The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) is pleased to announce that Ms Helen Fernandes and Dr Matt Kneale have been voted in as co-chairs at our annual general meeting (AGM).
Dr Sarah Jacques and Dr Steve Taylor will continue as DAUK’s GP co-leads.
Dr Shonelly Novintan is DAUK’s learn Not Blame lead, Dr Matt Lee is sustainability lead and Dr Victoria Zaslona is SAS lead.
DAUK would like to express our profound thanks to Dr Ellen Welch, who has taken a step back from her role as vice chair but will continue to work on DAUK’s committee, and to Dr Pusho Hossain, for her incredible work as IMG lead, which included being the driving force behind the Overseas NHS Workers’ Day.
The AGM heard a round-up of some of DAUK’s work and achievements.
General practice
It’s been an incredibly busy year for the GP committee at a time when general practice is facing unprecedented pressures.
We continue to campaign and highlight the issues facing general practice from the GP contract to employment opportunities, from funding to collective action.
The ‘Your GP, Here For You’ campaign called for a contract that puts patients at the centre of care. It has provided a positive vision for general practice through continuity of care and sustainable funding.
The GP team lobbied the government over the GP contract with a letter to the health secretary signed by hundreds of GPs and patients.
More recently, co-leads Dr Steve Taylor and Dr Sarah Jacques wrote to the health secretary calling for action to improve patient safety following coroners’ findings into the deaths of two children has made headlines in medical news media.
They have represented DAUK at pharmacy events and conferences, building relationships across healthcare while advocating for greater investment in primary care.
The GP committee is an increasingly influential voice in national discussions, providing constructive policy solutions.
Members contribute extensively to the national media and professional publications, while continuing to engage directly with politicians and policymakers.
Fit Note policy
The GMC
We continue to hold the GMC to account.
We have been a leading opponent of government proposals to retain and expand the General Medical Council’s power to appeal Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service decisions.
Working alongside thirteen other medical organisations, we wrote to health minister Karin Smyth to reconsider the proposals, arguing they undermine confidence in independent regulation.
Physician associates
We continue to highlight the roles of physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs) and contribute to national discourse.
We have given strong support to Anaesthetists United’s (AU) high-profile legal challenge and expressed our ‘extreme disappointment’ at the High Court dismissing a judicial review of the GMC’s regulation of the roles.
Climate and health
The climate crisis has become an increasingly important patient safety issue.
During June’s heatwave, we surveyed healthcare professionals across the NHS, documenting unsafe temperatures affecting staff and patients.
We shared initial findings and the full report with the media, which attracted extensive national coverage.
We shared the findings with government and called for climate resilience to become a national health priority and for practical investment in NHS infrastructure to protect patients and staff during increasingly frequent extreme weather events.
We’ve collaborated with the National Emergency Briefing on its climate crisis film. We attended the original screening at Westminster, held our own online showing, and encouraged doctors to host one in their healthcare settings.
Our health, Our Planet celebrated its first birthday. It was accessed by more than 3,500 users from more than 80 countries in the first 12 months.
Medical students
Medical student members responded with force to then health secretary Wes Streeting’s comments that doctors were ‘moaning minnies’ and ‘juvenile delinquents’.
DAUK backed a complaint to the prime minister and medical students took to our website to make their voices heard.
We continue to raise the issue of bottlenecks in training and issues around placeholder roles.
Indeed, blogs by our medical students on the issue of bottlenecks in specialty training was referenced in a House of Lords briefing ahead of a debate on government plans for resident doctor training posts.
We backed the Times and Sunday Times campaign End the Graduate Rip-Off, which demands urgent reform of the student loan system in England and Wales.
Dr Taylor spoke to the Times for their campaign article highlighting the burden of student debt on medics, blogged on the issue, and was vocal on social media.
Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill
We responded to the publication of the Medical Training Bill by recognising the pressure on medical training and employment in the NHS.
Our response said that the shortage of training opportunities was the direct result of poor workforce planning by successive governments, despite our repeated warnings. We also questioned the fairness of changing prioritisation criteria midway through the process.
A fair and effective workforce strategy must be based on long-term planning, expansion of training posts, and policies that treat doctors with consistency and respect, we said.
Palantir and patient data
Over the past year, DAUK has remained a leading clinical voice advocating for the safe and ethical use of patient data.
Led by Dr David Nicholl, we have continued our long-standing opposition to Palantir’s involvement in the Federated Data Platform with Our Data, Our NHS campaign.
Working alongside Foxglove and other campaign groups, we argue Palantir’s involvement erodes public trust and does not provide value for money.
Dr Nicholl has highlighted the issue in national newspapers and radio interviews, and hosted a briefing in Westminster for MPs.
Last month we welcomed the publication of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee’s report.
It raised significant concerns about the growing role of Palantir in public services and the NHS.
NHS Domestic Abuse Awareness Day
Working with the Medical Women’s Federation, we launched the first NHS Domestic Abuse Awareness Day in December.
An incredible amount of work went into it from Dr Ellen Welch and Dr Jacques with medical organisations across the country, including the BMA, getting involved.
Healthcare workers shared their powerful stories in the media, in particular the BMJ, and Dr Welch and Dr Jacques explored issues around domestic abuse on a podcast.
Not The NHS Again!
Dr Taylor, in collaboration with Keep Our NHS Public, has launched the Not The NHS Again! Podcast.
The podcast dives deep into the issues facing the NHS, healthcare workers, and patients.
Released on Spotify and YouTube every Friday, it features discussions with campaigners and healthcare experts.
Media
DAUK and our committee members continue to be seen by journalists as trusted sources and authoritative voices to comment on issues.
In the week before the AGM alone, our work surveying healthcare workers about conditions in the heatwave has been covered in the national press, healthcare publications, and national TV.
We regularly contribute to articles and broadcasts, and provide briefings and background material to journalists.
We are proactive in putting out comment on issues on our website and social media, and sending directly to journalists.
And we are quick to respond to requests, with someone being available to speak to a journalist in the majority of cases.
Our GP co-lead Dr Taylor in particular is incredibly active providing comment to general practice publications on GP-related issues.
The DAUK website a document of record and is regularly updated with news, campaigns, activities, and statements.
Social media
We have a strong social media presence which is really helped by how active our committee members are.
Dr Taylor is particularly active on X and helps to amplify our messaging and Dr Ellen Welch really pushes Instagram.
It’s important that our social media is accessed by our committee members, which gives it an authentic and authoritative voice.
Substack
Our Substack offers a vehicle for committee members to blog on issues that interest and affect them. It has also allowed us to repurpose previous blogs and share on social media, and has led to wider discussions and interviews in traditional media.
Collaborative leadership
A great strength of DAUK is our willingness to work collaboratively.
It is a theme that runs through this report, from supporting AU with financial contributions to members invited to present at conferences and events.
Our work on the Federated Data Platform, whistleblowing, the NHS Domestic Abuse Awareness Day, the climate crisis, and the GMC’s powers of appeal, are illustrations of how this collaborative approach has significantly amplified our voice and influence.
And we’ll be continuing that later this year with a joint conference with Doctors For The NHS in York in October.