BMA GP committee elects three partners as new deputy chairs

Three GP partners have been elected as the new deputy chairs of the BMA’s GP committee, the union has announced.

The committee has elected Dr David Wrigley, Dr Shan Hussain and Dr Manu Agrawal as the new officers of GPC England.

It follows the election of Dr Clare Bannon, a GP partner in Barnsley and former deputy chair of the GPC, as the new chair of the committee last week.

Dr Wrigley, a GP partner in Lancashire, has previously served as deputy chair for the past three years.

In his candidate statement, he said: ‘Being a partner I understand the business side of general practice but I also stand up for and advocate for the whole profession including our sessional colleagues and I have sought to support the sessional officers in the past few years.

‘We must all pull together as a profession and get what we need from government to make general practice sustainable and indeed attractive to those coming after us.’

Dr Hussain, previously chair of Nottinghamshire LMC, said he would  work to foster greater collaboration, inclusion and unity within the committee.

He said: ‘I have worked as a salaried, locum, and partner GP through various stages of my 19 year career as a GP, helping me to understand the diverse experiences and challenges we face across our profession.

‘Our profession faces significant challenges – rising demand, workforce shortages, increasing complexity, growing bureaucracy and years of underinvestment continue to place immense pressure on GPs and practices.

‘I believe every perspective matters. Whether you are a partner, sessional, newly qualified doctor or experienced leader, you deserve to feel heard and represented.’

South Staffordshire LMC chair Dr Agrawal said he is ‘ready’ to ensure collective actions are ‘unified, disruptive, and impossible to ignore’ if that is the direction the committee wishes to take.

He said: ‘The traditional GMS contract is the anchor keeping our entire profession afloat. If the partnership model falls, the job market for our salaried, sessional, and locum colleagues collapses alongside it.

‘We are one professional family. Crucially, we must protect our GP registrars—the literal future of our profession. It breaks my heart to see bright young doctors finish training only to face immediate unemployment or be displaced by role substitution. Better core funding opens the door for better and increased recruitment, ensuring our registrars have a secure, rewarding career to step into.’

Pulse understand that all candidates for the GPC deputy chair posts were male.

Dr Bannon said: ‘With collective action still underway, the focus of my officer team and I will be on ensuring that we continue to support, and fight for, the profession during an incredibly challenging time.

‘The committee will be relentless in championing the interests of GPs and patients, improving care, and rebuilding the connection between practice and community.

‘Over a week ago, we announced a further escalation in our collective action. A change in committee leadership does not mean an immediate end to this work.

‘So, my message to Government is quite clear: we want to work with you to meet the long-term challenges general practice faces and finally bring an end to our dispute. Only by working together can we ensure the future of the profession and the care patients deserve.’

Dr Bannon sat down for an interview with Pulse ahead of yesterday’s GPC England meeting, where she took over the chair for a three-year term.