Annex A > Chapter 4 - National Accountabilities and Roles > Trade unions of healthcare professionals > British Medical Association (BMA)
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British Medical Association (BMA)
265 The BMA sees itself as more than a trade union: `The BMA is a professional body and a trade union ...'. [336] Membership is voluntary and some 80% of practising doctors are members: [337]
`The principal objective for which the BMA was established in 1832 was "to promote the medical and allied sciences and to maintain the honour and interest of the medical profession". This remains its principal aim and abiding concern.' [338]
BMA - role
266 The professional aspect of the BMA is exemplified by the BMA's Medical Ethics Committee (MEC) which `... publishes ethical guidance on a very wide range of subjects and its secretariat advises individual doctors'. [339] It does not, however, set educational or training standards as such. [340]
267 The trade union aspect was referred to by Dr Ernest Armstrong, Secretary of the BMA. It has `heavy involvement in negotiations and consultation concerning virtually all aspects of doctors' professional working lives, including in particular their contractual arrangements'. [341]
BMA - responsibilities
268 The BMA has no authority to require anyone to do anything:
`The BMA plays no role in regulating entry to or regulation of membership of the medical profession. It has a limited [virtually non-existent] disciplinary power over its members ...' [342]
269 Nonetheless, it voluntarily accepts a responsibility for patients' safety, and rejects the notion that it is an entirely self-serving body of doctors:
`... notwithstanding our duty to stand by a member in terms of the rights and privileges that he has under his membership ... we must be aware that if, in the course of our work, we find or unearth a problem which gives rise to a serious concern about patient safety, then we do not have the option of doing nothing; ... doctors, including myself, have to have regard to our own duty to protect patients at all times.' [343]
270 Dr Armstrong expressed the views of the BMA on many issues in healthcare, such as doctors' pay and conditions, the NHS reforms of 1991, the NHS internal market, employment contracts for hospital consultants, revalidation, and disparagement/whistleblowing.
271 There are also medical defence organisations such as the Medical Defence Union (MDU) and the Medical Protection Society (MPS) that represent members, in particular where they may be exposed to liability or discipline in respect of their practice, but they have no powers to regulate their members.
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Footnotes
[336] WIT 0037 0005 Dr Armstrong
[337] WIT 0037 0004 Dr Armstrong
[338] WIT 0037 0004 Dr Armstrong
[339] WIT 0037 0005 Dr Armstrong
[340] WIT 0037 0005 Dr Armstrong
[341] WIT 0037 0005 Dr Armstrong
[342] WIT 0037 0004 Dr Armstrong