Exclusive: The list of candidates standing to be the next RCGP president include a former GPC chair, a Department of Health QIPP adviser and one of the major architects of revalidation, Pulse can reveal.
The race for election as constitutional head of the college – a role currently held by Dr Iona Heath – also features several prominent GP educators and current RCGP council members.
Ballot papers will be sent to RCGP members from 14 May, with the closing date 1 June.
One of the most prominent candidates is Professor Mike Pringle. Professor Pringle is the RCGP's clinical lead for revalidation and head of the School of Community Health Sciences in the University of Nottingham. He has charted a perilous course in designing the system used to revalidate GPs, but has remained a respected member of the RCGP despite increasing unease over whether the system will be ready to go live from the end of this year.
Sir John Oldham, a sometimes controversial figure, has masterminded the Government's QIPP programme as national clinical lead for quality and productivity. Sir John told Pulse yesterday he will not be continuing his QIPP role on the NHS Commissioning Board, and warned of the need of the board to sign up leading GPs to balance its current secondary care ‘emphasis'.
Dr John Chisholm is a third well-known candidate. He was a hugely influential GPC chair, negotiating the 2004 deal that created the QOF and secured an opt-out for out-of-hours care. Since then he has also been a controversial figure, winning a succession of APMS contracts with his company Concordia Health and championing nurse-led services.
Dr Una Coales is a nationally elected Council member and GP in Stockwell, south London. She has been an outspoken supporter of the Government's health reforms and is secretary of Conservative Health. Dr Coales came second in the presidential election three years ago, but was recently forced to retract a statement she made about the GP who won that year, Dr Iona Heath.
The two other candidates are prominent GP educators. Professor Jacky Hayden is the postgraduate dean for the North Western Deanery and an associate for the GMC. She is also a board member of Medical Education England, chair of the English Deans Committee, vice-chair of the Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans of the United Kingdom and the longest-serving member of RCGP Council.
Dr Terry Kemple is a GP in Bristol and is clinical champion at the Primary Care Research Network for the South West.
A spokesperson from the RCGP confirmed the list of candidates and said: ‘The College will be making a formal announcement of the candidates at the beginning of the election process.'
Full list of candidates for RCGP President
· Dr John Chisholm
· Dr Una Coales
· Professor Jacky Hayden
· Dr Terry Kemple
· Sir John Oldham
· Professor Mike Pringle
