#TeamGP Perspectives

#TeamGP Perspectives are peer-to-peer conversations digging into anything and everything general practice.

This special episode was recorded live at the 2025 RCGP Advocate Summit at 30 Euston Square, where we went behind closed doors with a conversation between Dr Sylvia Kama – Kieghe and RCGP President, Dr Richard Vautrey. This conversation explores Dr Vautrey’s career from GP training through to where he is today.

Podcast host: Dr Sylvia Kama Kieghe & Guest RCGP President Dr Richard Vautrey.

Dr Sylvia Kama-Kieghe is an Out of Hours GP supervisor with Sheffield GP Collaborative, a GP tutor and examiner for the University of Sheffield Medical School. She is also Vice-Chair for the South Yorkshire & North Trent (SYNT) Faculty of the Royal College of General Practitioners and Member Board of Trustees of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health, FSRH. She is passionate about promoting women's health and uses her platform as a General Practitioner to deliver care and support women and their families around their sexual and reproductive health.
 
Email [email protected] for more information on how to get involved with the College's work or find out more about being an advocate or joining one of our communities. 

#TeamGP Perspectives are peer-to-peer conversations digging into anything and everything general practice. This episode is part of a series for South Asian Heritage Month 2024 discusses the perspectives, experiences and celebrates the achievement of South Asian GPs and clinicians.

Doctors identifying from a South Asian heritage make up around 25% of our members, as outlined in our EDI Member Data Report. Throughout the series, we will spotlight their lived experiences, the unique perspectives they bring to patient care and how their heritage has shaped their journey through General Practice. This year's theme is 'Free to be me'.
 
  Guests:
Dr James Thambyrajah
Dr James Thambyrajah is a practicing GP based in South West London and North Hampshire Urgent Care (NHUC). He is a St John’s Ambulance Volunteer Doctor and former 1st Five Lead & Vice Chair of RCGP South West Thames Faculty.

Dr Anita Raja
Dr Anita Raja (MRCGP , DFSRH, LOC SDI ) is a General practitioner in Birmingham, West Midlands. She is a practising GP, broadcaster and campaigner for wellbeing, especially within the Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities. She has a specialist interest in longevity & lifestyle medicine . She is an advocate for a holistic approach to physical and mental well being. She is a leading expert in Women’s health and has been featured in various health and lifestyle magazines like Stylist UK , Glamour magazine , Strong Women UK . Her opinion on key issues surrounding the Health care system have been endorsed and valued by leading electronic media channels. She has been a TV Presenter for a 1 hour live show “Let’s talk “ on British Muslim TV from 2021 to 2022 , touching upon sensitive issues predominantly within the South Asian Community.

LinkedIn: @dranitaraja

Instagram: @dranitaraja, @royalcollegeofgps

X: @dranitaraja
 
   Resources and Additional Material:
 

Email [email protected] for more information on how to get involved with the College's work or find your local Faculty team for a friendly discussion about what’s going on close to you. 

#TeamGP Perspectives are peer-to-peer conversations digging into anything and everything general practice. This episode is part of a series for South Asian Heritage Month 2024 discusses the perspectives, experiences and celebrates the achievement of South Asian GPs and clinicians.

Doctors identifying from a South Asian heritage make up around 25% of our members, as outlined in our EDI Member Data Report. Throughout the series, we will spotlight their lived experiences, the unique perspectives they bring to patient care and how their heritage has shaped their journey through General Practice. This year's theme is 'Free to be me'.
 
 Guests:
Dr James Thambyrajah
Dr James Thambyrajah is a practicing GP based in South West London and North Hampshire Urgent Care (NHUC). He is a St John’s Ambulance Volunteer Doctor and former 1st Five Lead & Vice Chair of RCGP South West Thames Faculty.

Dr Hareen De Silva
Hareen qualified as a GP in 2015 and spent 5 years working as a salaried GP in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. He was involved in the RCGP as the First5 rep for South Yorkshire and North Trent and then became the youngest faculty chair in RCGP history. He was chair for just under 2 years before he pursued a career in humanitarian assistance. He has worked in Greece, Iraq, Northeast Syria, Ukraine and most recently Gaza. He has worked as clinician initially but now works in management and leadership when deployed and was the Head of Mission for his organisation CADUS in Gaza. He currently lectures for World Extreme Medicine in Humanitarian Medicine and working as a locum GP when he is not deployed on mission.

 Instagram: @royalcollegeofgps
 
  Resources and Additional Material:

Email [email protected] for more information on how to get involved with the College's work or find your local Faculty team for a friendly discussion about what’s going on close to you. 

#TeamGP Perspectives are peer-to-peer conversations digging into anything and everything general practice. This episode is part of a series for South Asian Heritage Month 2024 discusses the perspectives, experiences and celebrates the achievement of South Asian GPs and clinicians.

