Outgoing President reflects on progress at Medical Protection

This is my final year as President at Medical Protection Society (MPS), of which Medical Protection is a part, with my tenure finishing in June 2026. It has been an immense privilege to serve you in this role, and I want to thank the collective efforts of colleagues, stakeholders, and of course, our members.

I took on the role of President of MPS on 1 October 2018, after standing down as President of the Royal College of Physicians not long before. In my eight-year tenure, I have had the privilege of meeting many members and advocating for them.

In my role as President, I have worked to support the strategic direction of MPS, ensuring that the views and needs of our members, no matter where in the world, are heard and reflected in Council decisions. As a physician myself, I have striven to ensure decisions reflect the needs of a constantly changing workforce, which is under strain. I have also held us to our purpose and values so that MPS keeps members at the core of all we do.

When I began my role in 2018, healthcare professionals globally were facing very real challenges and increasing pressure in their daily working life. The pressure on healthcare professionals seems to have only increased since then, bringing new pressures to a workforce that is already overstretched. With the rapid pace of change in dentistry and medicine including the additional challenges created by the pandemic, MPS has developed and adapted to new ways of working, for the benefit of members. 

Organisational growth 

The culture of the organisation has shifted during my time, with a keen focus on inclusivity, addressing inequalities, and promoting women in leadership. Examples include concerted efforts to reduce the gender pay gap and significant progress in ensuring diversity on Council and in our Executive team. We protect a diverse membership from across the globe in a range of disciplines, so I am pleased to see our decision makers at MPS reflect our membership.

Campaigns 

I have seen us speak up and push forward important policy contributions across the regions in which we support members. For example, in Ireland, we coordinated 14 leading organisations representing doctors, dentists, and patients, as well as legal firms, to urge the Irish Government to implement pre-action protocols, which would play an important role in speeding up processes, reducing legal costs and reducing the impact on the wellbeing of both the patients and healthcare professionals caught up in the process. 

In the UK this has included calling for the GMC’s right to appeal tribunal decisions to be stripped, as well as leading a successful campaign in collaboration with other organisations that convinced the UK government to retain important safeguards that enable the sensitive handling of investigations into colleagues who are unwell.

We have campaigned tirelessly for issues impacting members around the world, including on wellbeing and burnout. We surveyed members - across South Africa, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland - to understand the current situation, raised awareness of the changes and resources needed to improve doctors’ and dentists’ daily working lives, and to provide advice to members. 

I am also particularly proud of our work to support women in the profession, which has included leading campaigns to raise awareness of the impact of menopause on doctors and championing research into supporting mothers in medicine. We have also been reviewing what more we could do to improve the support we provide to any members who are victims of sexual misconduct.

The MPS Foundation 

I cannot reflect on the past years without celebrating The MPS Foundation and all the work involved in setting up and supporting it. It has been running for five years now and has established its position as a respected source of advice, guidance and resource for research into areas that were previously under recognised and under-valued. We invested into research on patient safety and prevention of harm, as well as doctor and dentist wellbeing with over 62 global projects now funded. This in turn produces outputs that we can share directly with members to make the workplace a better, safer, and more sustainable place.

Lessons learned 

The key takeaway that I have from my time at MPS is that the members really are at the heart of everything we do. It is vital that we continue to listen, learn, and work for our members. Throughout many global challenges and relentless upheaval, our members have shown us what it is to be resilient and exceed in hugely demanding circumstances. It is this dedication that constantly inspired me to drive change, and it is energy that will propel me into my next chapter.

Ongoing work 

A new President will be appointed later this year, and I am confident that they will enjoy the role as much as I have and will continue to drive forward new ideas and innovation.

Thank you for the trust that you, our members, place in us. It has been an honour to hold this role, and I remain profoundly grateful to everyone who continues to contribute to our shared purpose and ongoing progress. I look forward to seeing MPS continue to flourish in the years ahead.