Since the last edition of Commentary in December, the RCP has been working to represent our members and support the work of physicians. Read our summary of the news from the last 2 months and the upcoming opportunities.
King Charles III 2026 New Year Honours list
A huge congratulations to all those named in the New Year Honours List, for their continued dedication and work contributions to improving health and care across various specialties.
Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (GBE)
Dr Suzannah Claire Lishman CBE, Hon FRCP, lately president, The Association of Clinical Pathologists and senior advisor on medical examiners, Royal College of Pathologists.
For services to the medical examiner system and to patient safety.
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Dr Edward James Baker FRCP, chair, Health Services, Safety Investigations Body.
For services to healthcare.
Professor Jill Jannette Freda Belch OBE, FRSE, FRCP, professor of vascular medicine and consultant physician, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, NHS Tayside.
For services to medicine and public health.
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Professor Alan Keith Fletcher FRCP, lately national medical examiner for England and Wales, NHS England.
For services to the NHS.
Dr Anna Lisa Mary Jenkins FRCP
For services to life sciences.
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Professor Michael Kevin Almond QVRM, VR, DL, FRCP, professor in veterans and families studies, Anglia Ruskin University and chair, Essex Reserve Forces and Cadets Association.
For services to service personnel and veterans.
Professor Alan Keith Boyd FRCP, FMedSci, president and chief executive officer, Boyd Consultants.
For services to gene therapy and medical education.
Professor Neil Reginald Poulter FRCP, professor of preventative cardiovascular medicine, Imperial College London.
For services to hypertension prevention.
Overseas and international list
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG)
Professor David Christopher William Mabey CBE, FRCP, professor of communicable diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
For services to global health.
Professor Anthony Damien Redmond OBE, FRCP, founder of UK-Med and professor emeritus of international emergency medicine, University of Manchester.
For services to humanitarian medical assistance.
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG)
Professor Nicholas Philip John Day FRCP, Director Mahidol-Oxford Research Programme and professor of tropical medicine, Oxford University.
For services to global health.
Dr Dwomoa Adu FRCP, honorary consultant nephrologist and senior research fellow, University of Ghana Medical School.
For services to treating kidney disease in the UK and overseas.
RCP governance matters
Read the latest updates on RCP governance matters and find your opportunities to get involved.
- At January Council all nominations received were agreed and now proceed as candidates in forthcoming elections.
- Professor Mumtaz Patel, the incumbent president, was the only fellow nominated in the annual election of the president. An uncontested election will therefore take place on College Day – further details below.
- The lists of candidates standing across elections will be published on the election area of the website on 16 February 2026 (provisional date). Direct communication with the membership will accompany this so you can see who is standing and find out about each candidate (personal statement, photo, DOIs).
- The publication of the candidate lists marks the start of the allowable 6 weeks of canvassing, in line with guidance. You can access the election arrangements, guidance and timetable on the election section of the website.
- Elections will be held concurrently and online – with voting opening on 2 March 2026. Eligible fellows and collegiate members will be emailed by Civica Elections Services (CES) and the RCP at this time to mark the start of voting. Voting will close at midday on 30 March 2026. Regular reminders will be sent from CES and the RCP during the voting period – please use your vote.
You can visit the RCP election page to find out the full timetable.
RCP Council met in open session on 28 January 2026 to discuss social media and digital harms and hear updates about the RCP’s campaigns work on training reform, workforce pressures and corridor care.
Social media and digital harm
Council agreed that the RCP would stop posting on the social media channel X (formerly Twitter) with immediate effect. The normalisation of unacceptable online behaviour, including the use of AI tools to create and post harmful, non-consensual material involving real individuals, has raised serious concerns about safety and governance and does not align with the RCP’s values and professional responsibilities as a medical royal college.
Members and fellows can stay in touch with us by following us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, YouTube and WhatsApp.
Council heard a presentation from Dr Shamila Wanninayake from the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) on the growing evidence of harm associated with excessive screen use and smartphone exposure in children and young people. Council members agreed that this is an important area for collective action and were supportive of work being led by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in this space.
President's update
RCP president Professor Mumtaz Patel provided Council with an update on key activities.
She described ongoing engagement with government, NHS England and other stakeholders on competition ratios, welcoming the introduction of the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill as a means of tackling specialty training bottlenecks and emphasising the importance of ensuring that international medical graduates (IMGs) already working in the NHS are also valued and supported with high quality training, supervision and career progression.
