General practitioners committee UK overview

The GPC (general practitioners committee) is the only body which represents all GPs in the UK. It deals with all matters affecting NHS GPs, regardless of BMA membership.

Location: UK
Audience: GPs
Updated: Monday 30 September 2024
Voting card article illustration
GPC newsletter

For news, opinion and updates from GPC UK, read the latest newsletter.

Our priorities

Crisis in general practice

In July 2018, GPC wrote to the then-secretary of state for health, Matt Hancock MP, regarding the current crisis facing general practice. The letter outlines issues surrounding workload levels, expansion of the general practice and community workforce, technology and prevention, and adequate investment in primary care. 

GPs and practices are under unprecedented pressure following COVID-19 and the hugely impressive involvement of general practice in delivering the vaccination programme, but also the major scale of the NHS backlog and recruitment and retention issue. This was highlighted in the speech by Dr Richard Vautrey, GPC UK chair, at the LMC UK conference 2021.

Read our 2018 letter to Matt Hancock MP
Read our guidance on managing workload

GP pensions and annual allowance

Following extensive lobbying on annual allowance and the pensions taper from the BMA there have been two important changes that affect the 2019/20 and subsequent tax years.

GP pensions and using scheme pays

GP workforce 

Following the development and implementation of a range of national GP workforce initiatives over the last three to four years, we continue to update this resource with helpful guidance and practical support.

GP workforce guidance

Controlling workload in general practice

We are proposing a workload control strategy to enable general practice to improve quality and safety, publicise reasonable safe workload limits and provide practices with practical tools to control workload.

Controlling workload in general practice strategy

COVID-19: trust GPs to lead 

A set of principles addressing the need for change in general practice in England following the response to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trust GPs to lead report

Primary care education tariff

GPC chair Richard Vautrey wrote to the secretary of state for health and social care to call for an increase in the funding of undergraduate placements in primary care.

Primary care education tariff letter

Urgent prescription for general practice

Our Responsive, safe and sustainable: our urgent prescription for general practice report highlights the increasing pressures that practices are under. The report called for immediate action as part of a ‘rescue package’, and long term to provide a sustainable, viable and vibrant future for general practice.

Urgent prescription report

GPC UK policy and guidance is set out by the GPC UK policy groups below and the LMC UK conference.

 

covid illustration
COVID-19: toolkit for GPs

 

  • Guidance on service provision, reducing transmission, PPE, shielding patients and PCNs.
  • Your entitlements with annual leave, managing home visits and if you're indemnified.
  • How to manage your practice during coronavirus.
Visit the toolkit

Surveys

By gathering your views and feedback, GPC is able to use surveys during negotiations and in discussions with the government, civil service and other organisations.

COVID tracker surveys

The BMA has undertaken over 10 COVID-19 tracker surveys since April 2020 to ensure the voice and experiences of UK doctors are heard by the public and Government.

The GP specific results of the fifth tracker survey, published on 1 June 2020, showed that the vast majority (85%) reported that the changes that they had made in the way that they were working had been very or somewhat effective at combatting the pandemic. The survey also indicated that a large majority (88%) wanted to maintain the greater use of remote consultations and 77% want to use video technology to a greater extent for clinical and MDT meetings in the future.

The following survey, published 21 June 2020, highlighted the scale of extra work being taken on by GPs during the pandemic, something that is continuing to increase. The survey showed that a lack of robust IT systems and digital solutions to help secondary care colleagues to complete necessary tasks and which can lead to work being transferred to general practice without sustainable services being put in place.

The seventh tracker survey, published 9 July 2020, revealed a significant increase in requests for practices to do additional activity without the necessary funding or workforce being made available to make this change sustainable.

The impact of the delay in releasing national COVID-19 funding for general practices was also highlighted in the survey which showed that significant numbers of practices were not being reimbursed by their CCGs for out of pocket expenses directly linked to tackling COVID-19.

See all our COVID tracker and vaccine surveys.

GP premises survey 2018

The BMA GP committee surveyed members about their practices as part of the GP premises review.

