RCGP Scotland
What we do
Our work includes:
- Developing initiatives on behalf of members in Scotland
- Commenting on how UK initiatives and developments will affect Scottish general practice
- Ensuring that RCGP Scotland continues to be a leading player in primary care development within Scotland
- Listening to and working with patients, external agencies and members to help deliver the highest standards of general medical practice and excellence in patient care.
How we work
We have four key committees:
- Scottish council is the main, democratically elected governance committee, which develops and takes forward strategy for RCGP Scotland
- The Executive Committee is made up of the five Scottish Faculty Chairs (or their nominated representatives) which advises Officers outside of Scottish Council meetings and provides feedback and input from local Faculties.
- RCGP Scotland AiT and First5 committee was formed in January 2016 as one of the governance committees of RCGP Scotland. The committee consists of one AiT and one First5 representative from the five Scottish faculties, and was established with the purpose of representing and promoting the voice of AiTs and First5s in Scotland, working closely with RCGP Scotland and Scottish Council.
- RCGP Scottish Patient Forum represents the patient voice in Scotland, developing ideas and leading activities that encourage GPs to work in partnership most effectively with patients and the public.
RCGP Scottish council
The RCGP Scottish council is made up of GP members across Scotland. Each of the five Faculties - East, North, North East, South East and West - nominate their own Faculty Board members to be representatives at Scottish council with the Chair of each Faculty. There are also member representatives appointed for specific GP groups - AiT and First5. Scottish council is the main, democratically elected governance committee, which develops and takes forward strategy for RCGP Scotland.
Scottish council meetings take place on a quarterly basis with the Annual General Meeting being held in November. All members are entitled to attend the council meetings as observers and should declare their intention to attend by emailing the Scottish Office.
Officers
- Dr Chris Provan, Chair
- Dr Chris Williams, Deputy Chair (Policy)
Faculty Representatives
North East Scotland Scottish Council Reps – Dr Margaret Denison & Douglas Naismith
North East Scotland UK Council Rep – Dr Margaret Denison
South East Scotland Scottish Council Reps – Dr Babar Akbar
South East Scotland UK Council Rep – Dr Sian Tucker
West Scotland Scottish Council Reps – Dr Issmael Fergague & Dr Chris McHugh
West Scotland UK Council Rep – Dr Mary Anne Burrow
East Scotland Scottish Council Reps – Dr Scott Jamieson & Dr Simon Austin
East Scotland UK Council Rep – Dr Munro Stewart
North Scotland Scottish Council Reps – Dr Daniel Simpson
North Scotland UK Council Rep – Dr Chris Williams
Ballot Members
2021-2024 – Dr Sigi Joseph
2021-2024 – Dr Alasdair Forbes
2022-2025 – Dr Stuart Blake
2022-2025 – Dr Mary Anne Burrow
2023-2026 – Carey Lunan
2023-2026 – Kerri Neylon
Additional Members
Undergraduate Medical Education – Dr Kevin McConville
Climate & Sustainability – Dr James Morton
Ex Officio Members
Chair, AiT and First5 Committee – Dr Gorkem Hamali
RCGP President – Professor Dame Clare Gerada
Chair, RCGP Council – Professor Kamila Hawthorne
Observers
Academic – Professor Lindsey Pope
NHS Education for Scotland – Dr Nitin Gambhir
Chair, RCGP Scottish Patient Forum – Sonia Cottom
Individual Expertise – Professor Sir Lewis Ritchie
Deputy Chair, RCGP Scotland AiT and First5 Committee – Dr Akram Hussain
Chair, Scottish GP Committee – Dr Andrew Buist
Contact us
If you have any queries about RCGP Scottish Council, you can direct these to ScottishC@rcgp.org.uk
RCGP Scotland AiT and First5 Committee
The RCGP Scotland AiT and First5 committee was formed in January 2016 as one of the governance committees of RCGP Scotland.
The committee consists of AiT and First5 representatives from each of the five Scottish Faculties.
The committee was formed as a sub-committee of RCGP Scottish Council, which it reports directly to and is governed by. The aim of the committee is to give a voice to the future of general practice, by discussing areas of policy and membership that directly affect AiTs and First5. The Chair of the committee is a member of Scottish Council.
The committee welcomes any input from members across Scotland, and can be contacted at: infoscotland@rcgp.org.uk
If your query is specific to one particular Faculty or individual, please include this in the subject line so that it can be appropriately dealt with.
