East Anglia Faculty
A warm welcome from East Anglia Faculty. We are a group of volunteer RCGP members who provide local networking, education and support for members in the area. We support around 1863 members, Fellows, Associates and GP registrars, in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Norfolk and Suffolk.
As a Faculty, we have a particular interest in supporting our members' CPD and professional development and provide a wide range of educational courses, tailored to local needs. We host an annual awards evening to celebrate and recognise innovation and excellence in general practice across our area.
Latest Faculty updates
International activities
Dr Sonny Aung and Professor Amanda Howe have written an article about what RCGP International has done for their members, such as attending WONCA and engaging in exchanges with peers from other countries.
Visit our website and read the blog article.
Sustainability and climate change
The RCGP East Anglia recognise that the climate emergency is a health emergency and acknowledge our responsibility to contribute to society’s collective response to this. As a Faculty we want this declaration to have an impact so have decided to put our money where our mouth is and invest in this issue.
In 2021-22 we are taking action by:
- Funding places on the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare Sustainable Primary Care Course
- Running funded webinars for GP partners on decarbonising GP practices (dates to follow)
- Establishing a prize for East Anglia Green Practice of the Year
- By calling on the three NHS Integrated Care Systems in our area to make primary care a central part of ICS green plans, for each ICS to establish a lead for zero carbon primary care, and for a fair allocation of any funding for action to decarbonise the NHS to be spent in primary care.
A Net Zero General Practice e-learning hub has been launched by the RCGP, funded by NHS England with online learning modules on sustainable healthcare, low carbon respiratory care and the non-clinical carbon footprint of general practice.
Beyond RCGP, action continues with Green NHS teams in Integrated Care Boards working on their Green Plan actions which should include opportunities for primary care, and the Greener Practice network goes from strength to strength. On the Greener Practice website, you can locate your local greener practice group as well as the asthma toolkit.
Previous Correspondence to RCGP East Anglia Members on climate change:
Get involved
Upcoming events
23 November 2024
Effective out of hours training | part 1, emergency work, safeguarding, complaints & safety, COVID-19, ethics and organisational aspects
A two-part online course for GP Trainees and GPs new to OOH working towards urgent and unscheduled care competencies. Delegates can sign up to both sessions separately (23 November 2024, 09:00-13:25 and 30 November 2024, 09:00-13:25) to complete the course, however each part can be undertaken as stand-alone sessions.
27 November 2024
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 practiced effectively. This day will give you tools and techniques to best handle remote telephone consultations.
27 November 2024
Patient perceptions of infections & antibiotics: insights from national surveys
This webinar will reveal insights from public survey data (2019 – 2024) covering knowledge of common infections and antibiotics, as well as relevant health-seeking behaviours. We will also review resources and techniques to discuss non-prescribing options with patients, supporting shared decision-making, self-care and safety netting.
28 November 2024
The RCGP 1-day SCA preparation course
This open to all one-day training course aims to improve your consultation skills and as a result pass your SCA. The course offers interactive sessions with experienced trainers and examiners.
Board meetings
We meet four times per year to progress our local engagement activities and discuss issues pertinent to our members, which are then fed back to the College Council. All local members are very welcome to attend Board meetings and participate in these discussions - we are always looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help us develop our local engagement programme.
Board meeting dates for 2024:
- Wednesday 28 February 2024 - 19:30 (Zoom)
- Wednesday 12 June 2024 - 19:30 (Zoom)
- Wednesday 25 September 2024 - Away day, AGM and awards night (Bedford Lodge Hotel, Newmarket)
- Wednesday 20 November 2024 - 19:30 (Zoom)
Local training and development
Climate action opportunities
December 2023
‘Any further delay [in action]…will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all.’ This was just one of the many shocking conclusions of the recent IPCC report on the global impacts of climate change. This is why RCGP East Anglia continues to support members to take climate action and looking for ways to further increase our work on this issue. Please do consider exploring the following opportunities and resources:
Climate Action Prize
We are seeking nominations for our climate action prize which will go to a practice in the area which has undertaken action to reduce its carbon footprint or engage staff, patients or the public on climate change issues. We know most practices are at the beginning of their journey when it comes to climate action, so please do consider applying no matter how small your actions are. We want to recognise and support first movers in this field. Find out more information on the Climate Action Prize.
Green Impact for Health toolkit
The Green Impact for Health toolkit website has been updated. It remains an invaluable tool for practices looking to undertake actions to reduce the environmental impact of their practice.
