Dr Sarah Jacques and Dr Steve Taylor will continue as DAUK’s GP co-leads.

Dr Shonelly Novintan is DAUK’s learn Not Blame lead, Dr Matt Lee is sustainability lead and Dr Victoria Zaslona is SAS lead.

DAUK would like to express our profound thanks to Dr Ellen Welch, who has taken a step back from her role as vice chair but will continue to work on DAUK’s committee, and to Dr Pusho Hossain, for her incredible work as IMG lead, which included being the driving force behind the Overseas NHS Workers’ Day.

The AGM heard a round-up of some of DAUK’s work and achievements.

General practice

It’s been an incredibly busy year for the GP committee at a time when general practice is facing unprecedented pressures.

We continue to campaign and highlight the issues facing general practice from the GP contract to employment opportunities, from funding to collective action.

The ‘Your GP, Here For You’ campaign called for a contract that puts patients at the centre of care. It has provided a positive vision for general practice through continuity of care and sustainable funding.

The GP team lobbied the government over the GP contract with a letter to the health secretary signed by hundreds of GPs and patients.

More recently, co-leads Dr Steve Taylor and Dr Sarah Jacques wrote to the health secretary calling for action to improve patient safety following coroners’ findings into the deaths of two children has made headlines in medical news media.

They have represented DAUK at pharmacy events and conferences, building relationships across healthcare while advocating for greater investment in primary care.

The GP committee is an increasingly influential voice in national discussions, providing constructive policy solutions.

Members contribute extensively to the national media and professional publications, while continuing to engage directly with politicians and policymakers.

Fit Note policy

The GMC

We continue to hold the GMC to account.

We have been a leading opponent of government proposals to retain and expand the General Medical Council’s power to appeal Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service decisions.

Working alongside thirteen other medical organisations, we wrote to health minister Karin Smyth to reconsider the proposals, arguing they undermine confidence in independent regulation.

Physician associates

We continue to highlight the roles of physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs) and contribute to national discourse.

We have given strong support to Anaesthetists United’s (AU) high-profile legal challenge and expressed our ‘extreme disappointment’ at the High Court dismissing a judicial review of the GMC’s regulation of the roles.

Climate and health

The climate crisis has become an increasingly important patient safety issue.

During June’s heatwave, we surveyed healthcare professionals across the NHS, documenting unsafe temperatures affecting staff and patients.

We shared initial findings and the full report with the media, which attracted extensive national coverage.

We shared the findings with government and called for climate resilience to become a national health priority and for practical investment in NHS infrastructure to protect patients and staff during increasingly frequent extreme weather events.

We’ve collaborated with the National Emergency Briefing on its climate crisis film. We attended the original screening at Westminster, held our own online showing, and encouraged doctors to host one in their healthcare settings.

Our health, Our Planet celebrated its first birthday. It was accessed by more than 3,500 users from more than 80 countries in the first 12 months.

Medical students

Medical student members responded with force to then health secretary Wes Streeting’s comments that doctors were ‘moaning minnies’ and ‘juvenile delinquents’.
DAUK backed a complaint to the prime minister and medical students took to our website to make their voices heard.

We continue to raise the issue of bottlenecks in training and issues around placeholder roles.

Indeed, blogs by our medical students on the issue of bottlenecks in specialty training was referenced in a House of Lords briefing ahead of a debate on government plans for resident doctor training posts.

We backed the Times and Sunday Times campaign End the Graduate Rip-Off, which demands urgent reform of the student loan system in England and Wales.

Dr Taylor spoke to the Times for their campaign article highlighting the burden of student debt on medics, blogged on the issue, and was vocal on social media.

Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill

We responded to the publication of the Medical Training Bill by recognising the pressure on medical training and employment in the NHS.

Our response said that the shortage of training opportunities was  the direct result of poor workforce planning by successive governments, despite our repeated warnings. We also questioned the fairness of changing prioritisation criteria midway through the process.

