British Medical Association
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| Formation | 1832 at the University of Worcester's City Campus site |
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| Headquarters | Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9JP |
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Membership
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151,000 (November 2012) |
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Chair of Council
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Dr Mark Porter |
| Website | www |
The British Medical Association (BMA) is the professional association and registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association’s headquarters are located in BMA House, , London. Additionally, the Association has national offices in Cardiff, Belfast, and Edinburgh, a European office in Brussels and a number of offices in English regions. The BMA has a range of representative and scientific committees and is recognised by National Health Service (NHS) employers as sole contract negotiators for doctors.
The BMA's stated aim is "to promote the medical and allied sciences, and to maintain the honour and interests of the medical profession".
Currently 156,000 doctors and 19,000 medical students are members of the association. It is officially recognised by Government and by the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration as the only organisation representing all NHS doctors in the hospital and community services employed under national agreements. The BMA has sole bargaining rights for these doctors.
Members of the BMA have access to expert employment advice. Advisors can help with a range of employment related issues, from answering a simple question to advising on more complex problems including contract checking, job planning, pay disputes and relationship issues.
As part of the representative remit of the BMA it has a number of representative committees formed from members elected at the Annual Representatives Meeting (ARM) and via other election processes. The most senior of these is Council. It meets five times a year to implement policy as decided at the ARM and to take relevant decisions during the year. Council has 34 voting members, led by the Chairman who is elected by council for an initial term of three years and to a maximum of five.
The Board of Professional Activities reports to Council and considers ethical, scientific, research, and educational matters whilst The Board of Representative and Political Activities considers reports from the following committees which represent doctors across the seven branches of practice which are:
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