Sorry there has been a bit of radio silence from me for a while. I have been taking advantage of the flexibility of retirement and been away in Spain and southern France paying little attention to the activities at the BMA.
You may have noticed that our resident colleagues in England have taken a further episode of industrial action, so far without result, and they will be announcing new strike dates imminently. Visiting them on the picket line and providing moral support in person is greatly appreciated and I would encourage all who may be in a position to do this to consider it.
I have heard it reported that supplying biscuits gets an even better reception! We are also in the midst of resident colleagues in Scotland balloting for IA in support of their claims for improvement in pay and conditions. They likewise would appreciate any support that members may be able to provide. The BMA has published guidance about supporting striking colleagues which you may wish to read.
Financial advice and support
We have met with the BMA’s new financial services provide, Fidelius, to discuss replicating the seminars that we had previously arranged with the old provider, Chase de Vere. We will continue to push for in-person sessions as they were both valuable and appreciated by members who attended.
In the meantime, Fidelius have organised online pensions sessions for BMA members, the next taking place on 11 December. We would be pleased to hear from any members who have availed themselves of any of the new Fidelius services- and the outcome whether good, bad or indifferent.
Retired members' conference
Our annual retired members conference scheduled for March 12th 2026 is currently getting the plans polished and we will be looking for applications to attend, with registration opening at 9am on the 2 December. Conference chair, Tom Kane and deputy chair, Gary Wannan have put together an excellent programme on the theme of ‘Transformations and New Beginnings’ which we hope you will enjoy.
We have a limited number of places at the conference to attend in person but would hope that many other retired colleagues will attend virtually and join us online. All who attend in person or online are important and all will be able to interact with the Q&A sessions, debates on motions and indeed votes on motions.
We will attempt to support everyone we can to ensure the quality of their participation. For those with no IT engagement we will provide a number of systems in the conference with support for attendees to use for voting. For those attending online there is support available prior to the conference to ensure you are clear what is needed to participate.
Restructuring of the BMA
Your committee has met with Gill Beck and John Hughes on behalf of the organisation committee to discuss possibilities for divisional restructuring and how as retired members we will fit in. We have strongly refuted the suggestion that retired members are in some way lesser members and should not be allowed to vote or be elected to officer positions and have put forward constructive ideas for cross branch of practice local units which include retired members.
Member services
Member services remain available to retired members. The phone line has for the moment been withdrawn and access is by completion of an online form. Should you need help or support and find it is not forthcoming via this route please do get in touch with us directly, using this email, and we will try to ensure where needed you are linked up with appropriate advice. There is concern amongst various groups of colleagues at the withdrawal of the phone line. You can however request a call back with the online form.
Resolution process
This process dealing with internal complaints is undergoing review currently but is dependent on ordinary members agreeing to sit on panels. Please do consider supporting this essential work. If you would like more details please email me directly.
ARM 2026
The Annual Representative Meeting next year will be returning to three days and will be in Brighton, 22nd to 24th June 2026. Retired Members Conference will elect members wishing to attend to represent our branch of practice. As with our own conference, there is the opportunity to attend the ARM remotely. Our intent is, as in recent years, to organise a retired members dinner at the ARM and I will update with plans for this in the new year.
Pensions
Retired doctors who are potentially affected by the McCloud remedy arrangements are still awaiting communication about this and appear to be lower priority than other affected doctors. We will continue to monitor the situation and report back as appropriate. Anyone finding that pension payments are not being increased annually should get in touch with the pensions department. We are aware that this has happened to a number of retired members.
Vaccinations
I would remind colleagues that flu vaccinations are currently underway and there is concern about flu this year with an expectation we may expect a bad season.
AOB
As always, we are pleased to hear from any of you with thoughts, questions, ideas and even complaints.
Peter Curry is chair of the BMA retired members committee