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Dr Maureen Baker elected as next RCGP chair

Dr Maureen Baker has been named as the next chair of the RCGP, following her election by council members today.

Dr Baker will take over from current chair, Professor Clare Gerada, in November and won the election by 37 votes against opponent Dr Steve Mowle’s 21 votes, out of a possible 67 votes

She will take up the role of RCGP chair elect at the council meeting in June before taking over from current chair Professor Gerada in November.

She was originally announced chair after the nominations board found a ‘technical error’ with Dr Mowle’s application. However, the RCGP council overturned this decision ‘in the interests of democracy’.

Dr Baker said: ‘I am delighted and honoured to be elected to such an important role at the RCGP.

‘Later this year the NHS will celebrate its 65th anniversary in a landscape of financial austerity and an environment more complex and challenging than at any time in its history. This very week, news of the serious problems facing A&E units only serves to underline the desperate need for adequately resourced and properly integrated GP services.

‘I am more convinced than ever that GPs, and their professional body, have a crucial role to play in helping the NHS tackle the challenges of the years ahead. I look forward to playing my part in meeting these challenges.’

Dr Baker has been a GP since 1985 and currently practises in Lincoln. She was honorary secretary of the RCGP from 1999-2009. She is currently a member of the RCGP Trustee Board and is the RCGP lead for emergency planning and preparedness.