Midland Faculty

Welcome from Midland Faculty. We support over 4000 members, Fellows, Associates and Associates in Training in: Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Hereford, Sandwell, Shropshire, Solihull, Staffordshire, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton, and Worcester.

We are proud to be the designated faculty supporting military GPs applying for Fellowship, many of whom are stationed abroad and don't have a 'home' faculty.

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Latest Faculty updates

New board positions and positions vacant

We still have some non-officer roles available as follows:

  • District Representatives - Each to sit for two years and eligible for re-election. Rep will need to reside or practice in the area they are applying to represent be eligible for election.
    • Warwickshire x2
    • Hereford
  • Associate Representatives - Posts are by VTS area. AiTs will need to be part of the relevant VTS to be eligible for election.
    • Herefordshire
    • Birmingham North

New Provost

At our most recent board meeting Dr David Rapley stood down as our Provost. We would like to pay tribute to the immense contribution to his service to our Faculty family and General Practice in our region throughout his career. 

We now welcome Dr Jonathan Leach OBE as our new Provost. Jonathan is a GP in Bromsgrove who originally pursued a military career for 25 years working around the world in the Army being promoted to the rank of Colonel in 2002. 

Since returning to the NHS in 2008, he has had senior executive positions, including Medical Director and Director of Primary Care for Worcestershire and Associate Medical Director for NHS England. 

In addition to clinical work, Jonathan has been the NHS England Associate Medical Director for Armed Forces and Veterans Health and thus advises NHS in England on the NHS care of service personnel, their families and veterans. 

In Nov 2020 Jonathan was asked to be the Medical Director for COVID-19 Vaccination for England, a programme which has now delivered over 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine.  Jonathan stepped down from this role in Sept 22 to concentrate more on his clinical and military responsibilities.  

Jonathan was awarded the OBE for services to General Practice in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List.  

Veteran Friendly GP Practices

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is working alongside NHS England to accredit practices as ‘Veteran Friendly’. Over 2,200 GP practices in England are accredited through this programme.

There are an estimated 2.5 million veterans in the UK, some of whom have complex needs. There are veteran-specific services tailored towards this potentially vulnerable patient group. Veterans may also be entitled to priority treatment for conditions related to military service.

The Veteran Friendly GP Practices programme equips practice-staff to identify, understand, raise awareness, improve understanding and better equip and facilitate GPs in their duty of care to veterans. An evaluation by the University of Chester revealed that 99% of practices recommend it.

Becoming a veteran friendly accredited practice is a simple on-line process, find out more on the Veteran friendly GP practice accreditation page on our eLearning platform.

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Upcoming events

We have a full programme of both educational and wellbeing events covering various topics.

View all learning and wellbeing Midland Faculty events

Board meeting and AGM dates for 2023/24

We hold our annual general meeting and first Board Meeting in June of each year. We then hold our regular Board meetings in September, November and February. All local members are welcome to attend and we especially welcome students and foundation doctors to attend as observers.

  • First meeting of 2024-25 - Thursday 13 June 2024 & AGM
  • Second meeting of 2024-25 – Thursday 12 September 2024
  • Third meeting of 2024/25 - 7 November 2024

Local training and development

Midland Faculty AiT & First5 Conference

Join us on Thursday 16 May at the University of Birmingham for a packed day for all AiTs and First5 GPs. This day-long, free conference is themed around creating and strengthening links between us all. It aims to give us the tools and the confidence to navigate and thrive in this brave new world of primary care. 

The programme will treat delegates to a wealth of inspirational speakers describing their experiences with trailblazing exciting careers, prevailing against the odds, and their visions for the future of general practice. There will also be plenty of opportunities to network with your peers, trainers and hubs, College members, and many others.

Book here now as spaces are limited!

Faculty Education Leads

August 2023

  • Dr Alexandra Lee
  • Dr Kamran Naseem
  • Dr Ayesha Mahmud

Awards and prizes

The faculty has the following awards and prizes for presentation at our Annual Faculty Awards Evening in June every year.

  • The Annual Robin Steel Vocational Training Award
  • The Professor Elizabeth Hughes Award for the contribution made to GP training from a secondary care consultant
  • The Michael Drury Award for non-GP contributors to General Practice Education
  • The Clare Boothroyd Memorial Award for excellence in General Practice
  • The Dr Martin Wilkinson Award for Innovation
  • 3 x AiT Awards
  • 4 x Quality in General Practice Awards

Nominations are open until Thursday 25 April so start thinking about colleagues you would like to nominate. Find more information on the awards and how to place a nomination here. The awards will be presented at our Annual Awards Evening at the Solihull Crowne Plaza Hotel on 13 June. You can find more information about the evening and how to book here.

