GP registrars committee

The GP registrars committee represents all doctors across the four nations of the UK on a GP training programme, including BMA members and non-members, while working in primary care.

Current priority

Webinar: What full pay restoration means for GP registrars

The GP Registrars committee hosted two webinars in February 2023 for our grassroot registrars to explain how their pay has been eroded over the past decade, and how members can get involved in taking action to restore their pay.

Watch the webinar

Our priorities

The GP Registrars committee works on a broad range of issues affecting GP registrars. Find out more about some of our work.

Industrial Action and time out of training (TOOT)

GPC UK and the GP Registrars Committee have written to all GP Training Programme Directors about Time Out Of Training (TOOT), industrial action, and the importance of progression not being delayed.

Shaping future of GP and GP Training

The views of GP registrars in shaping the future of our profession are vital. We recently surveyed GP registrars across the UK on their views on GP training, and their future career plans.  Our chair has shared some of the key findings in a blog post, highlighting shocking statistics around workforce bullying and harassment, as well as a clear trend towards flexible working being an important factor in GP Registrar career choices. The committee and the wider GPC will use the survey to advocate for improvements to GP Training, and ensure the GP workforce is fit for the future.

COVID-19 has also encouraged a long-term review of how we work as GP registrars. The move to more remote consulting has required GP registrars to work in situations no GP registrar has trained in before. We engage with RCGP, Statutory Education Bodies and the wider GPC to review how GP training is delivered, to adapt to the new ways of working, aiming to ensure the curriculum is up to date and relevant to the environments we train in.

GP registrar Urgent and Unscheduled Care (UUC)

(Also known as Out of Hours (OOH))

From our recent GP registrars survey, it was clear access to educational opportunities to achieve UUC competencies was a concern for GP registrars. COVID-19 has restricted access to traditional OOH settings, although these issues are now resolving in many areas. The UUC guidance is clear on the variety of ways UUC competencies can be made, and that RCGP no longer mandate minimum hours requirements in traditional OOH settings. This minimum commitment has also been removed from the contract in England.

In Northern Ireland, the training requirements from NIMDTA stipulate at least 108 hours in GP OOH over the course of GPST2/3 with 36 hours in GPST2 and 72 hours in GPST3.

GP registrars in Wales currently work and training under the 2002 Terms and Conditions of Service. The position of HEIW and employers in Wales is that as part of this contract, there is a training requirement for GP registrars to undertake a set amount of OOH work as part of their GP-placement posts. This is 36 hours in the ST2 year and 72 hours in ST3 (the GP training programme in Wales comprises of one year in hospital-based placements and two in GP placements). This is a position that the BMA has explored in the past with a view to change and is under discussion as part of the wholesale contract talks.

As a result of lobbying by the BMA in Wales, GP registrars are now enabled to receive their contractually mandated 11 hours of compensatory rest between an OOH shift and a normal working day at their training practice if they need to take a late evening OOH shift between Sunday and Thursday. The advice is that this can be undertaken if the OOH shift availability and training opportunity offered means taking such a shift is important and if the registrar's training practice is given as much notice of the shift as possible.

RCGP exams

We are aware MRCGP Examinations are a major issue for our members. We have regular contact with senior members of the RCGP, feeding into key discussions on this topic. We have raised concerns regarding the Recorded Consultation Assessment (RCA), lobbied to ensure Study Budget access for credits, and extending the recording time from 10 to 12 minutes. We also continue to highlight the need for fairness to ensure equality, diversity and inclusion aspects are addressed for GP registrars. We will be feeding into the long-term future of any RCA replacement, to ensure we voice concerns raised from members regarding both the RCA, and the Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA).

The GP Registrars committee has for many years been seeking transparency on GP registrar exam fees from RCGP, more so following the move to the RCA. Following previous discussions, RCGP published this paper explaining the cost of exams prior to the RCA. We continue to highlight the impact of the costs of examinations to registrars, and push for transparency in the cost of the RCA in comparison to the CSA.

GPT contractual issues

Version 9 of the Terms and Conditions for doctors in training in England was published in April 2021. This clarified the provision allowing GP registrars that are required to use their personal vehicle for home visits to claim home to practice mileage and any associated travel costs, such as tolls. This was a significant improvement negotiated as part of the 2018 Junior Doctor Contract review. The ability to claim the home visit itself remained unchanged. Some employers are placing arbitrary caps on the number of claims registrars can claim, and the GPTC would urge any such instances to be raised with BMA.

