The general practitioners committee Scotland represents all GPs working in Scotland, including partners, salaried GPs and locums. We consider and act on matters affecting GPs in Scotland - including contractual matters.
The committee meets five times a year and has representatives from all 14 health board areas in Scotland. We also work closely with other BMA committees to represent GPs at a UK level.
Our priorities
2018 GMS contract
On 1 April 2018 the new Scottish GMS contract was launched following three years of negotiations with Scottish Government, and a poll of the profession. The aims of the contract are to relieve the unsustainable workload facing general practice and reduce the business risks of becoming a GP.
Read about the Scottish GP contract
Workforce
The Scottish Government has published a workforce plan for primary care, the 'National Health and Social Care Workforce Plan Part 3 - Improving workforce planning for primary care in Scotland'. This document states the intention to recruit an additional 800 GPs as well as building and extending roles for a range of professionals working in primary care.
Responding to the plan, former chair of SGPC Alan McDevitt said: "The new GP contract is now being implemented across Scotland and it is essential that multidisciplinary teams are able to start developing their capacity and extend their roles as soon as possible to enable them to support practices effectively. I look forward to seeing the integrated update in September and would urge the Scottish government to be bold in its endeavour to make Scotland’s primary care workforce fit for the future."
Closing your patient list
GMS practices in Scotland can apply formally to close the practice list if their workload is jeopardising their ability to provide safe care for their registered patients.
Read our guidance on closing your patient list
Our people
Chair: Andrew Buist
Deputy chairs:
Andrew Cowie
Patricia Moultrie
Co-opted members (2021/22 session):
Dr Drummond Begg - for his expertise and strong interest in the GP medical education portfolio. Drummond can provide insight and knowledge from the RCGP GP recruitment and retention advisory group, and through his experience as a GP representative on the increasing undergraduate education in primary care.
Dr Carey Lunan - for her expertise in health inequalities and the effects of deprivation on health. Carey is a strong advocate for those in Scottish society who live in the most deprived situations and how that deprivation negatively impacts on their health.
Elected by local medical committees
Maureen Byrne
Mark Fawcett
Chris Mansbridge
Alan McDevitt
Alastair Taylor
Patricia Moultrie
Elected by the UK LMC Conference 2021
Denise McFarlane
Amy Small
Voting nominees of other bodies:
GP trainees committee
Eric Fung
Sessional GPs committee
Jennifer MacDonald
Medical Practitioners Union
Andrew Gray
Non-voting nominees of other bodies:
Chair of Scottish Council
Lewis Morrison
Chair of UK GPC
Vacant
Mark Sanford-Wood (deputising)
Representative from Scottish consultants committee
Alan Robertson
Observers
Scottish Council of Royal College of General Practitioners
David Shackles
Chris Williams (deputising)
Scottish Dental Practitioners Committee
John Davidson
Mark McCutcheon (deputising)
Forty-three elected regionally for GPC UK (4 Scottish representatives)
Ayrshire and Arran/Borders/Dumfries and Galloway/Lanarkshire - Chris Black
Grampian/Highland/Orkney/Shetland/Western Isles - Iain Kennedy
Glasgow and Clyde - John Ip
Forth Valley/Fife /Lothian/Tayside - Stuart Blake

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.
Our meetings
GPC Scotland meets five times a year to discuss the latest issues facing general practice in Scotland. These meetings are open to members of GPC Scotland only, but non-members can apply for the BMA committee visitors scheme.
Meeting dates:
- Thursday 20 January 2022
- Thursday 7 April 2022
- Thursday 16 June 2022
- Thursday 18 August 2022 (first of session for 2022-23 committee should BMA ARM return to June 2022)
All meetings take place from 10.30am to 5pm either virtually or at:
BMA Scotland
14 Queen Street
Edinburgh
EH2 1LL
SGPC executive
Meetings dates:
- Thursday 16 December 2021
- Thursday 24 February 2022
- Thursday 05 May 2022
All meetings take place from 2pm to 5pm either virtually or at:
BMA Scotland
14 Queen Street
Edinburgh
EH2 1LL
For more information about our meetings, please email us or call 0131 247 3003.
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 SGPC, these are:
- Seats/term - every year, all 14 LMCs in Scotland elect representatives for a one-session term. Seats are distributed evenly between LMCs based on the number of patients in the area. LMCs with only one representative also have a deputy representative.
- Timeline - elections are run by the LMCs and timelines may vary.
- Eligibility - contact your local medical committee to find out the eligibility criteria.
- Seats/term - every year, a third of the 43 UK regions elect a representative for a three-session term to GPC UK. Scottish elected representatives have a voting seat on GPC UK and SGPC.
- Timeline - elections are usually held in February or March.
- Eligibility - all GPs who are BMA members are eligible to stand if they live or work in the relevant regions. All GPs can vote in this election.
- Seats/term - every year, representatives of the LMC UK conference are elected to GPC UK for a one-session term. The elected representatives from Scotland have a voting seat on SGPC.
- Timeline - elections are held at the LMC UK conference in May.
- Eligibility - only LMC UK conference delegates can stand and vote in this election.
- Seats/term - every year, members from a Scottish constituency are elected to GPC UK from the ARM elections for a one-session term. The first Scottish representative via STV (single transferable vote) will have a voting seat on SGPC.
- Timeline - the nomination period opens a month before ARM, and voting closes a few days after ARM.
- Eligibility - all UK GP BMA members can stand for election but only ARM delegates can vote.
- Seats/term - every year, half of the 19 UK regions elect a representative for a two-session term. Representatives for Scotland North, Scotland West and Scotland East regions will then be eligible for election as the Scottish GP trainee representative and will have a voting seat on SGPC.
- Timeline - GP trainees regional elections are usually held in March or April. Elections for the Scottish GP Trainee representative on SGPC are held at the first GP Trainee committee meeting of the session.
- Eligibility - all GP trainees who are BMA members are eligible to stand if they live or work in the relevant regions. All GP trainees can vote in this election.
- Seats/term - every year, one member for Scotland is elected from the sessional GPs committee elections for a three-session term. The elected member will have a voting seat on SGPC.
- Timeline - this election is usually held in March or April.
- Eligibility - all salaried, freelance and locum GPs* who are BMA members in Scotland are eligible to stand in this election. Retainer scheme GPs based in Scotland are also eligible to stand in this election, regardless of their time commitment. All salaried, freelance and locum GPs can vote in this election.
*Salaried or freelance/locum GPs will be eligible if, for the six months before the election, their NHS general practice performer's work has been solely as a salaried and/or freelance GP (excluding work as a GP appraiser) or a GP trainee, and an average of at least seven hours per week of NHS general practice work has been undertaken for that period.
Please check the election sections of the following committees for details about any running elections for representatives to SGPC:
- GPC UK (for regional and LMC UK conference elections)
- ARM
- GP trainees committee
- Sessional GPs committee.
These details are updated regularly, so please keep checking the pages throughout the year.
Should you wish to join the committee via LMCs elections, contact your local LMC for further information.
Get in touch
If you are interested in finding out more about the work of the SGPC, email [email protected].