A fair and effective workforce strategy must be based on long-term planning, expansion of training posts, and policies that treat doctors with consistency and respect, we said.

Palantir and patient data

Over the past year, DAUK has remained a leading clinical voice advocating for the safe and ethical use of patient data.

Led by Dr David Nicholl, we have continued our long-standing opposition to Palantir’s involvement in the Federated Data Platform with Our Data, Our NHS campaign.

Working alongside Foxglove and other campaign groups, we argue Palantir’s involvement erodes public trust and does not provide value for money.

Dr Nicholl has highlighted the issue in national newspapers and radio interviews, and hosted a briefing in Westminster for MPs.

Last month we welcomed the publication of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee’s report.

It raised significant concerns about the growing role of Palantir in public services and the NHS.

NHS Domestic Abuse Awareness Day

Working with the Medical Women’s Federation, we launched the first NHS Domestic Abuse Awareness Day in December.

An incredible amount of work went into it from Dr Ellen Welch and Dr Jacques with medical organisations across the country, including the BMA, getting involved.

Healthcare workers shared their powerful stories in the media, in particular the BMJ, and Dr Welch and Dr Jacques explored issues around domestic abuse on a podcast.

Not The NHS Again!

Dr Taylor, in collaboration with Keep Our NHS Public, has launched the Not The NHS Again! Podcast.

The podcast dives deep into the issues facing the NHS, healthcare workers, and patients.

Released on Spotify and YouTube every Friday, it features discussions with campaigners and healthcare experts.

Media

DAUK and our committee members continue to be seen by journalists as trusted sources and authoritative voices to comment on issues.

In the week before the AGM alone, our work surveying healthcare workers about conditions in the heatwave has been covered in the national press, healthcare publications, and national TV.

We regularly contribute to articles and broadcasts, and provide briefings and background material to journalists.

We are proactive in putting out comment on issues on our website and social media, and sending directly to journalists.

And we are quick to respond to requests, with someone being available to speak to a journalist in the majority of cases.

Our GP co-lead Dr Taylor in particular is incredibly active providing comment to general practice publications on GP-related issues.

The DAUK website a document of record and is regularly updated with news, campaigns, activities, and statements.

Social media

We have a strong social media presence which is really helped by how active our committee members are.

Dr Taylor is particularly active on X and helps to amplify our messaging and Dr Ellen Welch really pushes Instagram.

It’s important that our social media is accessed by our committee members, which gives it an authentic and authoritative voice.

Substack

Our Substack offers a vehicle for committee members to blog on issues that interest and affect them. It has also allowed us to repurpose previous blogs and share on social media, and has led to wider discussions and interviews in traditional media.

Collaborative leadership

A great strength of DAUK is our willingness to work collaboratively.

It is a theme that runs through this report, from supporting AU with financial contributions to members invited to present at conferences and events.

Our work on the Federated Data Platform, whistleblowing, the NHS Domestic Abuse Awareness Day, the climate crisis, and the GMC’s powers of appeal, are illustrations of how this collaborative approach has significantly amplified our voice and influence.

And we’ll be continuing that later this year with a joint conference with Doctors For The NHS in York in October.

That is the question posed by DAUK’s GP co-leads Dr Steve Taylor and Dr Sarah Jacques in the latest episode of the Not the NHS Again podcast.

Titled The Health Bill – Wes Streeting’s worrying leaving gift, it sees Dr Taylor and Dr Jacques explore the implications of the Government’s new Health Bill and what it could mean for patient privacy and public trust.

They discuss how the proposed legislation would see significant changes to the way health data is managed, including the creation of a single patient record and the transfer of greater control over NHS data to the Secretary of State.

Not The NHS Again

Listeners will also hear about:

The breakdown of the proposed abolition of NHS England and its real motives

• How the new single patient record could change the doctor-patient relationship
• Why there’s a serious concern about data being used for profit, not patient care
• The risks of losing local control and the increased influence of tech giants like Palantir
• What the shift in legislation means for patient opt-outs and data privacy safeguards

Listen to The Health Bill – Wes Streeting’s worrying leaving gift.

