Why the Cameron Fund needs our support more than ever

He may have retired from clinical work two years ago but former GP Dr Terry John is still spending much of his time giving back to the profession he so doggedly supported in his 40-year career

For the past year that has involved being chair of the Cameron Fund. Perhaps not a surprising one given he has been involved in the charity for more than a decade, but a challenge given the current financial climate, he says.

Founded in the 1960s, the Cameron Fund helps GPs and their dependents navigate financial crises brought on by unexpected circumstances such as severe illness, bereavement, or personal difficulties like divorce or addiction. It is something that can happen to anyone. That sudden change in fortune that comes out of the blue. A cancer diagnosis, perhaps. Or mental health issue. They have also had applications from GPs unable to work because of long Covid.

“The fund aims to help people get back on their feet so they can return to general practice,” he explains. It can be a lifeline, and their ultimate goal is to help a beneficiary resume their medical career, having been supported through their difficulties. “When it happens that is brilliant.”

This Christmas through their annual appeal they will be reminding GPs who are able to contribute how vital that donation can be. With the number of applications increasing, funding has also reduced, likely as a result of the cost of living crisis. The trustees who meet three times a year have had to review their criteria for applications in order to ensure sustainability for the future. 

“There are a whole range of reasons people can suddenly find themselves in distress or in trouble and that is when they can apply to us,” he says. “We just need to remind everyone that there is a fund dedicated to this that they can support.”

In addition to his work with the Cameron Fund, Dr John also previously chaired the BMA Refugee Doctors Liaison Group – one of many long held positions at the BMA, including being a member of the BMA GPs committee – the goal of which is to support refugee doctors trying to enter the UK’s healthcare system.

“It’s a terrible waste,” he says of the highly qualified doctors unable to practise due to the complexity of navigating the systems to become licensed and registered with the General Medical Council. “It's not easy at all to do that, and so they are sitting around doing nothing, perhaps getting a job working as a delivery driver or whatever, so we work together with various other charities in the UK to try and help these doctors.” 

This help involves access to resources like BMA library membership and counselling services. “We have doctors who are trained and willing to work, yet we’re not using them. Our goal is to make it easier for them to get into the system.

He was not specifically drawn to becoming a GP all those years ago until the camaraderie and the variety of work in general practice drew him in. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, he moved to the UK to study medicine at the University of Birmingham. The practice he joined in Waltham Forest, North East London took great pride in teaching and mentoring medical students and helping them to understand medicine in the community, which is important whether they end up as a GP or not, he comments. 

After spending many years representing his local medical committee and the wider GP committee, he is well placed to take the long view on how the profession has changed. What has been lost, he fears, is relationship and continuity. The way that you could build trust with patients. GPs have always worked incredibly hard, he says, but over time the increased pressure to measure everything and tick boxes meant something had to give.

“We had time in the middle of the day for home visits, whether for chronic illnesses or acute problems,” he says. He would spend years learning about families, seeing patients and their children and grandchildren. “We can never expect things to stay the same, to never change, but it would be great if we could get that essence back in some form.”

He marvels at how he managed to work full time as a GP and still make all the committee meetings. He would dash across town after lunch and make it back for the 4pm clinic then make a start on writing letters and other paperwork. “I wouldn’t be able to do all that now. But I can focus on the things I care about.”

Find out more about the Cameron Fund and its work