MCCOURT: 'We retain our autonomy because we are the BMA'
The BMA junior doctors committee has unanimously elected Ellen McCourt as its new chair.
A Tyne and Wear-based specialty trainee 3 in emergency medicine, Dr McCourt had previously been deputy chair responsible for education and training on JDC prior to her election this morning.
Her election to the role of chair follows the resignation of previous incumbent Johann Malawana yesterday after a ballot result of junior doctors which rejected a proposed new contract.
Dr McCourt, who first joined the BMA as a student in 2005, has occupied several roles within JDC.
During her time at the association she has also been a member of the MASC/JDC joint academic trainees subcommittee, the northern regional JDC and the Yorkshire regional JDC.
Apolitical BMA
Dr McCourt drew wide admiration and applause during the BMA annual representative meeting 2016 where she argued in defence of the association's apolitical status.
In her speech she also warned against the use of personal attacks on individuals and the politicising of contract negotiations as counterproductive to the association’s goals.
She said: ‘The BMA is an apolitical organisation; we campaign and lobby without political bias … attacking individuals on a personal level diminishes our power, our leverage and brings them down to their [politicians'] level.
‘By remaining apolitical we do not enable political figureheads to weigh-in, we do not align ourselves to individuals who have no responsibility to the views of our members.
‘We do not alienate members of the public and we do not alienate members of the profession. We retain our autonomy because we are the BMA.’
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