- RCP welcomes announcement of Bill to prioritise UK medical graduates for training places.
- RCP writes to The Times with call for urgent action on training bottlenecks.
She highlighted the RCP’s annual peers’ breakfast meeting at the House of Lords, which this year focused on prevention of ill health, and noted a number of new reports launched by the RCP since November, including the RCP View on digital and AI, an updated Green physician toolkit and a joint paper with the RCGP on integrated care in Wales.
- RCP publishes View on digital and AI report.
- RCP publishes updated Green physician toolkit amid rising climate and health risks.
- Royal colleges in Wales unite in call for an end to fragmented services.
Mumtaz also updated Council on RCP engagement with the NHS 10 Year Workforce Plan, which is expected in spring 2026. RCP officers have attended several focus groups, the RCP has submitted written evidence based on member engagement and the president continues to meet with senior civil servants to advocate for investment in the medical workforce, an expansion of specialty training places and stronger measures on retention.
She explained that phase 2 of the national medical training review is expected to build on the initial diagnostic report with a UK-wide, collaborative approach, with themed work streams examining training structure, flexibility, capability and career progression. RCP representatives have attended focus groups to emphasise our next generation campaign messages.
On corridor care, the RCP continues to call for the publication of data all year round on how many patients are being treated in temporary care environments, with the president recently attending a roundtable event with NHS England chief executive, Sir Jim Mackey. She also attended a recent parliamentary event calling for an end to corridor care.
‘We are still asking NHS England to publish corridor care data at every opportunity. This isn’t just about measuring the scale of the issue as it stands – it’s about identifying solutions and monitoring progress. We know it’s a problem and it’s not going away.’ – Professor Mumtaz Patel
- Corridor care is a year-round issue, says Royal College of Physicians.
- Confronting corridor care: guidance for physicians.
Member engagement at the RCP continues to go from strength to strength.
In the devolved nations, the president was joined by local RCP regional advisers and resident doctor representatives to host a senior stakeholder roundtable in Belfast in November 2025, visited the Ulster Hospital to meet with residents, SAS doctors and consultant physicians, and later joined a resident doctor networking event in Cardiff in December.
- RCP visit to Ulster Hospital finds clinical innovation in the face of extreme system pressures.
- Find a regional Update in medicine conference near you.
Our regular ‘Meet your president’ sessions will continue through 2026. These online forums bring fellows and members together online to explore how the RCP can better support and advocate for physicians and their patients.
‘Your voice matters – share your views, ask questions and help to shape the strategy and direction of the RCP. We’re here to listen.’ – Professor Mumtaz Patel
Finally, Mumtaz pointed Council members towards the first update report from the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK on the implementation of recommendations from Professor John McLachlan’s independent report on the MRCP(UK) part 2 written exam.
About RCP Council
RCP Council meets six times a year to debate, develop and approve policy on professional and clinical matters. Since July 2025, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has published summaries of Council open sessions on its website.
- Learn more about the governance of the RCP.
- View the agenda for this meeting of Council (RCP members only).
Full Council meeting minutes (open section) are published in the member-only section of the RCP website once they are approved at the following meeting – the full minutes of the November Council (open section) have now been uploaded. The closed section of the meeting will be reserved for fellowship and business-sensitive information. For more information, please contact Council@rcp.ac.uk.
- As previously notified, the SGM will be held on Monday 30 March 2026 as required by section 6 of the Medical Act 1860. A dinner will follow in the evening for prebooked fellows. Fellows will shortly be invited to attend in person/online once arrangements are finalised - details will also be available on the website.
- The programme will include the Fitzpatrick and Samuel Gee lectures with direct communication to the membership to follow on options for attendance. The lectures will be available on demand after the event.
Please note that the AGM is scheduled for Tuesday 22 September 2026. It will be a hybrid meeting held 5–7pm and followed by a dinner (for pre-booked fellows).
Our officer, committee and other clinical volunteer roles are an ideal opportunity to support the RCP, guide our decision-making and ensure the voice of the membership is included across all activity. Visit the RCP website to see the latest opportunities.
Recent RCP work
Read more about our work, from publications, award winners and responses to healthcare reports, on our News and opinion page – and see some of the recent highlights below.
