East Anglia Faculty
A warm welcome from East Anglia Faculty. We are a group of volunteer RCGP members who provide local networking, education and support for members in the area. We support around 1863 members, Fellows, Associates and Associates in Training, in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Norfolk and Suffolk.
As a Faculty, we have a particular interest in supporting our members' CPD and professional development and provide a wide range of educational courses, tailored to local needs. We host an annual awards evening to celebrate and recognise innovation and excellence in general practice across our area.
Latest Faculty updates
International activities
Dr Sonny Aung and Professor Amanda Howe have written an article about what RCGP International has done for their members, such as attending WONCA and engaging in exchanges with peers from other countries.
Visit our website and read the blog article.
Sustainability and Climate Change
The RCGP East Anglia recognise that the climate emergency is a health emergency and acknowledge our responsibility to contribute to society’s collective response to this. As a Faculty we want this declaration to have an impact so have decided to put our money where our mouth is and invest in this issue.
In 2021-22 we are taking action by:
- Funding places on the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare Sustainable Primary Care Course
- Running funded webinars for GP partners on decarbonising GP practices (dates to follow)
- Establishing a prize for East Anglia Green Practice of the Year
- By calling on the three NHS Integrated Care Systems in our area to make primary care a central part of ICS green plans, for each ICS to establish a lead for zero carbon primary care, and for a fair allocation of any funding for action to decarbonise the NHS to be spent in primary care.
A Net Zero General Practice e-learning hub has been launched by the RCGP, funded by NHS England with online learning modules on sustainable healthcare, low carbon respiratory care and the non-clinical carbon footprint of general practice.
Beyond RCGP, action continues with Green NHS teams in Integrated Care Boards working on their Green Plan actions which should include opportunities for primary care, and the Greener Practice network goes from strength to strength. On the Greener Practice website, you can locate your local greener practice group as well as the asthma toolkit.
Previous Correspondence to RCGP East Anglia Members on climate change:
Get involved
Upcoming events
We run many education courses and social/networking events throughout the year. Many of these contribute to CPD and professional development.
View all learning and social events in East Anglia
Board meetings
We meet four times per year to progress our local engagement activities and discuss issues pertinent to our members, which are then fed back to the College Council. All local members are very welcome to attend Board meetings and participate in these discussions - we are always looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help us develop our local engagement programme.
RCGP National News
RCGP campaign to increase funding for general practice. The share of NHS resources for general practice is falling year on year. GPs struggle to provide quality care on an ever decreasing budget. Back our campaign to increase the share to general practice and find out why this campaign is so important.
Local training and development
Sustainability and Climate Change
Climate action opportunities
March 2023
‘Any further delay [in action]…will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all.’ This was just one of the many shocking conclusions of the recent IPCC report on the global impacts of climate change.
This is why as we head into the summer RCGP East Anglia will be continuing to support members to take climate action and looking for ways to further increase our work on this issue. Please do consider taking up the following opportunities:
- Sustainable Primary Care Course: We still have a few funded places available for the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare Sustainable Primary Care course in May. To apply for a place please contact Annemarie.McCarty@rcgp.org.uk
- Climate Action Prize: we are seeking nominations for a new climate action prize which will go to a practice in the area which has undertaken action to reduce its carbon footprint or engage staff, patients or the public on climate change issues. We know most practices are at the beginning of their journey when it comes to climate action, so please do consider applying no matter how small your actions are. We want to recognise and support first movers in this field.
- Webinars for Partners on Decarbonising your Practice: we are still finalising the plans for these but we will run them in April or May, so please look out for the details in the coming weeks. They will be free to RCGP members.
The Green Impact for Health toolkit website had been updated, It remains an invaluable tool for practices looking to undertake actions to reduce the environmental impact of their practice.
For more details of all of the above, please see the latest from your faculty section. We would welcome suggestions for further actions we could take as a Faculty, so please feel free to email Dr James Smith, RCGP East Anglia Sustainability Lead.
First5 activity in our area
March 2023
The Faculty are keen to continue to expand the First5 activities in our area including helping to facilitate peer support and networking across the region. We have already set up and started a series of interactive workshops for First5 GPs on topics particularly pertinent to a newly qualified GP. Finally we are hoping to improve links with the regional VTS schemes to further smoothen the transition from ST3 to qualified GP and improve the overall visibility of First5.
