Mersey Faculty

Merseyside, Cheshire and IOM

Peer groups, (or support groups), are run by local GPs to support other GPs. They offer support and advice to anyone in their region, hold small clinical CPD evenings, group chats to find best practice and offer general advice to anyone who needs it.

The group leads can be contacted at any time but often run scheduled sessions that you can attend. Please see below for your local lead.

• Knowsley support group

Dr Adit Jain

adit.jain@knowsleyccg.nhs.uk

• Warrington Non-Principal and F5 group

Dr Ipsita Chaterjee

ipschat@gmail.com

• Liverpool Early Career Peer Support Group

Dr Nisreen Hamedelneil

Nisreen.hamedelneil@livgp.nhs.uk

• Cheshire West Early Career Support Group

Penelope Morris & Eleanor Borton

First5cheshire@gmail.com 

• Cheshire East Early Career Support Group

Dr James Ricketts & Dr Kristina Milne

James.ricketts6@nhs.net / Kristina.milne@nhs.net 

If you run a support group, please let us know.

RCGP Mersey can support with some small bursaries for venue hire and speaker fee costs.

Judging Criteria & Scoring 
Awards scored a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) for each category with a total maximum score of 20. Scoring notes are below. These are used as a guide and not as a strict script or checkbox. Please note, we are not expected to check the complete accuracy of the information provided. However, please use common sense if you feel the overall accuracy of the topic is lacking.    

Category : First impression 
Notes to consider

• Does the poster immediate grab your attention or do you find yourself having to search for pertinent information?  
• Does the poster easily identify the topic without having to read too much?  
• How are colour schemes used, are they easy on the eye?
• How crowded is the poster? 
• Does the poster stimulate interest and discussion? 

• Is there a good flow of information? 
•  Is the content organised in a logical manner? 
• How easy is it to follow the sequence of the poster?
• Does it concisely present the main points of poster?  

• Is font size/style easily readable?  
• Is there too much/too little text? 
• Is it easy to see pertinent information? 
• Pictures, digital images and graphs are of a high quality (not pixilated); text and graphics are easy to read 
•  Are there any grammar or spelling mistakes? 
• Has data been presented in an appropriate format using tables or graphs? 
• Is the text clearly arranged so that the viewer can understand order without narration? 

• Are the aims and objectives clear and concise? 
• Does the work make note of references or source links? 
• Is data/charts/stats presented in a way that seems accurate and logical and is easy to understand within the context of the topic? Are legends used? 
• Is there sufficient information/explanation about the topic for the reader to make an informed opinion?  
• Is there a clear conclusion and outcome? 

We are delighted to announce our 2026 series of awards to recognise excellence in primary care in Mersey. Awards are in the following categories; please follow the links for info on eligibility and to nominate:

• GP registrars award
• Practice team award
• GP award
• Team member award

The RCGP Mersey Faculty is delighted to announce the Medical Student Poster Prize 2026. 

This prize is open to undergraduate medical students attending Universities in the Mersey Faculty area, in all years of study.

We invite eligible students to submit a digital A1 poster. Your poster should detail:

• An original research project OR
• A quality improvement project

Project Location/Topic:

• Must be based in a primary care setting, or
• Must focus on a primary care topic.

How to apply:

Please submit your poster to mersey@rcgp.org.uk by midnight on 30 September2026. Posters may only be submitted once for consideration and may not be resubmitted in subsequent academic years. 

Eligibility Criteria:

• Medical Undergraduate students in Medical Schools at the time of entry submission. 
• A1, portrait, full colour poster, presenting original findings of a Research or Quality Improvement project undertaken in/on Primary Care. 

Useful advice on the creation of scientific poster can be found here!  Please note: for the poster prize award at submission stage we do not require you to print your poster, however, if you are selected as a winner we will require a full size print of your poster for presentation/show at the RCGP Mersey faculty annual awards evening! 

Prizes:

The eligible posters will be reviewed by the RCGP Mersey Faculty awards committee.  Faculty Provost or Chair will have the final say on selected winners.  Individual or group entries will be accepted, however, group entries will share prize winnings equally.  Seven student prizes will be awarded:

• 1 x First place - £300 & certificate of achievement
• 1 x Second place - £200 & certificate of achievement 
• 1 x Third place - £100 & certificate of achievement

All prize winners will be invited to the RCGP Mersey Faculty Annual Awards Evening to be presented with their prize and certificate.  Date and venue for the 2026 Annual Awards Evening is to be confirmed for September in or near Liverpool City Centre.  

The marking criteria for this prize can be found here. 

Fellowship is an honour and mark of achievement recognising a significant contribution to:

• health and welfare of the community
• science or practice of medicine
• aims of RCGP, or any organisation which benefits general practice

Full details of applying for fellowship can be found at RCGP fellowship. If you are unsure about any part of fellowship or want to know more about the process, RCGP Mersey have a team of volunteers on hand who have been through the process themselves to answer your questions. Please contact us for more information.