Read the results

 

Our people

Chair: Katie Bramall-Stainer 
Deputy Chair: Frances O’Hagan 

Executive team:
Iain Morrison, chair of GPC Scotland
Gareth Oelmann, chair of GPC Wales
Mark Steggles, chair of Sessional GPs 
Amy Critchfield and Victoria McKay, co-chairs of GP Registrars 

 

Members

Non-voting members: Ex officio

President, Dr Mary McCarthy 
Chair of the representative body, Latifa Patel
Chair of council, Philip Banfield
Deputy Chair of council, Emma Runswick
Treasurer, Trevor Pickersgill

Voting Members: Ex officio

Chair of the UK LMC conference, Matt Mayer
Deputy chair of the UK LMC conference, Alastair Taylor


Elected by the annual representative meeting 2024

England 
Samuel Parker 
Surendra Kumar 
Lucy-Jane Davis 
Danielle McSeveney 
Mark Coley 
Amy Small 
Tilna Tilakkumar

Scotland
Stuart Blake

Wales
Om Aggarwal

Northern Ireland
Andrew Wilson

Elected by the UK LMC conference

Andrew Buist 
David Wrigley
Manu Agarwal 
Simon Minkoff
Gerard McHale 
Anwar Tufail

Members (continued)

Voting nominees of other bodies

Medical Women’s Federation
Caroline Delves

Medical Practitioners' Union (two representatives)
Jackie Applebee
Tom Riddington

British International Doctors Association
Rakesh Sharma

Under-represented groups (voting members)

Prison doctors
Bethan Roberts

GP within first five years post CCT
Caroline Rodgers

Non-voting nominees of other bodies:

Royal College of General Practitioners - Victoria Tzortziou-Brown and other

 

Members (continued)

Wales
Gareth Oelmann
Ian Harris 
Sara Bodey 


England
Katie Bramall-Stainer
Samira Anane
Julius Parker 


Scotland
Iain Morrison 
Al Miles 
Chris Black 


Northern Ireland
Frances O’Hagan
Ciaran Mullan
Conor Moore


Sessional GPs
Mark Steggles
Krishan Aggarwal
Veno Suri


GP Registrars
Amy Critchfield/ Victoria McKay
Cheska Ball         
TBC


Policy Groups 
Policy Lead for Representation – Rachel Ali
Policy Lead for Education and Training – Sarah Matthews
Equalities Champion – TBC

Policy groups

GPC UK's policy groups focus on specific workstreams, and deliver work on behalf of GPC UK. You can find out more about our policy groups and their work below.

Representation
The representation policy group leads on all matters related to representation of GPs in the BMA, democratic accountability, representation of GP principals, sessional GPs and GP trainees in GPC structures and representation of historically marginalised groups in GPC structures include but not limited to female GPs, GPs from ethnic minority backgrounds and disabled GPs.
Contact us: [email protected]

Education and training
The Education and training policy group leads on all education and training issues of relevance to the general practice workforce.
Contact us: [email protected]

Associated committees

Our meetings

The UK GPC meets twice a year to discuss the latest issues facing general practice. These meetings are open to GPC members, however, the committee also welcomes observers from LMCs (local medical committees).

LMCs interested in sending an observer to a GPC meeting should contact the GPC office to arrange a suitable date. All travel and other expenses for LMC observers must be met by the relevant LMC. A maximum of three LMC observers may attend any one meeting.

Meeting dates:

  • Thursday 17 October 2024
  • Thursday 6 March 2025

All meetings take place from 10am to 5pm either virtually or at:

BMA House
Tavistock Square
London
WC1H 9JP

For more information about GPC meetings, email [email protected]

 

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 GPC UK, these are: 

Regional elections
  • Seats/term - every year, a third of the 43 UK regions elect a representative for a three-session term.
  • Timeline - elections are usually held in February or March.
  • Eligibility - all GPs who BMA members are eligible to stand if they live or work in the relevant regions. All GPs can vote in this election.
LMC UK conference elections
  • Seats/term - every year, seven delegates of the LMC conference are elected to GPC UK for a one-session term.
  • Timeline - elections are held at the LMC conference in May.
  • Eligibility - only LMC conference delegates can stand and vote in this election.
ARM elections
  • Seats/term - every year, elections for 10 seats on GPC UK take place for a one-session term.
  • Timeline - the nomination period opens a month before ARM, and voting closes a few days after ARM.
  • Eligibility - all UK GPs BMA members can stand for election but only ARM delegates can vote.

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

Elections to the GPC are now closed.

Get in touch

If you are interested in finding out more about the work of GPC, email [email protected]

Equality article illustration
Develop your skills as a committee member

Take part in one of our free courses designed to give you the right skills to:

  • break down equality and inclusion bias (CPD-accredited)
  • value difference and inclusivity
  • live our BMA behaviour principles.
Find out more
handshake illustration
Women at the BMA

The BMA is working to meet the challenges that women face in the medical profession.

Stand for a BMA committee and be part of this change.

Find out more