Tamar Faculty
Welcome from Tamar Faculty, we support over 1,250 members, Fellows, Associates and GP registrars across Devon and Cornwall. The Faculty is a group of volunteer RCGP members who provide local networking, education and support for members in the area. To take account of the wide geographical spread of members, we have four regional education leads covering Exeter, Plymouth, Torbay and Truro who organise free monthly CPD meetings in these localities.
Latest Faculty updates
Welcome to our new Tamar Faculty Chair
The Tamar Faculty would like to introduce its members to the new Faculty Chair, Dr Nick Hodges, who takes over from Dr Susanna Hill. The Faculty would like to thank Susanna for all she did as Faculty Chair over the last eight years in the role. To contact Nick directly, please email tamar@rcgp.org.uk.
First5 Community survey
The Tamar Faculty First5 Leads, Dr Judit Konya (Cornwall) and Dr Charlotte Grimminger (Devon) invite Tamar Faculty First5s to complete a short survey on their views of the First5 Community that they are a part of.
Please use this opportunity to let us know how you’d like the First5 Community to look like within the Tamar Faculty, to help tailor our events to the needs of our First5 GPs and amplify their voice within RCGP.
Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. If you have anything else you’d like to contact us about, please e-mail tamar@rcgp.org.uk and we will be more than happy to hear from you.
- Dr Judit Konya and Dr Charlotte Grimminger, Tamar Faculty First5 Leads
What can GPs do to reduce the carbon footprint of healthcare?
Dr Katherine Browne talks about sustainability and how to reduce the carbon footprint in healthcare, in her latest blog post. Read the full article on our blog page.
Get involved
The RCGP Tamar Faculty recruitment
The RCGP Tamar Faculty recruitment are recruiting for a number of positions on their board.
Did you know that you can make even more of your membership by joining our community at a local level? Members of our Faculty Board have opportunities to network and connect with peers, develop personally and professionally and know they are supporting great doctors, providing great care – three incredible reasons to get involved.
Our Faculty board is made up of local GPs from Devon and Cornwall, meetings are four times a year, online, they are informal and friendly, they are a chance to meet and discuss matters of the day with peers and colleagues and input at a local level to decisions made by the RCGP Council. Additionally, there are also opportunities to meet in person at some of our in person events.
Some of the other benefits of being on the board include:
- Discount to RCGP Annual Conference
- Invitation to members summit at 30 Euston Square
- Input and suggest events and opportunities for local doctors
Current vacancies
- Deputy Council representative - Dr Nick Hodges represents the Tamar Faculty at four Council meetings per year, where he informs on the board views on Council papers. We are recruiting a deputy Council representative to attend when Nick is not available. To find our more email tamar@rcgp.org.uk
- Vice council representative
- Vice chair
- Faculty Climate and Sustainability Lead
- Equality, diversity and inclusion representative
- GP Registrar Committee member - Cornwall
We are looking for a GP registrar from Cornwall to join our group of GP registrars. We aim to bring information to our peers, and submit ideas on how the Tamar Faculty can support GP registrars around the region. This is an informal group and all are welcome. Please contact Alice Sefton at tamar@rcgp.org.uk for more information.
For more information and to apply for the roles, contact Alice Sefton.
Upcoming events
06 January 2025
Creative Writing - January 2025
Writing has been proven to boost your immune system and reduce stress. These stand-alone sessions will provide both engagement and escape, as you find words, voice and...
09 January 2025
Telephone consulting and triage skills
This online course will provide you with a real understanding of how to manage the risks involved in remote telephone consultations and the benefits this work can bring when...
14 January 2025
Art for GPs - January 2025
The RCGP South West Faculties have engaged the services of a professional artist to bring members online art classes. Join our online acrylic painting classes and discover the...
15 January 2025
Tree planting with the National Trust & RCGP
GP’s are invited to join the National Trust rangers at Killerton for a morning of tree planting on the Killerton National Trust Estate. This will be followed by an informal...
Board meetings
The Faculty Board meet four times per year to discuss our local engagement activities and issues pertinent to our members, we then feed back to the College Council. Our Board meetings currently take place online giving equal access to as many members as possible. All local members are warmly invited to attend Board meetings and participate in these discussions.