Dr Ollie Minton has been appointed as the clinical editor for Commentary, the RCP’s membership magazine. You can read his opening column for this edition.
Ollie is a consultant in palliative medicine and an honorary professor, based in University Hospitals Sussex and Brighton and Sussex Medical School.
He has been a fellow of the RCP since 2012, guest edited a special issue of Commentary on end-of-life care in 2018 and, more recently, been a member of the Communications Reference Group.
On his appointment, Ollie said:
‘I have been an active member of the college for some time and a doctor for even longer, so am delighted to contribute to its voice and that of medicine with the Commentary role as clinical editor. I very much subscribe to the aims of research, policy, advocacy and communications being interlinked.
I hope to provide an insightful clinical voice and encourage wider collaboration, as I have done throughout my career. The college has rightfully been going for over 500 years and continues to develop and adapt, and I am proud to contribute to the current and future iterations.’
Ollie formally started the role in January 2026, and will chair future meetings of the Commentary advisory group, membership of which comprises a diverse range of fellows, members and RCP staff.
The new RCP view on digital and AI exposes a disconnect between doctors’ demand for AI and institutional capability and raises serious questions about the NHS's readiness to adopt AI tools safely. It recommends that the government and NHS must optimise digital systems, ensure digital interoperability, and provide robust regulatory frameworks to protect patient safety, while ensuring doctors and patients can safely benefit from the potential of AI.
You can read more about the report on the RCP news page.
The RCP has responded to the announcement of a bill which will see UK medical graduates prioritised for training places.
Professor Mumtaz Patel, RCP president, said:
‘We welcome government action to tackle specialty training bottlenecks – an issue the RCP has been raising consistently through our next generation campaign for the past year. Now we need to see the detail of these proposals. For too long, talented doctors have been left stuck in a system that does not give them fair or timely opportunities to progress.
'International medical graduates already working in the NHS are our colleagues and friends, providing vital care to patients every day, and they must be properly supported to develop their careers.
'But this cannot be addressed in isolation. The medical training system needs a fundamental reset – with more postgraduate training places, genuinely flexible career pathways, and sustained investment in high-quality training and supervision – if we are serious about securing the future physician workforce and delivering excellent patient care.’
You can read more about the report on the RCP news page.
The RCP has published an updated Green physician toolkit amid rising climate and health risks. You can explore the updated toolkit on the RCP website.
In January, Dr Mark Harber RCP special adviser on healthcare sustainability and climate change, presented to the Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health on how clinicians can accelerate climate action. In his contribution, Dr Harber highlighted the RCP’s leadership in supporting NHS net zero goals – including developing practical resources like our Green physician toolkit.
The RCP also published our final 2025 sustainability report card in December, showing our progress to improve its environmental sustainability as an organisation.
The RCP has reached a major milestone with the publication of the 100th episode of its RCP Medicine podcast. Since its launch, RCP Medicine has been downloaded almost 900,000 times, building a substantial and growing audience across the UK and internationally. The podcast has become a trusted source of insight on the clinical, educational and policy issues shaping modern medicine, featuring voices from across the medical profession and wider health system.
The 100th episode, ‘Shaping the future of medical training: insights from the Next Generation Oversight Group’, focuses on the pressures facing resident doctors and the need for meaningful reform in postgraduate medical education.
Episode 100 is available on the RCP Player and all major podcast platforms.
You can take a behind-the-scenes look at the RCP Medicine podcast in a 2025 Commentary article.
The December issue of Future Healthcare Journal focuses on symptom based disorders.
This themed issue places a strong focus on conditions characterised by ongoing, distressing symptoms, often experienced without a clear or single diagnosis. These include fibromyalgia, persistent physical symptoms, functional neurological disorders and post-COVID syndromes.
Dr Andrew Duncombe, editor-in-chief, notes that many of these conditions are united not just by clinical uncertainty, but by prolonged delay: ‘Waiting for a diagnosis, waiting for explanations, waiting for recognition, waiting for support and treatment and waiting in hope for recovery.’
The January issue of Clinical Medicine features a CME section on diabetes, commissioned by Dr Tahseen Chowdhury. Completing this CME activity allows RCP members to earn two external CPD credits. This issue also features articles on patient safety, meningitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and more.
Award winners
Did you know we distribute around £350,000 in RCP funding and awards to our members and fellows every year?