Not The NHS Again is a collaboration between Keep Our NHS Public and DAUK.

All episodes are available on Spotify and YouTube.

We are a non-profit campaigning and lobbying organisation led by frontline doctors, for frontline doctors. We are volunteers and our collective aim is to give frontline workers a voice to be heard.

Please support our work by contributing to our crowd funder.

DAUK has been working with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health on the future of fit notes.

Dr Steve Taylor, DAUK GP co-lead, attended the launch event in Birmingham, where details of the four pilot schemes were announced.

Fit notes

He said: “We agree the current system of fit notes isn’t working well for patients, GPs and employers.

“It often lacks the nuance to deal with specific work situations and reasons that people have for not being able to work their full or part of their role. 

“We hope these pilots will give the opportunity to explore a different way for people to engage with periods of ill health and ways to make work more accessible and achievable.

Pilot schemes

“This recognises that GPs aren’t always best equipped to understand the options for work and we hope that active engagement between patients, GPs, employers and this new service will provide a better experience for everyone.”

The small-scale pilots will be held in Coventry and Warwickshire, Birmingham and Solihull, Lancashire and South Cumbria, and Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

The Department for Health said the pilots are ‘exploratory and flexible, designed to test and refine different delivery models through a test and learn approach’.

DAUK survey

DAUK’s own GP survey highlighted strong professional support for reform.

Among respondents, 69% said fit notes should no longer remain within GP remit, while 85% supported transferring responsibility to a dedicated new service. Nearly half backed a return to four-week self-certification, and 94% reported that refusing a fit note negatively affected the doctor–patient relationship.

Dr Taylor said: “It is important that no one is forced to work who cannot, but it is also important that those who can, should be encouraged and given options to work.

“This could be a great improvement and we look forward to seeing the outcomes from these four pilots.”

We are a non-profit campaigning and lobbying organisation led by frontline doctors, for frontline doctors. We are volunteers and our collective aim is to give frontline workers a voice to be heard.

Please support our work by contributing to our crowd funder.

DAUK notes that in his statement, Streeting cited the government’s unpopularity. However, many NHS staff will feel he had become an increasingly unpopular health secretary.

There has been a growing sense that the concerns of frontline NHS workers, and in particularly doctors, were not being listened to or addressed.

DAUK hopes that whoever succeeds him will take a more collaborative approach and will genuinely listen to NHS staff.

Ten Year Health Plan concerns

DAUK has raised concerns about several aspects of the Government’s Ten Year Health Plan, including the increasing role of the private sector in NHS delivery, unresolved issues around pay and working conditions, training.

There are also concerns linked to the Single Patient Record, the involvement of Palantir Technologies in NHS data systems, and the lobbying of Government by corporations and private individuals .

The challenges facing the NHS are significant, and meaningful reform will only succeed through partnership with the workforce delivering care every day.

Meaningful engagement

Dr Matt Kneale, DAUK co-chair, said: “Doctors do not need another period of headline-driven reform, rushed announcements, or policy made without meaningful engagement with the workforce.

“The next health secretary should begin by rebuilding trust, meeting frontline staff, listening without defensiveness and recognising that patient safety and workforce morale are inseparable.

“That means tackling unsafe scope creep, ending the use of ACPs as substitutes for doctors on medical rotas, being honest with patients about who is providing their care, and engaging seriously with the profession to avoid further industrial action.

“It also means addressing doctors’ concerns about the impact of the new draft GMC order, which appears to reverse years of agreed progress on how health regulators should interact with their registrants.”

Stability and leadership

Dr Sarah Jacques, DAUK GP co-lead, said: “During a time when we desperately need stability and leadership, I am concerned about the chaos that we are seeing again.

