RCGP elects new chair

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has elected its first female chair since Dr Annis Gillie 50 years ago.

Dr Clare Gerada will be the 21st RCGP chair and will hold the post for three years, succeeding Professor Steve Field in November 2010. She will take on the title of chair-elect in June 2010 to ensure an effective transition of leadership. 

Dr Gerada has a long involvement with the RCGP. She is currently vice chair of College Council and immediate past chair of the Ethics Committee. She also established the College's Substance Misuse Unit. She has been a GP in Lambeth since 1991, prior to which she worked in psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital in South London, specialising in substance misuse. She is currently the medical director of the Practitioner Health Programme - a service for sick health professionals – and will continue to provide services to the PHP throughout her tenure as RCGP chair.