The RCGP Scotland AiT and First5 Committee is as follows:
- Chair: Dr Issmael Fergague
- Deputy Chair: Dr Akram Hussain
- North East AiT Representative: Dr Sophie Gerring
- North East First5 Representative: Dr Stewart Shand
- South East AiT Representative: Dr Jane McManus
- South East First5 Representative: Dr Katherina Tober / Dr Cameron Kennedy
- West AiT Representative: Dr Akram Hussain / Dr Oyekunle Solomon Oke / Dr Precious Osadolor
- West First5 Representative: Dr Fiona Stark / Dr Diya Mathew
- East AiT Representative: Dr Issy Penner / Dr Katie Jobling
- East First5 Representative: Dr Golnessa Masson / Dr Paula Roberts / Dr Lloyd Hughes
- North AiT Representative: Vacancy
- North First5 Representative: Vacancy
Deep end project
The Scottish Deep End project was established in 2009, inspired by pioneering Welsh GP, Dr Julian Tudor Hart and his work on the inverse care law. General Practitioners at the Deep End work in general practices serving the 100 most deprived populations in Scotland, based on the proportion of patients on the practice list with postcodes in the most deprived 15% of Scottish data zones. The Deep End movement has now spread across the UK and beyond. Their key focus areas are: workforce, education, advocacy and research. More information on our projects, publications, podcasts and more can be found on the Deep End website. See also our active Twitter feed @deependGP. The current chair is Dr Carey Lunan and current academic lead is Dr David Blane.
Leadership for integration
Leadership for integration is a package of leadership development support for primary care and social care professionals to support them in delivering the integration agenda.
Certificate in the Management of Problem Drug Use
RCGP Scotland has re-launched its well-regarded two-part course designed to assist primary care professionals help and care for people affected by drug use. The revised course focuses on a holistic approach to helping people who use drugs, their families, and communities, including new priorities and changes in management and treatment. The ethos of the course is to promote reducing harm and drug deaths within a recovery-focused framework. Find out more and register for the course.
RCGP Scotland publications
- RCGP Scotland update on IT and Data – June 2023 (PDF file, 542 KB)
- Retaining our GP workforce in Scotland - RCGP Scotland executive summary - December 2022 (PDF file, 283 KB)
- Retaining our GP workforce in Scotland - RCGP Scotland report - December 2022 (PDF file, 1.1 MB)
- From the Frontline - The changing landscape of Scottish general practice - RCGP Scotland - June 2019 (PDF file, 1.7 MB)
- #RenewGP - RCGP Scotland (PDF file, 213 KB)
- Wellbeing survey report – RCGP Scotland (PDF file, 318 KB)
- RCGP Scotland Loneliness action plan (PDF file, 282 KB)
- The Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 – RCGP guidance (PDF file, 422 KB)
- Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 – regulated activity response form (Word doc, 16.7 MB)
- Analysis of the proposed new GP contract 2018 (PDF file, 641 KB)
- Core values (PDF file, 80 KB)
- Joint Policy statement on General Practice based Pharmacists (PDF file, 225 KB)
- Future of Primary Care in Scotland (PDF file, 341 KB)
- Setting the strategy for quality in Scotland's General Practices (PDF file, 351 KB)
- The living better report (PDF file, 1.8 MB)
- Improving links in Primary Care (PDF file, 2.2 MB)
- RCGP Scotland Effective Interface module (PDF file, 835 KB)
- Academic General Practice in Scotland: securing the future - June 2009 (PDF file, 12.2 MB)
Primary / Secondary Care interface working
A poorly functioning interface can have an adverse impact on the efficiency of the healthcare system. Through various methods of research a number of factors adversely impacting on interface working were identified. These include:
- The absence of formal processes or support to gather data (for example, from Significant Event Analyses) to encourage two-way learning and information sharing, which could potentially bring about wider system improvements
- The loss of inter-professional relationships resulting in less functional communication between primary-secondary care
- The presence of incompatible and unreliable IT systems adversely impacting the ability to share clinical data efficiently and safely
In early 2018, RCGP Scotland gained support and funding through the Scottish Government Improving General Practice Sustainability Advisory Group for a three-year project to support the establishment or development of primary-secondary care Interface Groups in each Health Board area.
