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GP leaders join running as BMA gears up for council elections

GP leaders Professor Clare Gerada and Dr Chaand Nagpaul have joined the running for BMA Council, among over 20 GP candidates.

Professor Gerada, a GP in southeast London and former chair of the RCGP, said she is standing because she ‘fears for the future of the NHS and doctors within it’.

There are a total of 107 nominees competing for 34 two-year term positions on the council, also including Dr Nagpaul, who is the current chair of GPC.

Other high-profile candidates include BMA deputy chair and retired GP Dr Kailash Chand, British International Doctors Association chair Dr Chandra Kanneganti and former Labour MP for Dartford Dr Howard Stoate.

Professor Gerada said she hoped her experience could help the BMA persuade junior doctors to remain in the NHS following the junior doctor contract fallout.

She said: ‘The junior doctor issue has demonstrated the power – and impotence – of the medical profession, but we are still powerful and unless we harness that for the good of our profession and our patients we will all be the worse off and the only ones to benefit will be big business, as in America.

‘We must restore our NHS to a publicly funded and provided system of universal health care and I fear time is running out to do this. I want to be involved in the BMA and use the energy and experience I have to help our profession, GPs and all doctors.’

The BMA is shortly due to publish full statements from all candidates ahead of ballot papers being sent out next month and the vote closing 11 April.

Full list of GP candidates for the BMA Council:

Dr Rob Barnett, Liverpool LMC secretary and a GP in Liverpool

Dr Mary Anne Burrow, GPC representative for Scotland and a portfolio GP currently working in out of hours

Dr Christopher Browning, chair of NHS West Suffolk CCG and a GP in Sudbury

Dr Kailash Chand, deputy chair of the BMA and a retired GP

Dr Peter Crouch, clinical chair of Swindon CCG and a GP in Swindon

Professor Clare Gerada, former RCGP chair and a GP in southeast London

Dr Timothy Green, a GP in London

Dr Sudhir Handa, a GP in Wolverhampton

Dr Peter Holden, former GPC negotiator and a GP in Matlock

Dr Louise Irvine, current BMA Council member and a GP in Lewisham 

Dr Coral Jones, a GP in east London

Dr Chandra Kanneganti, British International Doctors Association national chair, former clinical director of Stoke on Trent CCG and a Staffordshire GP

Dr Hamed Khan, RCGP spokesperson and GP in South London

Dr Gary Marlowe, clinical lead for the Planned Care Programme Board and City and Hackney CCG board GP 

Dr Helena McKeown, RCGP council member and GP partner in Salisbury

Dr David Mummery, co-vice-chair of Hammersmith and Fulham LMC and a GP in west London

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, GPC chair and a GP in north London

Dr Laily Pourghomi, a GP in London

Dr George Rae, LMC chief executive in Newcastle and North Tyneside and a GP in Tyne and Wear 

Dr Vaiyapuri Raja, a GP in Essex

Dr Howard Stoate, chair of the south east London area prescribing committee, chair of Bexley CCG and a GP in Bexleyheath 

Dr Richard Wood, a GP in Aylesbury 

Source: BMA