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
The Value of a GP
We need GPs now more than ever.
As patient need soars, general practice is buckling under immense pressure. GPs are leaving the profession at an alarming rate, driven by burnout, unmanageable workloads, and the pull of more attractive careers abroad. Even more concerning, many fully trained GPs remain unemployed or underemployed while communities struggle to access care.
In response, GPC UK has produced The Value of a GP, a comprehensive new report that brings together a robust body of evidence to highlight the irreplaceable role of general practice in the UK.
The report demonstrates the far-reaching impact of GPs, not only on the health and experience of individual patients but on the overall efficiency, sustainability, and economic value of the NHS itself.
General practice is at a pivotal moment. Without bold and immediate action to support and retain GPs, we risk the collapse of a service that underpins the entire NHS.
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
NHS Education for Scotland published the 2023 Annual General Practice Workforce Survey on 12 December 2023, which provides information on numbers of General Practitioners (GPs), Nurses and other General Practice staff in Scotland on 31 March 2023.
Responding to the workforce statistics Dr Andrew Buist, Chair of the BMA's Scottish GP Committee, said: "These figures – which show falling GP numbers on both headcount and crucially WTE - back up the experience of our members who have consistently reported the huge challenge of meeting growing demand without the GPs needed to maintain good patient access. There is more evidence that not only are we not on track to meet the Scottish Government’s commitment for 800 GPs, when GP registrars are excluded, we are actually going backwards. This should be a massive wake up call to the Government. Last year’s figure was the lowest WTE figure seen for GPs since the workforce survey began and this year it has fallen further."
Safe workload guidance for GPs in Scotland
New ‘Safe workload guidance for GPs in Scotland’ has been produced by BMA Scotland to help GPs and their practices protect themselves from unmanageable workload.
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
Partnership guidance for GPs in Scotland
Updated ‘Partnership guidance for GPs in Scotland’ has also been produced, giving general guidance on medical partnerships under the NHS in Scotland. It should not be treated as a complete or authoritative statement of the statutory provisions governing partnerships.
It is strongly recommended that anyone considering any action based on the guidance contact the BMA for further advice before taking any final decisions.
Our people
Chair: Iain Morrison
Deputy chairs:
Chris Black
Alan Miles
Co-opted members (2024/25 session):
Dr Chris Williams – for his strong interest in IT, eHealth and digital healthcare. Chris is the co-chair in the Scottish Joint GP IT Group and can provide insight into the various information technology groups that he attends as deputy chair of RCGP.
The executive subcommittee is composed of the GPC Scotland office bearers (Iain Morrison, Chris Black and Alan Miles), the chair of SLMC conference (Alastair Taylor), and five elected members from SGPC.
For the 2024/25 session, the elected members are: Jennifer English, John Ip, Andrea Lomas, Paul McMullan, Tyra Smyth.
Elected by local medical committees
Tayside LMC (2 representatives)
Claire Part
Andrew Thomson
Western Isles LMC (1 representative and 1 deputy)
Brian Michie
Elected by the annual representative meeting (from a Scottish constituency)
Stuart Blake
Elected by Conference of LMCs (UK) to GPC
Andrew Buist
Voting nominees of other bodies:
GP Registrar Committee
Thomas Green
Sessional GPs committee
Jennifer MacDonald
Medical Practitioners Union
Andrew Gray
Non-voting nominees of other bodies:
Chair of Scottish Council
Iain Kennedy
Chair of UK GPC
Andrew Buist and Alan Stout
Deputy Chair of GPC England
Samira Anane
Chair of NI GPC
Frances O'Hagan
Chair of GPC Wales
Gareth Oelmann
Chair of Scottish LMC conference
Alastair Taylor
Representative from Scottish consultants committee
Hazem Youssef
Observers
Scottish Council of Royal College of General Practitioners
Chris Provan
Chris Williams (deputising)
Scottish Dental Practitioners Committee
John Davidson
Gillian Lennox (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 - Andrew Cowie
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 14 November 2024 (virtual)
- Thursday 30 January 2025
- Thursday 20 March 2025 (virtual)
- Thursday 12 June 2025
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 12 December 2024
- Thursday 27 February 2025
- Thursday 15 May 2025
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 3054.
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 registrars 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 registrars who are BMA members are eligible to stand if they live or work in the relevant regions. All GP registrars 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 registrars 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].