In recognition that different Health Boards and HSCPs vary in their approach, their culture, their geography and their experience of interface, a flexible and tailored approach, rather that a 'one size fits all' will be taken. It is intended that these groups, in collaboration with key others in their local areas, will offer a clinician-led, solution-focused approach to addressing interface issues relevant to them.
In addition, improving interface working is an important facet of the new GMS contract, and College input in the Improving General Practice Sustainability Advisory Group has been instrumental in promoting this view. The contract document states:
"Improving interface working: to ensure effective working between primary and secondary care, we will continue to implement the recommendations of the Improving General Practice Sustainability Advisory Group as set out in its report on November 2016.
"Within the recommendations there are a number of broad themes including effective primary and secondary care interface working. Interface working will be better achieved through well-functioning primary and secondary care interface groups. These groups will support NHS Boards and HSCPs to reduce GP workload and provide a better patient experience by removing the need for GP involvement when it is not clinically necessary."
BMA / RCGP Scotland Joint Principles Statement "Whole System Working - The Interface in Scotland"
In November 2020, the BMA and RCGP Scotland produced a joint principles statement (PDF file, 580 KB) to set out the key principles required to achieve effective whole systems working.
To support Interface Groups or other groups with an interface remit, we have developed a pack of support materials that will be amended and added to over the time of the project. Currently the support pack includes:
- Template business case to request resource for an interface group (Word doc, 27 KB)
- Draft remit and membership (Word doc, 27 KB)
- Examples of things other boards/groups have done and suggested activities, guidance and signposting (Word doc, 17.6 KB)
- Website/letter content to raise awareness of interface group (Word doc, 41 KB)
- Work shadowing materials:
These documents are to provide a basic generic outline and can be taken and amended by Interface Groups to make them relevant in their local area. If there are other materials that you would find useful, please email scotland.interface@rcgp.org.uk and we will do our best to support this.
We are very keen to develop a virtual support network of Interface Group Leads across Scotland to encourage the effective sharing of learning. We have produced newsletters giving an update on how the project is progressing and useful links to useful resources and tried to follow up with Webinars, but are currently looking at new ways of sharing learning more efficiently.
- Improving together: a national framework for Quality and GP Clusters
- The modern outpatient: a collaborative approach 2017 - 2020
- Patient's perspectives of Primary Secondary Care interface (Sampson, R) (PDF file, 729 KB)
- Qualitative study of relationships between GPs and Hospital Consultants (Sampson, R) (PDF file, 509 KB)
- Educational intervention to improve the interface (Sampson, R)
- View the RCGP Scotland effective interface module (PDF file, 835 KB)
This page will be updated as the project develops, so please keep visiting and let us know if there is anything you would find useful to be included. Email scotland.interface@rcgp.org.uk.
Local Faculties
In addition to a base in Edinburgh, the College in Scotland is represented through five regional faculty offices in:
Useful links
- Welfare advice and health partnerships website helps embed welfare rights and money advisors within GP practices and primary care services.
- SIGN - Evidence based clinical practice guidelines for the NHS.
Contact us
RCGP Scotland
1st Floor, 38 Thistle Street
Edinburgh
EH2 1EN
Email: infoscotland@rcgp.org.uk
Telephone: 020 3188 7730
Join the RCGP member forum
Upcoming events
15 October 2024
Hot topics | One Day Essentials
This one day conference aims to refresh and renew information on common infectious diseases that primary care clinicians are likely to encounter over the 2024/25 winter period.
17 October 2024
11th Health and Justice Summit: Championing excellent care and empowering teams
The annual two-day Health & Justice Summit is the key event of the year for anyone working to champion excellent, safe healthcare for patients in contact with the justice system. Delivered in partnership with the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych), the Health and Justice Summit brings together teams and individuals representing all areas of the health and justice sector.
23 October 2024
West Scotland Fulton Lecture: Alcohol and drugs - a generalist or specialist challenge?
Dr Saket Priyadarshi will deliver this year's Fulton Lecture, updating local members on his work as AMD of Alcohol and Drug Recovery Services at NHS GGC and to help celebrate Faculty contributions to general practice across the West of Scotland. This hybrid event is open to students, GP registrars, GPs of all career stages - this is an excellent opportunity to engage with your local Faculty and connect with fellow professionals.
25 October 2024
Neurodevelopmental health | One Day Essentials
GPs have a role in recognising, monitoring, coordinating and reviewing patients with difficulties in communication, relationships, and managing their own affairs. We hope to show you some easy ways to help in the general practice setting.
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