For more details of all of the above, please see the latest from your faculty section. We would welcome suggestions for further actions we could take as a Faculty, so please feel free to email Dr James Smith, RCGP East Anglia Sustainability Lead.
First5 activity in our area
December 2023
The Faculty are keen to continue to expand the First5 activities in our area including helping to facilitate peer support and networking across the region. We have already set up and started a series of interactive workshops for First5 GPs on topics particularly pertinent to a newly qualified GP. Finally we are hoping to improve links with the regional VTS schemes to further smoothen the transition from ST3 to qualified GP and improve the overall visibility of First5.
Fellowship
December 2023
Our Faculty has always worked hard to encourage people to put themselves and others forward for FRCGP, and the RCGP has recently relaunched an updated process which is open to any member in good standing who has been MRCGP for five years, completed their first revalidation cycle, and can show their contribution to the profession. We welcome GPs with special interests, leadership roles, innovators and educators – but no additional career achievements are necessary. The core commitment to patients and delivery of high quality GP care over a sustained period is enough to deserve recognition! See the fellowship page or contact us for more information.
Awards and prizes
We host an annual awards evening to celebrate and recognise innovation and excellence in general practice across our area.
Practice Team Awards
January 2024
The Awards offer an opportunity for Primary Care teams to acknowledge their colleagues’ excellence and innovation and also for individuals to nominate themselves for an Award. The Awards process is overseen by a panel of judges made up of members of the RCGP East Anglia Faculty Board.
To view the award categories and submit a nomination, fill out the forms on the RCGP awards page. The closing date for 2024 applications is Wednesday 4 September at 12pm.
Carole Brown Memorial and John Stevens Biennial Awards 2022 - £2,000
January 2024
This Award is in memory of Carole Brown, who was an outstanding GP in our Faculty with great gifts of leadership. Awards will be made to support outstanding, new initiatives or activities in the fields of family planning, reproductive and older women’s health within the area of the Faculty. These may be of an educational, or a research or a developmental nature relating to general practice, primary care or the aims and objectives of the Faculty. Applications may be made by an individual GP or by a group in primary or community care which includes a general practitioner. Please contact us for further details.
The John Stevens Award will support a General Practitioner who has gained their MRCGP (and MAP) in the past 5 years to pursue any project that is in keeping with the aims of the RCGP. This award is worth up to £2,000 and is available to a GP who is working in general practice as a principal or non-principal in the geographical area covered by the East Anglia Faculty (Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire). Please contact us for further details.
The nomination forms for both awards can be found on the RCGP awards page. The closing date for 2024 applications is Wednesday 4 September at 12pm.
Sustainability and climate change
January 2024
In 2024 and 2025, the RCGP East Anglia will again offer a climate change award to practices that have achieved significant progress in reducing their environmental impact. Spinney Surgery were the 2023 award winners.
Meet your faculty
Faculty Officers
- Dr Claire Giles - Faculty Chair
- Dr Ike Nnene - Vice-Chair
- Dr Sonny Aung - Provost
- Dr Alice Cozens - Honorary Treasurer and Deputy Faculty Council Representative
- Dr Ginika Ilechukwu - Honorary Secretary
- Faculty Council Representative - Serge Engamba
- Dr Bashar Shatta - Education Lead
- Vacant First5 lead - Cambridgeshire
- Vacant First5 lead - Suffolk
- Dr Demola Onakoya - First5 Lead Norfolk
- Dr Daniel Jones - GP registrar Lead
- Dr Adam Jeyes - GP registrar Lead
- Dr Alice Cozens - Communications lead
- Dr Emily Player - Joint EDI Lead
- Lucy Henshall - LCaRM Lead
- Serge Engamba - Joint International Lead and Joint EDI Lead
- Dr Sonny Aung - Joint International Lead
- Dr Perpetua Nicholas - Wellbeing Lead
- Dr James Smith - Sustainability Lead
- Professor Simon Griffin - Professor of General Practice, University of Cambridge
- Professor Amanda Howe - Honorary Professor of Primary Care, UEA
- Dr Mark Attah - Board Member
- Roshini Roberts - County Rep for Norfolk
- County Representative for Norfolk - 1 vacancy
- Jenny Allen - County Rep for Suffolk
- County Representative for Suffolk - Daniel James
- County Representative for Cambridgeshire - 2 vacancies
Contact us
Telephone: 0203 188 7693
Email: eanglia@rcgp.org.uk
We are available between Monday - Thursday, 08:30 - 16:30
Your local Faculty Administrator is Annemarie McCarty
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