“However, I am not sad to see the resignation of a health secretary who has shut down the voice of general practice and made conditions for GPs and patients so much worse.

“I look forward to a new health secretary who is prepared to work with GPs and appreciate the genuine worth that we bring to the NHS.”

We are a non-profit campaigning and lobbying organisation led by frontline doctors, for frontline doctors. We are volunteers and our collective aim is to give frontline workers a voice to be heard.

Please support our work by contributing to our crowd funder.

DAUK has warned that the Government is repeating past mistakes around public health messaging, preparedness, and transparency.

DAUK committee members have expressed unease at shifting public health guidance and what they describe as the ‘downplaying’ of transmission risks by the Government.

Public health information

Indeed, DAUK committee members highlighted recent changes to official public health information, including the removal of references to aerosol transmission.

Dr Steve Taylor, DAUK GP co-lead, said: “It is deeply concerning to see language around transmission being softened or altered in real time.

“We went through the pandemic where delayed recognition of airborne spread had devastating consequences. To see the same thing happening again is alarming.”

Dr Alison George, DAUK committee member and a GP in Newcastle, said that university students frequently travel between campuses, social settings, and family homes, which risked the spreading of the disease outside of Kent.

Bigger picture

Limiting focus to isolated clusters risks underestimating the broader spread, she said.

Dr George said: “Students mix, travel, and interact across universities all the time.

“To frame this as a localised issue without wider preventative action risks missing the bigger picture entirely.”

Dr George warned the situation bears uncomfortable similarities to early pandemic decision-making, where concerns about economic and social disruption appeared to influence public health messaging.

Covid Inquiry

She said: “The Covid Inquiry has already revealed that key decisions were shaped by economic considerations rather than purely public health needs.

“We are worried that the same tensions are playing out again, and that the desire to avoid disruption is taking precedent over public health.”

Dr George raised concerns about preparedness, including vaccine availability and public health information, drawing parallels with early shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) during Covid-19.

Precautionary approach

DAUK is urging health authorities to adopt a precautionary approach, including:

• Clear and consistent communication about transmission risks
• Consideration of wider spread beyond initial clusters
• Rapid assessment of vaccination strategies for at-risk populations
• Transparency in how public health decisions are made

We are a non-profit campaigning and lobbying organisation led by frontline doctors, for frontline doctors. We are volunteers and our collective aim is to give frontline workers a voice to be heard.

Please support our work by contributing to our crowd funder.

The GMC’s interim perceptions survey also found that more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of doctors were not confident in how the GMC regulates physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia.

Dr Steve Taylor, Doctors Association UK (DAUK) GP co-lead, said he was not surprised by the survey results.

GMC

He said: “The GMC was set up by doctors for doctors to provide a safety check and regulation of safe patient care. 

“Given the well publicised disregard of doctors views on PAs and AAs, and ongoing concerns about the way the GMC investigates doctors, it is not at all surprising that confidence in the GMC has been falling. 

“Doctors have been an afterthought despite the fact that they are the ones paying for the GMC’s existence and are the vast majority of registrants.

Wake-up call

“The current board is failing and has failed to listen to the voices of the majority of doctors, and this survey confirms this. Hopefully this will be a wake-up call.”

Read the Doctors.Net article.

Download the GMC interim perceptions survey.

We are a non-profit campaigning and lobbying organisation led by frontline doctors, for frontline doctors. We are volunteers and our collective aim is to give frontline workers a voice to be heard.

Please support our work by contributing to our crowd funder.

DAUK is deeply concerned at the reports and is establishing the facts and circumstances, and is seeking further information.

If you are a doctor at King’s College Hospital affected by this, or with knowledge of the situation, please contact DAUK in confidence by emailing contact@dauk.org

We urge all parties involved, the Trust and trade unions, including the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA), to act promptly, lawfully, and with fairness towards all affected staff.

Clinical fellows are a vital part of the medical workforce. They deserve proper process, adequate notice, and genuine support, not uncertainty and insecurity.

