Better and safer: a new ambition for GPs in England
BMJ 2023; 382 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p1948 (Published 24 August 2023) Cite this as: BMJ 2023;382:p1948
- Zosia Kmietowicz
- The BMJ
Katie Bramall-Stainer describes herself as outspoken, effective, and efficient. She’s someone who relishes detail and can’t sleep if she hasn’t finished scrutinising the fine print of a proposed GP contract or a liability agreement. These are traits, one might hope, that are well suited to the job for which she has just been elected—chairing the BMA’s GP Committee (GPC) in England.
Inauspicious beginnings
Bramall-Stainer became GPC chair on 3 August,1 after a difficult period for the committee. Farah Jameel, the London GP who was elected chair in November 2021 and the first woman in the post,2 was on maternity leave when she was reportedly suspended by the BMA 12 months into the role. The GPC then had to pass a vote of no confidence in Jameel as a means of electing a new chair.3
Bramall-Stainer is diplomatic in her assessment of the situation. “I don’t think it’s fair for me to make comments on Farah Jameel or on what might be happening with the BMA, because I’m not privy to the detail around that,” she says. “All I can speak about is how I’m going to try and bring GPC together, potentially making amends in terms of healing some wounds that are there.
“It’s now time for us to think outside the bubble of [BMA headquarters] Tavistock …
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