Fellowship
March 2023
Our Faculty has always worked hard to encourage people to put themselves and others forward for FRCGP, and the RCGP has recently relaunched an updated process which is open to any member in good standing who has been MRCGP for five years, completed their first revalidation cycle, and can show their contribution to the profession. We welcome GPs with special interests, leadership roles, innovators and educators – but no additional career achievements are necessary. The core commitment to patients and delivery of high quality GP care over a sustained period is enough to deserve recognition! See the fellowship page or contact us for more information.
Awards and prizes
We host an annual awards evening to celebrate and recognise innovation and excellence in general practice across our area.
Practice Team Awards
March 2023
The Awards offer an opportunity for Primary Care teams to acknowledge their colleagues’ excellence and innovation and also for individuals to nominate themselves for an Award. The Awards process is overseen by a panel of judges made up of members of the RCGP East Anglia Faculty Board.
To view the award categories and submit a nomination, fill out the forms on the RCGP Awards page.
Carole Brown Memorial and John Stevens Biennial Awards 2022 - £2,000
March 2023
This Award is in memory of Carole Brown, who was an outstanding GP in our Faculty with great gifts of leadership. Awards will be made to support outstanding, new initiatives or activities in the fields of family planning, reproductive and older women’s health within the area of the Faculty. These may be of an educational, or a research or a developmental nature relating to general practice, primary care or the aims and objectives of the Faculty. Applications may be made by an individual GP or by a group in primary or community care which includes a general practitioner. Please contact us for further details.
The John Stevens Award will support a General Practitioner who has gained their MRCGP (and MAP) in the past 5 years to pursue any project that is in keeping with the aims of the RCGP. This award is worth up to £2,000 and is available to a GP who is working in general practice as a principal or non-principal in the geographical area covered by the East Anglia Faculty (Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire). Please contact us for further details.
The nomination forms for both awards can be found on the RCGP Awards page
Sustainability and Climate Change
March 2023
In 2023-24, the RCGP East Anglia will again offer a climate change award to practices that have achieved significant progress in reducing their environmental impact. East Barnwell Health Centre in Cambridge and Mount Farm Surgery in Bury St Edmunds were the 2022 award winners. We will reveal the award process details after Easter, with the winner being chosen and presented in the Autumn at our annual conference. Please keep an eye out for it and register if you and your practice have been active this year. We are still working on plans for a pioneer practice project and will provide more information later this year.
Meet your faculty
Faculty Officers
- Dr Claire Giles, Faculty Chair
- Dr Ike Nnene, Vice-Chair
- Dr Sonny Aung, Provost
- Dr Alice Cozens, Honorary Treasurer and Faculty Council Representative
- Dr Ginika Ilechukwu, Honorary Secretary
- Vacant First5 lead - Cambridgeshire
- Vacant First5 lead - Suffolk
- Dr Demola Onakoya - First5 Lead Norfolk
- Dr Mohammad Subhi - AiT Lead
- Dr Daniel Jones - AiT Lead
- Dr Cindy Lai - AiT Lead
- Charlotte Fenner and Lucille Potter - GP Society UEA
- Dr Alice Cozens - Communications lead
- Dr Emily Player - Education Lead
- Lucy Henshall - LCaRM Lead
- Serge Engamba - Joint International Lead
- Dr Sonny Aung - Joint International Lead
- Professor Arthur Hibble - Joint International Lead
- Dr Alisdair Macnair - School Outreach Lead
- Dr James Smith - Sustainability Lead
- Professor Simon Griffin - Professor of General Practice, University of Cambridge
- Professor Amanda Howe - Honorary Professor of Primary Care, UEA
- Dr Mark Attah - Board Member
- Dr Gary Howsam - Ex-Officio RCGP Vice-Chair External Affairs
- Dr Fiona Leckie - Deputy Faculty Council Representative
- Dr Seye Benedict - County Rep for Norfolk
- Roshini Roberts - County Rep for Norfolk
- County Representative for Cambridgeshire - 2 vacancies
10 Core Roles for Faculties (approved by Council November 2013) (PDF file, 238 KB)
Contact us
Telephone: 0203 188 7693
Email: eanglia@rcgp.org.uk
We are available between Monday - Thursday, 08:30 - 16:30
Your local Faculty Administrator is Annemarie McCarty