At a time when the NHS faces a chronic shortage of doctors, when emergency departments are under sustained and unprecedented pressure, and when the government has committed to reducing waiting times and rebuilding the health service, the removal of significant numbers of clinical staff at one of London’s busiest major trauma centres runs counter to everything that is needed. The NHS needs more doctors, not fewer.

DAUK will continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide further updates as additional information becomes available.

We were reluctant to give these views more airtime, but the strength of feeling galvanised us to speak out against these damaging and outdated views.

Thomas spoke of the increasing number of female doctors in the UK workforce as problematic, because ‘of course, women have got to have babies. They’ve got to have time to bring up their children. What they do is they work part time and they job share and at the end of the day we have to educate two women to get one full time equivalent.’

He added that ‘in general practice, most of the women are working part-time and that is one of the reasons why patients cannot get access to the same GP all the time’.

General practice

Blaming the shift in workforce demographics as the reason patients cannot see their GP is a blinkered view which ignores the true complexity of general practice in 2025 – chiefly an increasing population, combined with underfunding, closing practices and a declining workforce. DAUK has campaigned extensively on this.

In general practice, women make up 53% of the GP workforce, and have one of the highest gender pay gaps of any UK profession. Research last year by the University of Manchester showed that the fall in full-time equivalent GPs was driven by male doctors reducing their working hours.

GPs are long overdue a rebrand in what is defined as part-time, but in terms of workload and admin burden, eight clinical sessions from 20 years ago is probably equivalent to about five sessions now, and this huge increase in unpaid overtime is reflected in the number of GPs of both sexes reducing their sessions.

Sexism in medicine

We know that sexism in medicine is rife, with 91% of women doctors responding to a BMA survey in 2021, reporting sexism at work. Women taking part said they suffered patronising comments, judgement on their appearance, and stifled career progression in favour of male colleagues. Assuming women doctors will all birth children and stop working is reductive, and fails to acknowledge the caring responsibilities doctors of both sexes hold – and should be supported with.

Rather than criticising women in medicine, we should celebrate their contribution and foster workplace cultures that enable all parents and caregivers to continue to provide excellent care. Research shows that patients treated by female surgeons experience better outcomes, and those cared for by female physicians have lower mortality rates.

Dr Matt Kneale, DAUK co-chair DAUK, said:

“Dr Thomas’s comments are out of touch and downright damaging. As a male doctor, I see every day how women in medicine carry the weight of patient care, often squeezing in work around the pressures of family life. Blaming maternity leave and part-time hours for NHS pressures is a smokescreen that distracts from the real issues of chronic underfunding, brutal rotas and virtually zero support. We should be striving to tear down barriers not slamming the door in women’s faces.”

Dr Sarah Matthews, vice-president MWF, said:

“Dr Thomas seems ill-informed as to the recent workforce data. This shows that in real terms there has been a decrease in full time equivalent GPs since 2015 of more than 1,000 and this is much more likely to be the reason why access to the GP has decreased over this last decade.

“We believe, contrary to his view, that bringing a higher proportion of women and looking for broad representation in the workforce to reflect the society it is treating, is something to be celebrated. He is looking back to a rose-tinted past; we stand for a positive future.”

Dr Sarah Jacques, DAUK GP lead and co-opted member for campaigns MWF, said:

“Dr Thomas’ remarks are not only outdated and offensive, they are dangerous. Denigrating women in the workplace, especially in public forums, helps legitimise a culture in which sexism is normalised and abuse is more likely to occur.

“Women in medicine already face significant structural barriers, including a persistent gender pay gap, limited access to flexible working opportunities, and underemployment. But beyond these challenges lies an often-overlooked reality: female health care professionals are at higher risk of domestic abuse.

