Professor Kamila Hawthorne elected as next Chair of RCGP

Professor Kamila Hawthorne has been elected as the next Chair of the Royal College of GPs. She will serve a three-year term from November 2022, succeeding Professor Martin Marshall. 

The two other candidates in the election, independently conducted by Civica electoral services, were Dr Sunil Gupta and Dr Gary Howsam.

Professor Hawthorne is a salaried GP in Mountain Ash, South Wales. She is a Bevan Commissioner, and the Head of Graduate Entry Medicine at Swansea University. She is currently Provost of the SE Wales Faculty of the RCGP, and sits on the College’s Trustee Board and Ethics Committee. She was Vice Chair (Professional Development) of the College between 2015 and 2018. She has been an MRCGP Examiner since 1997, and will be the College’s fifth woman Chair.

She came to Britain with her family from Tanzania in 1970. She qualified from Somerville College, Oxford in 1984, and did her VTS training in Nottingham. She has been a GP Principal in Nottingham, Manchester and Cardiff. She is married to a gastroenterologist and has two children, one of whom is also a GP. Her special interests are in diabetes, health inequalities and medical education.

She was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours in 2017. It was for services to general practice, and her work on culturally appropriate diabetes health education with BAME communities and their GP practices in Cardiff.

Professor Hawthorne said: "I am honoured to be elected as the next Chair of the RCGP. I will do everything I can to represent the views of frontline GPs across the UK at such a challenging time for general practice and the NHS. Our patients deserve excellent care, and our members deserve to work in a service that is appropriately funded, that supports them to do the best job they can, and that protects their own health and wellbeing.

“I will do everything possible over the next three years to make sure our professional voice is a strong one. I aim to ensure that politicians, policymakers, and influencers, including the media, understand and appreciate the work that GPs do; the importance and quality of the care we deliver to our patients; and the immense contribution we make to the wider NHS. 

"I thank my fellow candidates Sunil Gupta and Gary Howsam for running such a fair campaign, and the members of Council who have put their trust and confidence in me.

"I would also like to pay tribute to our current Chair, Martin Marshall. He has done a magnificent job of leading our College and our profession through the turbulence of the pandemic and who leaves such a strong legacy to build on."

Unlike other Medical Royal Colleges, the RCGP has a Chair and a President. The Chair of Council is the leader of the College and sets its strategic direction and policy, while the President is a ceremonial role.

The College has also announced the election of Dr Victoria Tzortziou Brown as its new Vice Chair-elect for External Affairs, succeeding Dr Gary Howsam in November. Dr Tzortziou Brown has been an east London GP for almost 20 years and brings health policy, research and commissioning experience. She has served as the College's Honorary Secretary and RCGP London Faculties Chair. More recently she has been co-chairing the RCGP`s Health Inequalities Standing Group.

Six new nationally elected Council members will also be taking up their seats from November 2022. They are (alphabetical order):

• Kirsty Alexander
• Gail Allsopp
• Sam Everington
• Aaliya Goyal
• Carter Singh
• Richard Vautrey

Further information

RCGP Press office: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editor

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 52,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.