Why I got involved in the BMA
I saw doctors' pay being eroded year on year and I wanted to improve local working conditions after experiencing employers acting with impunity. At the time, physician substitution was also rising up as a threat. I felt the BMA needed to shift its approach to be an organising union that wins and works with members. BMA Welsh council is one of the key places for making that change.
Professional development
Being an elected BMA representative has helped me to develop hugely personally and professionally. I have learnt so much from reps, members and staff and dealt with a variety of issues and topics. Specifically, I have gained experience in negotiation, campaigning, trade union organising, governance and policy making.
Recent wins in Wales
In recent years, we’ve drastically improved pay for doctors in Wales as well as improved resources for general practice with the ‘Save Our Surgeries’ campaign. Membership levels have risen in Wales in the last couple of years and we’ve seen the implementation of some of the recommendations outlined in the Leng review.
Empowering members to deliver local campaigns has also shaped our work with a recent win in Cwm Taf Morgannwg where measures have now successfully been implemented to improve the safety of staff in line with our fatigue and facilities charter , as well as improved engagement with members.
What I am most proud of
I am most proud of the pay campaign for resident doctors in Wales, which has halved the record pay erosion we had suffered at the start of my council term. Negotiating a brand new resident doctor contract has also been a significant achievement, establishing better terms and conditions to better suit and how we now work 24 years after the last contract.
We have also improved transparency to ensure we’re more effectively communicating our work to members. Growing the use of Welsh language by council and staff is also a passion of mine and I’m pleased that we’ve recently introduced steps and approved a motion to take this further.
I’m also encouraged by the direction of our work to move to empowering members to advance local campaign activity and providing them with more opportunities to have a direct say in making policy.
Why you should join BMA Welsh council
If used to its potential, a council seat is one of the most powerful ways you can make a difference to you and your colleague’s working lives. It’s highly rewarding, you get to work with great people, and it can help you develop both personally and professionally.
BMA Welsh council’s goals for the future
Continued membership growth, especially for locally employed and locum doctors, higher turnout elections, continued pay restoration, creating and winning more local campaigns, becoming a stronger presence in workplaces in Wales, further strengthening member voice and engagement, and working with a new Welsh Government to turn around the state of the NHS in Wales.
Nominations for the next BMA Welsh council will be open from 28 April to 19 May 2026
Deiniol Jones is a member of BMA Welsh council and deputy chair of the BMA Welsh resident doctors committee for terms and conditions