“The Medical Women’s Federation and Doctors’ Association UK are working together on a campaign to raise awareness of this issue. The abuse of women does not happen in a vacuum—it is sustained by workplace cultures that tolerate misogyny and dismisses the lived experiences of women. Sexist remarks like those made by Dr Thomas contribute to an environment where abuse, both inside and outside the workplace, is more likely to be minimised or ignored.”

Dr Ellen Welch, DAUK co-chair and co-opted member for campaigns MWF, said:

“Part-time, flexible working is part of how our society functions today, and we need to embrace it and support it within a modern NHS, for both sexes. Commentators who feel women are culpable for the problems in the NHS show how out of touch they really are and both our organisations welcome the opportunity to present the above evidence on our workforce.”

Ms Helen Fernandes, DAUK co-chair DAUK said: “Dr Thomas should reflect carefully on his comments and rely on actual facts rather than biased, mis-held beliefs. He should perhaps look to the extensive support the Royal College of Surgeons has given female surgeons by creating WiNS (Women in Surgery) which encourages females to join the surgical workforce and supports their lifelong careers – including all things maternity and childcare related. As chair of WiNS for over 6 years this organisation went from strength to strength – despite the views of this long retired surgeon.”

Prof Jane Dacre, President MWF responded with this blog:

https://medicalwomensfederation.substack.com/p/there-is-still-hostility-towards?r=1l79cr

Please consider adding your signature to this open letter to the editor of The Independent written by GP and MWF member Dr Louise Clarke

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=7qe9Z4D970GskTWEGCkKHoiqhWY54CdBoHe-2duTyI9UNTI5QzJFV1FOM1RQTlJDSk9YVkk0VDhBUC4u&fbclid=IwY2xjawLzBQpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHti_uEBMotvP8KALOIwchL3gEKh4rqOyhxcEuVi109JGm7JDHkhzFQ86ZzJE_aem_yeLrrSCDXih1j192gd7Ukw&route=shorturl&sfnsn=scwspwa

Free webinar

The webinar takes place on Tuesday 10 June from 7.30pm to 8.30pm. It will be held by Dr Claire Davies, a GP and accredited coach, who works with doctors on managing stress, preventing burnout, and making their careers enjoyable again. Dr Davies is the author of the book First Aid for Doctors with Burnout and a contributor to Pulse, Medscape and the BMJ. Her talk aims to help doctors understand:

• Why they feel the way they do
• What we often get wrong in terms of supporting ourselves and others
• What really helps
• How to offer great and effective support as a colleague.

It is free to DAUK members and £6.13 to non-members. Book your place here.

Compassion fatigue

The second webinar is on compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue, often referred to as the ‘cost of caring’, is a state of emotional and physical exhaustion resulting from prolonged exposure to the suffering of others. The webinar will be hosted by Jayne Ellis, founder and CEO of EF training, who has experienced compassion fatigue herself. She will talk about it and how to mitigate its effects. The webinar will be held on Wednesday 25 June from 7.30pm to 8.30pm. It is free to DAUK members, and costs £5 for non-members. Click here to sign up to the webinar. DAUK is run by volunteer doctors. Please support our work by contributing to our crowd funder or by becoming a member.

Prof McNally

The ninth woman ever to be elected as a member of the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons, Prof McNally is deputy director of the Centre for Perioperative Care. An electric-cycle advocate, mother of four adult children, and a 4th Dan Karate black belt, Prof McNally is living with myeloma and cardiac amyloidosis. She is a frequent speaker and regular writer on careers, diversity, bullying, sustainability, perioperative care, myeloma, exercise, active travel and how to fix the NHS.

DAUK conference

Prof McNally will be taking part in the discussion on physicians associates in the NHS at the conference. The conference takes place at the Wellcome Collective in London from 9am to 5pm on Saturday 17 May. It is free but donations and contributions can be made via our crowd funder. Please support our work. Imran Khan KC, Dr Rachel Clarke, and Dr Punam Krishan have already been confirmed to talk at the conference. Tickets are available now from Eventbrite.