Nominations are now being sought for the election of 12 voting members of the BMA Northern Consultants Committee. Members will be elected to serve for three years for the sessions 2026-2029.
The NICC (Northern Ireland consultants committee) is a standing committee of the BMA and represents all consultants working in Northern Ireland.
Our priorities
Pay
Consultants in Northern Ireland must be recognised properly for the work they do. More than any other group of healthcare workers, NHS consultants have been hit hardest by years of below inflationary pay “rises” from successive governments. As increasing numbers of professionals choose early retirement or reduced hours while waiting lists remain extensive, it is essential to restore pay in order to retain current consultants and attract future members of the consultant workforce.
Read more about our campaign to fix pay for consultants in Northern Ireland.
Recruitment and retention
BMA Northern Ireland had identified that health and social care in Northern Ireland has been experiencing significant pressures and insufficient resources. Coordinated measures are required to retain consultants within Northern Ireland’s Health and Social Care system as it continues to address and recover from the pandemic, exorbitant and rising waiting lists, early retirements and reduced hours due to deplorable pensions taxation, and the offer of more lucrative contracts elsewhere in the world. We have compiled evidence demonstrating a deepening crisis within the consultant workforce.
The ongoing high rates of vacancies in our health service are a huge concern for doctors.
We made a number of freedom of information requests to HSC (Health and social care) organisations in Northern Ireland to examine this issue in more depth.
Our report outlines the results of these requests and explores the factors that could be leading to an under-reporting of consultant vacancies.
Pensions
Taxation
BMA Northern Ireland welcomed the pension taxation changes introduced in 2023, which saw the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) scrapped and the Annual Allowance (AA) increased to £60,000. These are positive changes that can help retention of doctors in Northern Ireland in the short term. We also welcome the implementation of the pensions flexibilities negotiated as part of the NI consultants pay negotiations in 2024 including partial retirement and retire and return.
However, despite these reforms, pension-related issues continue to lead doctors to cut their HSC commitment or retire. This has a negative impact on retaining consultants in Northern Ireland, which is a key issue for NICC.
Moreover, if the AA limit is not kept regularly under review and left to erode in real-terms, then we will be back in a situation in few years’ time when consultants in Northern Ireland are looking to further reduce their HSC commitments or leave the health service altogether.
McCloud
The remedy to address the unfair discrimination in the pension scheme, known as the McCloud remedy, is also an important issue that impacts consultants in Northern Ireland.
With all members moved into the 2015 scheme from April 2022 for future accrual, and remedial service for members in scope rolled back to their relevant section of the legacy scheme, the Department of Health is now working through the implications of the rollback.
This is a complex exercise and was subject to a 2023 Department of Health consultation, to which BMA Northern Ireland issued a detailed response on behalf of members. It’s vital that impacted members are put back into the position they would have been in, if the discrimination hadn’t happened – this includes compensation for any overpaid pension tax, as well as the opportunity to revise any decisions members made that were contingent on the discrimination they faced.
We will keep all members up to date with developments as the remedy is implemented.
Working for consultants in Northern Ireland
NICC represents the views and priorities of consultants in Northern Ireland on a range of other BMA committees and external bodies with the aim of recruiting and retaining consultants and making Northern Ireland an attractive place to work for consultants.
Some of the external groups and bodies we liaise with on behalf of consultants in Northern Ireland include the General Medical Council, the Department of Health NI, BMA/DoH NI HR Engagement Forum and the Central Medical Advisory Committee. In collaboration with the DoH, we are currently exploring a tripartite arrangement that will see BMA, DoH and eEmployers working together to resolve employment issues affecting secondary care doctors.
Clinical excellence awards
Clinical excellence awards have been frozen in Northern Ireland since 2009, with no increase in their value, nor new awards or progression through the award scheme.
We responded to the Department of Health's consultation in February 2024 on a new CEA scheme. We continue to await the publication of the consultation report. Our view remains that the proposed scheme will not reward excellence or be sufficiently enticing to encourage consultants to seek employment in Northern Ireland or stem the flow of members seeking to retire early or work elsewhere.
Read our briefing paper.
Our people
Chair: Dr David Farren
Deputy chair: Dr Stephen Moore
Executive subcommittee
The NICC has an executive subcommittee, which co-ordinates the NICC strategic approach to policy issues, acts as a core negotiating body for the consultant body in Northern Ireland and acts as a further link between the NICC and the regional LNC forum.
It also considers and, where appropriate, acts upon urgent matters between meetings of the NICC.