Thanks to historic donations, we are able to recognise and invest in the expertise, innovation and leadership of our members, celebrate their impact and achievements, and support our global community to make real change and shape the future of medicine.
Our latest award winners are Dr David Lindsay (Linacre Lecture 2025 with ‘Schrödinger’s CAT remembered’) and Dr Farah Latif (Whitney-Wood scholarship with a project on renal research).
Find out more about RCP funding and awards.
Coming up
There is plenty more to look forward to in 2026, including a variety of events for resident doctors and new consultants. Here are a selection of educational programmes, webinars and other opportunities to look out for in the next few months.
RCP events and upcoming opportunities
Join us at the RCP annual conference, Medicine 2026, a 2-day event dedicated to exploring the three transformative shifts outlined in the 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future.
- From hospital to community – the neighbourhood health service
- From analogue to digital – the digital revolution in care delivery
- From sickness to prevention – healthier, longer lives for everyone
Wednesday 13 – Thursday 14 May 2026 at the RCP at Regent’s Park and online.
What to expect
- Keynotes and discussions: dive into the future of AI and neighbourhood health and hear from Professor Ben Goldacre MBE, renowned for his work on evidence-based medicine and data-driven healthcare.
- Specialty and policy updates: stay informed on the latest developments shaping clinical practice, and health policy. Expert speakers from across the UK and around the world will deliver vital clinical updates across various specialties. Including acute medicine, cardiology and neurology.
Medicine 2026 is open to all career stages and specialties and will be CPD-accredited.
We’re looking for RCP member stories for our Spotlight on local innovation series, where we showcase how physicians across the UK are improving patient care and delivering high-quality medical training. If you’ve been involved in a local change that’s worked – big or small – we’d love to hear from you: comms@rcp.ac.uk.
These prestigious awards celebrate the outstanding contributions of RCP members and fellows worldwide, who are driving improvements in patient care through education, clinical practice, research and policy.
Find out more about how to submit your entry online. Entries must be submitted by 16 February 2026.
Up to 12 grants of £500 each are available each year to undergraduate medical students at UK universities who will be undertaking a medical elective overseas.
Applications are currently open to RCP members.
Download the application form and email your application to fundingandawards@rcp.ac.uk. The deadline for applications is Saturday 28 February 2026.
Clinical Medicine is among the top 15% of general medical publications worldwide. By publishing open access with Clinical Medicine, you can:
- expand your reach
- amplify your visibility
- connect with collaborators across the globe
- contribute to high-quality educational resources supporting clinical practice.
As an RCP member you can publish in the journal for free. That’s a saving of up to £1,850 per article (depending on exchange rate).
Join our many members who have published original research for free, including RCP fellow Professor Trisha Greenhalgh, who told us how the fee waiver has benefited her:
‘Clinical Medicine processed our paper promptly and we were delighted to discover that we were exempt from the publication fee because we were members and fellows of the RCP. This was a significant benefit at a time when our grant had run dry. The paper has been highly accessed and widely cited.’
The Medicine 2026 abstract competition is now open for submissions!
The abstract competition is one of the highlights of our conference, offering delegates the opportunity to showcase their research to healthcare professionals from around the world.
By participating in the Medicine 2026 abstract competition, you'll get the chance to:
- have your work evaluated by a respected panel of leading clinicians
- have your research showcased on the Medicine 2026 platform
- be published in one of the RCP publishing streams.
There are prizes of up to £1,000, so don’t miss out. Submit your abstract online.
Submissions close Sunday 1 March 2026 at 23.59pm (GMT).
Deceased fellows
Munk’s Roll is the RCP’s collection of biographies of deceased fellows, published online as Inspiring Physicians. To write an obituary or notify the RCP of the death of a fellow, email munksroll@rcp.ac.uk.
Over the period of 7 December 2025 – 8 February 2026 the RCP was informed of the deaths of the following fellows:
- Brian Wharton
- Gilbert Richard Thompson
- Mahabaleswara Maiya
- Babatunde Osotimehin
- Paul Neill
- Richard John Dobbs
- Eileen Margaret Phillips
- William Nicholas Trethowan
- Michael Morgan
- Kenneth Davison
- Andreas Christopher Stylianides
- John Bolton Ridyard
- Annamma Kochummen Dorai Raj
- Janet Dacie
- Ali Ashraf