The Welsh Junior Doctors Committee negotiates contractual issues on behalf of all registrars including GP registrar in Wales. The GPTC representative for Wales is an active member of such work. WJDC entered talks exploring contractual reform in 2020. These talks were suspended during the first wave of the pandemic and are currently continuing. More information can be found here. Please look out for further information later in 2022 regarding the result of these talks.

GP registrar indemnity

GP registrars in England no longer need to purchase additional personal indemnity, under agreements secured by the BMA. Under the scheme, all GP registrars placed in GP settings for training purposes will automatically be covered for clinical negligence liabilities – no payments are required to benefit from the indemnity provided.

Following further discussions between Health Education England (HEE) and the BMA’s GP and GP registrar representatives, the BMA can confirm that comprehensive personal indemnity cover for all GP registrars will be funded by HEE until qualification. Where a registrar's personal protection is currently provided by a medical defence organisation through a bulk-indemnity agreement, this will continue.

In Scotland, as an employee of NHS Education for Scotland (NES), your indemnity will be provided by CNORIS for the duration of GP training. However, there are other professional activities which may not be covered by CNORIS. When GP registrars work in a hospital setting, they are normally covered by the NHS Hospital and Community Health Services indemnity against claims of medical negligence. You may not be covered by the indemnity for certain circumstance, for example, providing services for which you receive a separate fee.

GP registrars within Northern Ireland need to organise their own indemnity through their local Medical Defence Organisation (MDO), for both GPST2 and GPST3, and claim back this expenditure from NIMDTA. It is important when discussing with your MDO you highlight Northern Ireland as your base, this ensures your cover will be correct, as registrars in Northern Ireland are not covered by Crown Indemnity.

As part of their training, GP registrars in Wales now have part of their indemnity relating to civil claims made as a result of their work within their NHS training duties. This cover is provided by the Welsh Risk Pool General Medical Practice Indemnity Scheme. GP registrars will still need to obtain personal indemnity whilst outlining to such indemnifiers that they are employed under the Lead Employer for GP registrars in Wales and as such receive some indemnity cover via the Welsh Risk Pool. These remaining personal indemnity costs (e.g for criminal proceedings, Good Samaritan) can be claimed back under expenses (via the Sea e-expenses system) from the single lead employer when a GP registrar is in a GP placement (i.e. not when working in hospital placements).

You can find out more about indemnity in all four nations here.

International Medical Graduates (IMGs) and Visas

With the number of IMGs undertaking GP training in the UK increasing, we are increasingly concerned about the lack of access to sponsors for Visas for GP registrars at the end of their training. This causes significant anxiety and worry for GP registrars at a time they should be preparing themselves for CCT and working as a GP. Alongside other GPC committees (such as GPC Wales), we continue to highlight this issue to the UK Government, keep up pressure on the Home Office and national health departments to find a solution.

We also are pushing for more support for IMGs when starting in post, at a time when many IMGs commencing in GP training may be new to the United Kingdom and the NHS. We are working to lobby Statutory Education Bodies to ensure such registrars are provided with tailored support should they wish it, and to allow Educational Supervisors to support IMGs in progressing through their GP training.

Our people

Chair: Malinga Ratwatte

Deputy chair: Elliott Philips

Associated committees

GPC UK
GPC England
GPC Northern Ireland
GPC Scotland
GPC Wales
Sessional GPs Committee
LMCs
UK junior doctors committee,
Northern Ireland junior doctors committee
Scottish junior doctors committee
Welsh junior doctors committee
Junior members forum

The GP Registrars committee will be attending relevant conferences.

Our meetings

The GP Registrars committee meets four times a year to discuss the issues that affect you. These meetings are open to committee members only.

Meeting dates:

• Wed 6 December – virtual
• Wed 27 March 2024 – hybrid
• Wed 12 June 2024 – virtual

For more information please 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 the GP Registrars committee, this is: 

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 GP Registrars committee are now closed.

Get in touch

If you are interested in finding out more about our work, if you have any issues or questions relating to the committee, or if you would like to get in touch with your elected representative, please contact [email protected].