Meet your faculty

Faculty Officers

  • Dr Jamie Hynes - Chair 
  • Dr Aaliya Goyal - Vice Chair
  • Dr Jonathan Leach - Provost
  • Dr Onyi Okonkwo - Honorary Secretary
  • Dr Krishnaveni Sivakumar - Honorary Treasurer

District Representatives

  • Dr Abdul Qayyum - Birmingham
  • Dr Aaliya Goyal - Birmingham
  • Dr Bilal Salman - Warwickshire
  • Dr Vino Manivasagam - Birmingham
  • Dr Maisun Elftise - Coventry
  • Dr Jamie Hynes - Dudley
  • Dr Dominic Horne - Hereford
  • Dr Aneeqa Sharif - Sandwell
  • Dr Mary McCarthy - Shropshire
  • Dr Sarah Cousins - Shropshire
  • Dr Bala Sankarasubbu - Staffordshire North
  • Dr Charanjit Randhawa - Staffordshire South
  • Dr Oluwole Adeniyan - Staffordshire South
  • Dr Kamran Naseem - Walsall
  • Dr Krishnaveni Sivakumar - Worcester
  • Dr Nazish Kanwal - Worcester
  • Dr Jonathan Leach - Worcester

Associate (AiT) Representatives

  • Surabhika Lunawat - Wolverhampton & Chair
  • Alaa Issa - Dudley (Joint) & Vice Chair BMA
  • Priya Sarkar - Dudley (Joint) & Vice Chair RCGP
  • Fareeha Sami - East Birmingham and Solihull: Vice Chair HEE
  • Jake Matthews - Birmingham South
  • Ruby Shoffa - Coventry & Warwickshire
  • Asmat Kobakhidze - North Worcestershire
  • Abeer Faiz - Sandwell
  • Emma Hockey - Shropshire
  • Taiwo Orioke - South Worcestershire
  • Greatson Moweta - Staffordshire East
  • Sneha Rathod - Staffordshire North
  • Drew Kindmond - Staffordshire South
  • Rehab Khan - Walsall
  • Afsheen Javed - LTFT Rep
  • Sara Pradhan - Birmingham West

Co-opted members

  • Dr Fiona Sellens
  • Dr Jodie Blackadder-Weinstein
  • Dr Toby Holland 
  • Dr Anita Raja 
     

EDI Representative

  • Dr Aysha Naz

Observers

  • Dr Sally Sheward
  • Dr Helen Gabathuler

Lay Representatives

  • Ms Judy Samuel
  • Mr Peter Purnell

Elected Members​​​​

  • Dr Soumitri Chakraborty 
  • Dr Ayesha Mahmud
  • Dr Onyi Okonkwo 
  • Dr Nagu Penakacherla 

First5 Reps

  • Dr Preanka Chandan
  • Dr Thuva Amuthalingam 
  • Dr Ijeoma Ikoro

Contact us

Telephone: 020 3188 7786
Mobile: 07342 998754
Email: midland@rcgp.org.uk

Office opening hours: 09:30 - 17:30 Monday to Thursday.

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(Approved by the College Council under Byelaw 50)

Interpretation

  1. The Interpretation Act 1978 applies to these Byelaws as to an Act of Parliament.
  2. Words and phrases used in the Charter, Ordinances and Byelaws of the College mean the same in these Byelaws.

Faculty name

  1. The name of the Faculty shall be the Midland Faculty of the Royal College of General Practitioners (referred to in these Rules as “the Faculty”).

Area of the Faculty

  1. The area of the Faculty shall be the boundaries of the West Midlands Region (Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Herefordshire, North Staffs, Sandwell, Shropshire, Solihull, South Staffs, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton & Worcestershire).

Terms of Reference

  1. The terms of reference of the Faculty are to further the College object in the area referred to in Byelaw 4 of these Byelaws, subject to the Charter, Ordinances and Byelaws of the College.

Membership of the Faculty

  1. The members of the Faculty shall be those members of the College practising or employed in the area referred to in Byelaw 4 of these Byelaws or, if retired or otherwise not practising or employed, residing within that area. The Board may in addition permit the privileges of membership of the Faculty to be made available to members of the College not qualified for membership of the Faculty under the previous provisions of this Byelaw.

Associateship of the Faculty

  1. The associates of the Faculty shall be those associates of the College practising or employed in the area referred to in Byelaw 4 of these Byelaws or, if retired or otherwise not practising or employed, residing within that area. The Board may in addition grant the privileges of associateship of the Faculty to individual associates of the College not qualified for associateship under the previous provisions of this Byelaw. Associates may attend general meetings of the Faculty, but shall not be entitled to vote.

