Summary
Hamish Meldrum (born 1948) is a British doctor who worked as a general practitioner and was Chair of the Council of the British Medical Association (BMA) 2007–2012. He took this role on after being Chair of the BMA's General Practitioners Committee (GPC) 2004–2007.
Early life edit
Meldrum was born in 1948 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He lived in Aberdeen for seven years, then moved to Stirling where he attended Stirling High School.[1]
Career edit
Meldrum graduated from Edinburgh Medical School in 1972, then worked as a GP in Yorkshire.[2]
He joined the BMA's General Practitioners Committee (GPC) in 1991.[1] He chaired the GPC from 2004 to 2007.[3]
Meldrum was elected as chair of BMA council in 2007.[4] Among the first issues that he was faced with was the troubled introduction of a new system for junior doctors to be selected for training posts - Medical Training Application Service (MTAS).[5] He spoke out against private finance initiative (PFI) schemes in the NHS, citing waste and inefficiency.[6] In response to the unlawful killing of David Gray by an out-of-hours locum doctor, Meldrum supported the position that practicing doctors should be competent, including having the necessary language skills.[7] He led doctors into industrial action over pension issues.[8] He also spoke out against aspects of Andrew Lansley's Health and Social Care Bill.[9]
In March 2011, Meldrum retired from his practice in Bridlington, East Yorkshire.[10]
References edit
- ^ a b "Profile of doctors' leader". The Herald. Glasgow. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ Gresham, Steven; Jegatheesan, Menaka (2 February 2008). "15 minutes with… The chairman of the BMA Council". BMJ. 336 (7638): s38. doi:10.1136/bmj.39471.710301.7D. S2CID 79833685.
- ^ "Meldrum leads the charge". GP Online. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ Kmietowicz, Zosia (5 July 2007). "Hamish Meldrum elected BMA chairman". BMJ. 335 (15): 15.9–15. doi:10.1136/bmj.39262.570093.DB. PMC 1910661. PMID 17616096.
- ^ "Doctors 'feel under siege from culture of controls'". The Herald. 2 August 2007. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ Bowcott, Owen (29 June 2009). "Doctors' leader denounces government health reforms". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ Tran, Mark (28 June 2010). "Foreign doctors need adequate English and better regulation, says BMA chief". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ BMA Conference 2012 - Dr Hamish Meldrum. British Medical Association. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ "Interview: BMA's Hamish Meldrum". Politics.co.uk. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
- ^ "Special > Power 50 > 08. Dr Hamish Meldrum". Pulse. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2022.