Sessional GPs committee

The sessional GPs committee is part of the GPC (GPs committee). We provide national representation for all salaried and locum GPs.

Location: UK
Updated: Wednesday 16 July 2025
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Sessional GPs newsletter

For news, opinion and updates from the sessional GPs committee, read the latest newsletter.

​The sessional GPs committee is part of the BMA's GPC (general practitioners committee). We provide national representation for all salaried and locum GPs.

Members come from a range of backgrounds and careers and draw on their knowledge and experience to speak up and fight for a fairer deal for sessional GPs.

 

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.

We endeavour to:

  • consider all matters of interest for salaried and locum GPs
  • lead on all GPC issues that primarily affect sessional GPs
  • respond to relevant consultations affecting sessional GPs
  • work with other subcommittees as and when required on the development of policy and the production of guidance.

 

Our vision

Our people

Chair: Kim Rollinson and Amy Small

Deputy chair: Veno Suri 

Executive members: Mark Coley and Bethan Roberts 

Members

East Midlands- Kalindi Krishna Tumurugoti
East of England- Caroline Rodgers
London- Malinga Ratwatte, Krishan Aggarwal and Veno Suri 
North East- Rachel McMahon
North West- Mark Coley
Northern Ireland- Joe Duggan
Scotland- Kim Rollinson
South West- Lucy- Jane Davis
South East Coast- Sarah Westerbeek
South Central- Christopher Davidson-Fox
Wales- Bethan Roberts
West Midlands- Shabana Alam
Yorkshire and Humber- Amy Small and Peter Tinsley

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Our meetings

The sessional GPs committee meets four times a year to discuss the issues that affect all salaried and locum GPs. These meetings are open to committee members only, but non-members can apply for the BMA committee visitors scheme.

Committee meetings:

  • Tuesday 15 July 2025 (hybrid)
  • Thursday 23 October 2025 (virtual)
  • Thursday 26 February 2026 (virtual)
  • Tuesday 16 June 2026 (hybrid)

All meetings take place from 10am to 4pm either virtually or at:

BMA House
Tavistock Square
London
WC1H 9JP

For more information, email [email protected]

 

Conference 2024

The 2024 Conference for Sessional GPs was held on 20 September at BMA House and online. 

Morning

  • Sessional GP vision/manifesto + Q&A
    Dr Mark Steggles and Dr Bethan Roberts, sessional GP committee chair and executive member.

  • [37:50] Future models of General Practice: potential of a salaried service vs. ICD model + Q&A Prof Azeem Majeed and Claire Bannon.

  • [1:15:45] ARRS/PAs: establishing new professional partnerships with new clinical roles + Q&A Dr Veno Suri.

  • Watch the morning session.

 

Afternoon

  • Local representation in the four nations + Q&A
    Dr Patricia Moultrie and Dr Bethan Roberts.

  • [35:00] Soapbox/committee panel
    Sessional GP committee executive.

  • Watch the afternoon session.

 

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 sessional GPs committee, this is: 

Regional elections
  • Seats/term - every three years, elections for one sessional GPs representative (with at least two salaried GPs and two freelance/locum GPs*) from each of the 13 UK regions, including Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, take place for a three-session term. 
  • Timeline - elections are usually held in March or April.
  • Eligibility - all sessional GPs who are BMA members in the UK are eligible to stand in this election. All 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.

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.

  

Get in touch

If you want to find out more about the sessional GPs committee and their work, or you have ideas to share, or require their support, please contact: [email protected]

 

Elections

Elections for the Sessional GPs committee are now closed

Eligibility criteria
  • Sessional GPs will be eligible if, for the six months before election, their general practice performer’s work has been solely as a sessional GP (excluding work as a GP appraiser) or a GP registrar, and an average of one or more session per week of general practice work has been undertaken for that period. A GP registrar can stand in the election as long as they will be a sessional GP from the point of election. Once elected, they must continue to meet Sessional GP status and working time requirements. Each member shall be required to inform the Chair of the committee and the Secretariat if their clinical commitment falls below the required minimum sessions at any point during the committee’s three-session term, within four weeks of this change taking effect.* 

*The above requirements shall be waived where a GP is prevented from meeting them by sickness or absence on maternity / parental / adoptive leave or other exceptional circumstances approved by the returning officer or their nominated deputy. This exemption applies for a period of no more than twelve months, and in order to be eligible for committee membership, the GP must have met the requirement for the six months prior to the sickness / maternity / parental / adoptive leave period. The GP must have a reasonable expectation of returning to clinical practice and meeting the requirements and intend to do so.

  • Retainer scheme GPs can stand regardless of their time commitment
  • Candidates will be required to confirm the regional constituency or devolved nation in which their BMA registered address is, at the time of nomination for the election. 
  • Alternatively, the sessional GP may choose, with relevant evidence, which constituency to align with based on their working patterns (e.g. where a member provides their GP clinical services, or where they have spent the majority of their working time over the previous six months or, if they have recently begun employment in another region, the region in which they will spend the majority of their working time over the next six months).

TO VOTE IN THIS ELECTION:

GPs may vote in the Sessional GP Committee election provided they meet one of the following criteria:

A. They are a salaried or freelance/locum GPs whose, for the six months before election, 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 have undertaken an average of at least seven hours per week of NHS general practice work for that period.

B. They are a retainer scheme GP.

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