Voting members
Belfast Trust:
Dr Peter Cosgrove
Dr Sam Lamont
Dr John Woods (Retired)
Dr Dearbhail Lewis
Dr Colin Goldsmith
Mr Abid Rashid
Dr Matthew Dore
Dr Robbie Thorpe
Dr Timothy Mawhinney
Dr Michael Doris
Dr Pauleen McSherry
Dr Graham Smyth
Northern Trust:
Dr David Farren
Dr John Mc Cabe
Dr Tracey Anne O’Neill
Dr Barry Patterson
South Eastern Trust:
Dr Michele Crawford Jefferson
Dr Nathan Oliver
Dr Stephen Moore
Dr Michael McParland
Southern Trust:
Dr Anne Carson (Retired)
Dr Sara Hedderwick
Dr Jamie Campbell
Dr Allister Foy
Western Trust
Dr Gerry Mackin (Retired)
Dr Nicholas Lipscomb
Non voting members
Dr Ralph Roberts (Co-Optee)
Dr Darren Johnston (BDA)
Dr Martin Tohill (Via NI Council)
Dr Shanu Datta (UKCC Co-Chair)
Dr Helen Neary (UK CC Co-Chair)
We currently have the following 7 vacancies:
Belfast Trust – 2 vacancies
Northern Trust – 1 vacancy
Southern Trust – 1 vacancy
SE Trust – 1 vacancy
Western Trust – 1 vacancy
PHA – 1 vacancy
Take part in one of our free courses designed to give you the right skills to:
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Our meetings
We meet four times a year to discuss the latest issues affecting consultant doctors in Northern Ireland.
These meetings are open to members of the Northern Ireland consultants committee only. Non-voting committee members can participate as part of the BMA committee visitors scheme.
Meeting dates 2025/26 session:
- Wednesday. 09 September 2026 - Hybrid (Venue TBC)
- Thursday, 03 December 2026 - Virtual
- Tuesday, 09 March 2027 - Hybrid (Venue TBC)
- Tuesday, 25 May 2027 - Virtual
All meetings start at 2pm.
How to join
There are many advantages to becoming involved in our committees. You can actively influence BMA policy-making and negotiations, represent your colleagues' voices and develop your leadership skills.
Each committee has a few routes to becoming an elected member. In the case of NICC, this is:
- Seats/term – every three years, elections for 36 seats on NICC for a three-session term.
- Timeline - elections are usually held in July or August.
- Eligibility - all consultants who are BMA members, and working in an NI health and social care trust are eligible to stand and vote in this election.
The election section below is kept up to date with details about any running elections, so make sure you keep checking it throughout the year.
Elections
BMA Northern Ireland Consultants Committee elections 2026-29
Nominations are now being sought for the election of 36 voting members of the BMA Northern Ireland Consultants Committee. Members will be elected to serve for three years for the session 2026-2029.
- NICC represents Consultants employed in HSC hospitals in Northern Ireland.
- NICC considers and acts on a range of issues that have a direct impact on Consultants particularly those relating to pay, working conditions, pensions etc
- NICC makes representations to the NI Assembly, Local HSC Trusts, and the Department of Health in NI.
- NICC contributes to the work of the UK Consultants Committee, ensuring that the views of Consultants in NI are represented.
- NICC also works in co-operation with NI Council and other committees that represent various branches of practice of the medical profession in NI.
How to make a nomination
Nominations can be made from Wednesday 1 July 2026 on the BMA's online elections system.
Please make sure we have the right details for you.
Eligibility
In order to nominate you must meet the following criteria:
- be a BMA member.
- be a practicing consultant
- be a member of the electorate of Northern Ireland.
- be able to communicate with and gather the views of their constituency when necessary.
- hold the relevant position for the specified seat.
Term limits
Members will be limited to no more than 12 years on the committee, unless they hold a chair or deputy chair position. Members may seek re-election to the committee after two years.
For those who hold a chair or deputy chair position (or are elected to one) and meet the 12 year period within their term, they will be permitted to continue their term as chair / deputy chair, plus one additional year during which they may re-stand for election as chair / deputy chair subject to the maximum aggregate number of years as chair / deputy chair outlined in committee standing orders,
Implementation of term limits will be staggered for all members as follows up to the 2027-28 session:
| Number of consecutive years on committee | Maximum number of additional years of the committee |
|---|---|
| >12 | 1 term or 2 sessions, whichever is longer |
| 10-11 | 1 term or 3 sessions, whichever is longer |
| <9 | 3 sessions |
Role of NICC members
To represent the views of consultants in your place of work at a NI level by being an active member of NICC. You will be the first point of contact between the committee and your colleagues and will have an important role in ensuring that excellent communication is maintained between the two.
You will be expected to:
- Seek Consultants views on issues that affect them so that the NICC is fully representative of the consultant body
- Report issues of concern, brought to your attention by fellow Consultants, to the NICC
- Within existing structures, identify and act on local issues on behalf of Consultants
- Report back to fellow Consultants on the work being undertaken by the NICC
- Work with fellow committee members to achieve the objectives identified in the NICC’s yearly work plan
- Where appropriate, work with BMA members of staff to organise and publicise local activities
Election Schedule
The schedule for election is expected to be as follows.
- From Wednesday 1 July to 12 noon on Friday 17 July nominations are open online (in advance of the election period).
- Once nominations are closed, all nominations are reviewed for eligibility before the voting stage begins.
- All Consultant members will be emailed notifying them of the opening of online voting.
- Voting will run from 2pm on 17 July to 12 noon on Monday 27 Ju7ly.
- As soon as possible after the results have been calculated, the Northern Ireland Consultants Committee secretariat will contact all candidates to let them know the outcome of the elections.
- Election results are then posted on the BMA website.
The first meeting of the NI Consultants Committee will take place on Wednesday 9 September 2026 at 2.00pm in the Mount Business and Conference Centre, 2 Woodstock Link, Belfast.
Get in touch
If you are interested in finding out more about the work of the NICC, please email us.
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