Elected by ballot of RCGP Council members
2007
Term of Office
Three years
Principal Responsibilities
The Chairman of Council
provides the political, academic and governance overview leadership
of the RCGP. The Chairman promotes the College’s stance on key
academic issues and builds relationships with organisations and
institutions involved in medicine / general practice. The incumbent
guides College policy, approves press communications, represents
the College in all policy-making meetings and discussions, and
ensures that Council’s decisions are implemented and achieved.
Professor Field has led the RCGP
through Lord Darzi’s Review of the NHS, successfully promoting the
RCGP 'federated' model of patient care - with GP practices working
together to provide more services for patients in their local
communities - as a workable alternative to polyclinics and
repositioning general practice at the heart of the NHS.
Professor Field is recognised as a
national leader in medical education. As Chair of the RCGP
Education Network, he led the College’s radical review of GP
training which led to the introduction of the first ever training
curriculum for GPs in August 2007.
A practising GP at the Bellevue
Medical Centre in inner-city Birmingham, Professor Field is
Honorary Professor of Medical Education, University of Warwick, and
Honorary Professor in the School of Medicine, University of
Birmingham.
He has published many academic papers,
reports and books - including a bestselling publication on the GP
curriculum - and has presented papers at academic meetings around
the world. He is a Member of the Faculty of Harvard University’s
program for leading innovation in healthcare and education. He is
co-author of the landmark RCGP document 'The Future Direction of
General Practice: A Roadmap and its follow-up Primary Care
Federations: Putting Patients First, published in June 2008.