Doctors identifying from a South Asian heritage make up around 25% of our members, as outlined in our EDI Member Data Report. Throughout the series, we will spotlight their lived experiences, the unique perspectives they bring to patient care and how their heritage has shaped their journey through General Practice. This year's theme is 'Free to be me'.
 
 Guests:
Dr James Thambyrajah
Dr James Thambyrajah is a practicing GP based in South West London and North Hampshire Urgent Care (NHUC). He is a St John’s Ambulance Volunteer Doctor and former 1st Five Lead & Vice Chair of RCGP South West Thames Faculty.

Dr Carter Singh
Dr Carter Singh MBE is a GP Partner in Nottinghamshire. He is a nationally elected council member on the RCGP Council and a Fellow of the College. He is the former Chairman of the Nottinghamshire LMC and has a wealth of commissioning experience as he was a former board member of the Mansfield and Ashfield CCG.

His medical leadership and management achievements were recognised when he was made a Fellow of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health.

During the pandemic Carter was pivotal in building trust and bridges alike with people belonging to marginalised ethnic minority communities and those with learning disabilities and was able to help navigate them though challenging, confusing and difficult times and help keep them protected and safe.  For his efforts, he was awarded an MBE in 2020.

 Instagram: @royalcollegeofgps
 
  Resources and Additional Material:

Email [email protected] for more information on how to get involved with the College's work or find your local Faculty team for a friendly discussion about what’s going on close to you. 

#TeamGP Perspectives are peer-to-peer conversations digging into anything and everything general practice. This episode is part of a series for South Asian Heritage Month 2024 discusses the perspectives, experiences and celebrates the achievement of South Asian GPs and clinicians.

Doctors identifying from a South Asian heritage make up around 25% of our members, as outlined in our EDI Member Data Report. Throughout the series, we will spotlight their lived experiences, the unique perspectives they bring to patient care and how their heritage has shaped their journey through General Practice. This year's theme is 'Free to be me'.
 
Guests:
Dr James Thambyrajah
Dr James Thambyrajah is a practicing GP based in South West London and North Hampshire Urgent Care( NHUC). He is a St John’s Ambulance Volunteer Doctor and former 1st Five Lead & Vice Chair of RCGP South West Thames Faculty.

Dr Nighat Arif
Dr Nighat Arif is a GP specialising in women's health, and a honorary fellow of the Royal College of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. With 16 years NHS experience, she now runs her own private practice. Dr Nighat is also the resident doctor on BBC Breakfast and This Morning, and a content creator with YouTube Health and the WHO Fides network. In 2023, she received a Points of Light award from the Prime Minister for her work raising awareness of women's health issues. Dr Nighat is the bestselling author of "The Knowledge: Your guide to female health from menstruation to the menopause".

Instagram: @drnighatarif @royalcollegeofgps
 
 Resources and Additional Material:

Email [email protected] for more information on how to get involved with the College's work or find your local Faculty team for a friendly discussion about what’s going on close to you.

Please note that the views expressed in these conversations are that of RCGP members and may not represent RCGP views or policy.

#TeamGP Perspectives are peer-to-peer conversations digging into anything and everything general practice. 
 
This episode for National Volunteer's Week is hosted by Dr Victoria Tzortziou-Brown, RCGP Vice Chair for External Affairs, with special guests Dr Aarti Bansal and Dr Mona Aquilina. Hear their discussion about turning causes and passions into thriving Member communities and getting a seat at the top table to affect change in a growing area of concern. Aarti and Mona share their personal journeys from interested parties to Committee Lead and elected Council Member, and give advice on how you can take your first steps in reaching out and getting involved with College too.

Guests 

Dr Aarti Bansal is the College’s first Climate and Sustainability Lead from South Yorkshire North Trent Faculty and is still active in this arena as an elected member of RCGP Council and through the Greener Practice movement.  

Dr Mona Aquilina is a retired GP from London and Malta who pioneered the College’s now thriving Later Career and Retired Members Committee and was their first Chair.  

Follow Aarti and Mona on Twitter: 

@MonaAquilina

@draartibansal and @greenerpractice 

Resources and Links 

·         The Greener Practice website is the one-stop hub for environmentally sustainable primary care. You can learn about the links between planetary and human health, do quality improvement on asthma care and learn how to join the network in your local area or through national special interest groups. 

·         The RCGP has a Net Zero Hub which consists of three excellent 30min e-learning modules on sustainable healthcare, a guide to decarbonising practices and links to the Green Impact for Health Toolkit to help you take action at a practice level. 

·         Scroll through our Established GP pages for lots of later career and retirement information, including links to your local LCARM groups and personal stories from Members at this stage of career.  