Local training and development
Fellowship
December 2024
Fellowship is an honour and a mark of achievement recognising a significant contribution to health and welfare of the community, science or practice of medicine, and/or aims of RCGP, or any organisation which benefits general practice. Full details of applying for Fellowship can be found at RCGP Fellowship.
If you are unsure about any part of Fellowship or want to know more about the process please contact the Tamar Faculty for more information. The Faculty actively encourages its members of 5 years plus standing to consider putting themselves forward for Fellowship. We have a Faculty Fellowship Committee (FFC) within the Faculty, led by Dr Laura Sims, Chair of the Faculty Fellowship Committee. The FFC can offer advice and support through the Tamar Faculty office.
Awards and prizes
We host annual awards and prizes to celebrate and recognise innovation and excellence in general practice across the Tamar area.
Principles of Primary Care course funding
The RCGP Tamar Faculty are pleased to offer funding for four spaces (£250 per person) on the Principles of Primary Care CPD Course being run by the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter.
Course dates
Friday 7th February 2025 (full day, hybrid delivery)
Book now for the February course
Friday 25th April 2025 (full day, hybrid delivery)
Book now for the April course
Applicant Criteria
Active RCGP Tamar Faculty Member
Application process
Complete the funding application form. Applicants will be asked to write a paragraph explaining why this course would be beneficial to them. Applicants will need to book and pay for the course, provide the Faculty with proof of payment. The Faculty will refund the cost after the course, upon receiving a certificate of attendance.
What is Primary Care? What are its core principles? How does it deliver outstanding health outcomes?
Public Health and Primary Care are key to the delivery of healthcare for populations from birth to old age. Primary care is also the most efficient form of care and the chosen way to deliver health for all (WHO). But there is sometimes a lack of understanding about its core principles and the evidence behind its efficiency. Knowledge of these key principles may give practitioners a new sense of pride in what they do and for policymakers may demystify some of the hype around primary care and general practice.
This one-day course provides a unique insight into practical solutions to these issues and can help health professionals to make a meaningful impact in their communities – whether based in the UK or in other countries.
Course expertise
The course is delivered by internationally recognised practitioners and researchers. They have been key contributors towards defining what primary care is and providing the evidence that underpins it:
Professor Alex Harding, internationally recognised as a family practitioner, a highly regarded senior academic and researcher will lead the day with Dr Martyn Hewett, Experienced NHS GP and medical educator with a proven track record of leadership and innovation in healthcare and adult education.
You can read about the origins of the course in this article, 'How Exeter is helping to strengthen primary care expertise globally'.
Meet your faculty
Faculty Officers
- Dr Nick Hodges - Chair & Council Representative
- Dr Susanna Hill - Provost
- Dr Helen Stephens - Training Programme Representative
Faculty Board Members
- Dr Jonathan White
- Dr Humera Sultan - Education Lead
- Dr Joanna Butterworth - Medical School representative
- Dr Judit Konya - Medical School representative, First5 Lead
- Mrs Fiona Cook - Practice Nurse Representative
- Professor Sir Denis Pereira Gray - Honorary Member
- Dr Deepthi Lavu - GP registrar Lead
- Dr Jenna Hussain - GP registrar committee member
- Dr Isabelle Newman-Cooper – GP registrar committee member
- Dr Taha Khan – GP registrar committee member
- Dr Richard Pratt - Digital representative
- Dr Laura Sims - Faculty Fellowship Lead
- Dr Chris Campbell - Fellowship Committee member
- Dr Emilie Tindall - Foundation Doctor representative
- Dr Richard Byng - Research/Medical School representative
- Dr Bajit Kalsi - Later Careers and Retired Members representative
- Dr Molly Parkinson - GP registrar committee member
- Lorena Muro Yu – Exeter GPSoc representative
- Aarti Sriram – Plymouth GPSoc representative
- Charlotte Grimminger – First5 Lead
- Tochukwu Achonye – GP registrar committee member and IMG Lead
Contact us
Telephone: 020 3188 7712
Email: tamar@rcgp.org.uk
Office opening hours: Monday: 09:30 - 16:30, Wednesday and Thursday: 09:00 - 15:30
Your local Faculty Administrator is Alice Sefton.
Follow us
Useful links
Thank you for your feedback. Your response will help improve this page.