Community Care Committee
October 2008
About the Committee on Community Care
The Committee on Community Care is a multi-craft group including general practitioners, specialists in elderly medicine, psychiatry and paediatrics, those working in public health and community medicine, and doctors in training. The committee also includes two non-medical members with particular expertise in aspects of community care.
Terms of Reference
To monitor policy and service trends in community care; to advise on the resolution of problems at the interface of primary and secondary health care and social care, identify unmet areas of need, and promote new approaches to care; to consult other BMA committees as appropriate and to formulate advice and make recommendations to Council as appropriate.
To consider matters relating to mental health in community care.
The committee agreed at its meeting held on 25 September 1997 that all committee members excluding visitors (co-optees) have the right to vote.
Constitution
Five members elected by the Representative Body from the crafts of senior hospital doctor, junior hospital doctors, general practice and public health and community medicine for a two year term, one member elected by each of the following craft committees for a two year term: Central Consultants and Specialists Committee, Staff and Associate Specialists Committee, Public Health Medicine Committee, General Practitioners Committee and Junior doctors Committee, one each elected for a two year term by the CCSC Paediatric Subcommittee, the CCSC Psychiatric Subcommittee, the CCSC Medical Specialties Subcommittee (a specialist in elderly medicine) and the Scottish Council. Of the five members elected by the Representative Body not more than two should be from any one craft. Two co-opted non-medical members with specific areas of expertise for a two-year term.
Membership:
Five elected by the Representative Body - these members are in the FIRST year of their two-year term:
Greg Dilliway
Helena McKeown - current Chairman (subject to election 2008-09 session)
Tom McKinstry
Anand Ramakrishnan
Wendy Robinson
One elected by each of the following - these members are in the SECOND year of a two-year term:
Gary Calver - General Practitioners Committee (GPC)
Lewis Morrison - Scottish Council
Dierck Meerstadt - Central Consultants and Specialists Committee (CCSC)
Amit Arora - CCSC Medical Specialties Subcommittee
Fawzia Rahman - CCSC Paediatric Subcommittee
Michael J Harris - CCSC Psychiatric Subcommittee
Dr Shaji Geevarghese- Staff and Associate Specialists Committee (SASC)*
Peter Tiplady - Public Health Medicine Health
TBC - Junior Doctors Committee (JDC)
* In September 2008 Mr Nanikram Vaswani announced he had resigned due to work commitments. Dr Shaji Geevarghese was elected as the SASC representative
Co-opted members: To serve for a one year term to be reviewed annually:
Emily Holzhausen, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Carers UK
At the invitation of the Chairman:
Emma Rowe, Patient Liaison Group (December 08 - Spring 09)
Mike Connolly, Patient Liaison Group (Spring 09)
Work of the committee:
The first meeting of 2008-09 session is on 17 December 2008 at BMA House at 10:00 am.
The last committee meeting was held on 26 March 2008 where Peter Hay, Strategic Director Adults and Communities, Birmingham City Council presented the council's plans to close all care and residential homes and replace them with new services for older people.
Stephen Burke, Chief Executive of Counsel and Care, a charity for older people, their families and carers presented on what makes a quality care/residential home from the perspective of doctor, resident and relative.
The Committee has undertaken work on updating its document “Working with Carers: Guidelines of Good Practice” and are also drafting a paper on what makes a quality care home and the criteria to be considered by local government when transferring the elderly between homes and is still in progress. The Committee is working in close partnership with the Birmingham City Council and Counsel and Care on these projects.
The BMA's policy statement on the management of long-term conditions has been published and may be viewed here.
For further information and queries, please contact Rachel Craine, Council Secretariat, on 020 7383 6611 or email rcraine@bma.org.uk