General meetings

  1.  
    1. [Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2)] the Annual General Meeting of the Faculty shall be held once in each Faculty year, (defined for this purpose as running from 1st April in one year to the next following 31st March) on a date and time decided by the Board. Notice of the Annual General Meeting shall be sent to all members and associates of the Faculty not less than 21 clear days before the meeting.
    2. The Board may, not less than 28 days before the date on which an Annual General Meeting of the Faculty is due to be held, resolve to dispense with the Annual General Meeting if it appears unlikely that a quorum will be obtained or that there are other good reasons for doings. Notice of the fact that the Annual General Meeting has been dispensed with shall be sent to all members and associates not less than 14 days before the date on which the Annual General Meeting would have been held. Where the Board has dispensed with the Annual General Meeting, the Board may take such decisions as could have been taken by the Annual General Meeting and the provisions of these Byelaws shall apply as necessary.]
  2. The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be:
    1. To approve the minutes of the previous general meeting;
    2. To receive the results of elections to the Board;
    3. To receive the Annual Report of the Board;
    4. To approve the Accounts of the Board for the preceding financial year to 31 March;
    5. Members' motions; and
    6. Such other business as the Chair may allow.
  3. Any ten members of the Faculty may, by requisition to the Chair or Honorary Secretary, demand that an Extraordinary General Meeting of the members of the Faculty be convened, on not less than 28 days’ notice, for the purpose of considering any motion set out in the requisition.
  4. The quorum of general meetings of the Faculty shall be six. If within 15 minutes of the time appointed for the beginning of the meeting a quorum is not present, the meeting shall be abandoned and, in the case of an Annual General Meeting, the Board may take such decisions as could have been reached by that meeting as if the meeting had been dispensed with under Byelaw 8 of these Byelaws.
  5. The Provost or other officer designated by the Board shall chair all general meetings of the Faculty. In the absence of both the Provost and the designated officer, any other officer designated by the Board to do so shall preside. In the absence of the Provost and any officer designated to preside, the members present at the meeting shall elect one of their number to chair the meeting.
  6. The rules of debate at general meetings of the Faculty shall, subject to the discretion of the Chair of the meeting, be those applicable to general meetings of the College, with the necessary adaptations.
  7. All questions at general meetings of the Faculty shall be decided by a majority of the members present and voting, and the Chair of the meeting shall have a second or casting vote, regardless of whether he or she has already voted.

Officers of the Faculty

  1. The officers of the Faculty shall be a Provost, Chair, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer and such other officers as the Board shall decide from time to time. The term of office of the officers shall be three years.
  2. The Provost, Chair and Honorary Treasurer of the Board shall be elected by the members of the Faculty, in such manner as the Board shall decide, and every member shall be entitled to vote. No election need take place if only one candidate is duly nominated for any particular vacancy. If a system of single transferable voting is adopted, it shall be carried out in accordance with the procedures advised by the Electoral Reform Society. All other officers shall be appointed by the Board from its members.

Faculty Board

  1. The management of the affairs of the Faculty shall be vested in a Faculty Board (referred to as “the Board” in these Byelaws), which is empowered, subject to the provisions of the Charter, Ordinances and Byelaws of the College and any directions of the Council, to act on behalf of the College and the Faculty. The Board may regulate its own procedure, subject as previously stated.
  2. The members of the Board shall be the Provost, Chair, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer and other such officers as the Board shall decide from time to time, and:
    1. Ex-officio Members: Members of College Council who are members of the Faculty, the immediate past Chair of the Faculty Board
    2. District Representatives: Nominated elected members from the (13) districts quoted in Item 4, each to sit for 2 years and eligible for re-election. Each district to be represented by a minimum of one Board member. Where the total membership within the areas defined above is greater than 7.5% of the total Faculty membership, at the date of the preceding College AGM, a second Board member shall be elected for that area, and additional Board members for multiples of 7.5% thereafter. No election need take place if only one candidate is duly nominated for any particular vacancy.
    3. Associate representatives: Nominated elected Associates on a basis of one Associate member for each of the areas defined above, each to sit for 2 years and eligible for re-election. No election need take place if only one candidate is duly nominated for any particular vacancy.
    4. Elected members: Four members elected by ballot, each to sit for two years, two being elected in even and two in odd years. No election need take place if only one candidate is duly nominated for any particular vacancy. The method of voting should be by secret written ballot at the AGM, the result to be declared before the meeting is closed.
    5. Co-opted: Appointed by the Board up to a total of five who may be non-members of the Faculty or College and lay members.
    6. Observers: Appointed by the Board up to a total of five who may be non-members of the Faculty or College and lay members.
  3. The Board may appoint such committees or sub-committees for such purposes as it thinks fit.
  4. The Board and any of its committees or sub-committees may if the Chair of the body concerned agrees meet wholly or partly by telephone or video conference, provided all members have been sent the papers for the meeting (including by electronic means). The quorum for meetings of the Board shall be six.

Faculty representative(s) on College Council

  1. The Board shall be responsible for nominating the Faculty representative(s) on the College Council.

Accounts and financial arrangements

  1. The Honorary Treasurer of the Faculty shall be responsible for drawing up the Accounts of the Faculty for the previous 12 months to 31 March, including a balance sheet and profit and loss account. The Accounts as so drawn up shall be sent to the Honorary Treasurer of the College, for inclusion in the Annual Financial Report of the College.
  2. The banking account(s) of the Faculty shall be held at a Bank as the Board may decide, subject to the approval of the Honorary Treasurer of the College. Appropriate procedures shall be put in place by the Board, subject to the approval of the Honorary Treasurer of the College, for signature of cheques.

Amendment, revocation or re-making of Byelaws

  1. These Byelaws may, subject to the approval of the College Council, be amended, revoked and re-made by resolution of the members of the Faculty in general meeting, passed by not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting.

(Approved at the Midland Faculty AGM on 15 May 2004)
MJBW/BES/April 04

Reviewed Summer 2012

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