Email [email protected] for more information on how to get involved with the College's work or find your local Faculty team for a friendly discussion about what’s going on close to you.

Please note that the views expressed in these conversations are that of RCGP members and may not represent RCGP views or policy.

This episode for Black History Month 2022 is hosted and presented by members of our Black History Month steering group GPs. They explore lived challenges, expectations and successes experienced.  They consider how we can we dispel myths and misconceptions about this career path for young Black males and what we hope to see in the future.

Guests

Dr Michael Ajeleti @DrAjeleti
Dr Ajeleti graduated from Kingston University with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science. After his degree, he worked as a science teacher in Blackheath Bluecoat C of E School and later became deputy of the department. Dr Ajeleti undertook his teacher training at Canterbury Christ Church University, obtaining Qualified Teacher Status. He received the grade ‘outstanding’ for his role as a teacher, and Ofsted recognised this. During this time, he was still determined to pursue a career in medicine, graduating from the Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland. Dr Ajeleti graduated at the top of his class and is currently a GP trainee in Kent, Surrey & Sussex deanery. 

Raised in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Dr Ajeleti has made it his duty to encourage young people to get involved in medicine and other healthcare professions. As the co-founder of Modern Day Medics, he aims to help prospective medical students from BME backgrounds to reach their full potential

Dr Abdul Zubairu @DrAbdulZubairu
Abdul Zubairu is an NHS GP partner at a practice in Merseyside. He is Honorary Secretary for Mersey RCGP Faculty and is the Equality and Diversity lead. He is also the Medical Director for the local GP Federation. Abdul has a role for the GMC setting questions for the PLAB exam. Abdul is also a qualified coach and enjoys coaching other Individuals to develop and reach their potential on areas such as conflict, resilience, teamwork and leadership.

Modern Day Medics
Modern Day Medics is a non-profit organisation run by a group of diverse medical students and junior doctors with a united passion to help prospective BME students achieve their medical school aspirations and provide a network for current medical students and junior doctors.

Modern Day Medics aims to support and encourage all BME students wishing to study a medical degree and to aid them through this journey. They also aim to improve networking amongst current BME doctors and provide the support needed to succeed through medical school.

Instagram: moderndaymedics
Facebook: M.D. Medics
Twitter: @MDMedics
Linkedln: Modern Day Medics
Email: [email protected]

RCGP mentoring scheme
RCGP Black History Month 2022 programme of activities

Please note that the views expressed in these conversations are that of RCGP members and may not represent RCGP views or policy.

This episode is part of a special series for Refugee Week 2022. According to the Refugee Council, there were over 48,000 applications for asylum made in the UK in the past 12 months, and over 100,000 are awaiting an initial decision on their application.    This panel discuss their work treating and caring for asylum seekers and refugees, and the varied, complex health needs and journeys they may have.

Guests

Public Health England - Migrant Health Guide: Countries A-Z 

BMA - Refugee and Asylum Seeker Patient Health Toolkit 

Fairhealth - courses about health inequalities 

CADUS 

Article - Migrants in vulnerable circumstances: not a quick fix 

Phoenix Project (Email: [email protected] | Twitter: @thephoenixprjct)

REACHE Manchester (Email: [email protected] | Twitter: @reachenw)

Visit our web page for more information on the College's statements and response to refugee and vulnerable migrants and displaced doctors.

Please note that the views expressed in these conversations are that of RCGP members and may not represent RCGP views or policy.

This episode is part of a special series for Refugee Week 2022. According to the BMA's latest figures, there are approximately 2,000 refugee doctors in the UK, many of whom pursue GP training to rebuild and continue their clinical career under a medical care system new to them. This panel discuss their work and experience supporting displaced doctors resettling and retraining in the UK.

Guests

Phoenix Project (Email: [email protected] | Twitter: @thephoenixprjct)

REACHE Manchester (Email: [email protected] | Twitter: @reachenw)

Visit our web page for more information on the College's statements and response to refugee and vulnerable migrants and displaced doctors.

Please note that the views expressed in these conversations are that of RCGP members and may not represent RCGP views or policy.

According to the BMA's latest figures, there are approximately 2,000 refugee doctors in the UK, many of whom pursue GP training to rebuild and continue their clinical career under a medical care system new to them.
 
We hear from three doctors, displaced by conflict and listen to their personal journeys, experiences and hopes for the future.

Guests
Dr Abdelnasser Ibrahim
Dr Fayqa Zia
Dr Mirkarimullah Zia

Resources

Phoenix Project (Email: [email protected] | Twitter: @thephoenixprjct)

REACHE Manchester (Email: [email protected] | Twitter: @reachenw)

Visit our web page for more information on the College's statements and response to refugee and vulnerable migrants and displaced doctors.

Please note that the views expressed in these conversations are that of RCGP members and may not represent RCGP views or policy.