since 2012 and is chair of his hospital trust’s local negotiating committee (LNC), which represents and negotiates for doctors at employer-level. He lives in London with his husband.
Notes to editors
The BMA is a professional association and trade union representing and negotiating on behalf of all doctors in the UK. A leading voice advocating for outstanding health care and a healthy population. An association providing members with excellent individual services and support throughout their lives.
- The new chair of council is a member of the 2022-2026 BMA Council. BMA council is the Association's principal executive committee, and its chair is also chair of the BMA's board of directors and a member of the chief officer team.
- Dr Dolphin has been elected by Single Transferable Vote and will serve an initial three years, before being eligible to stand again for two further one-year terms.
- He will provide overall strategic leadership in developing and implementing the policies, objectives, and strategies of the BMA.
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