RCGP Central Departments Records

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 2134 ACE
Held at	: Royal College of General Practitioners   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.rcgp.org.uk/about-us/history-heritage-and-archive.aspx ›
Full title	: RCGP Central Departments Records
Date(s)	: 1951-2001
Level of description	: Fonds View subfonds/series records
Extent	: 30.75 metres
Name of creator(s)	: Royal College of General Practitioners

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

The Royal College of General Practitioners was founded in 1952 to provide an `academic headquarters for general practice [and] to raise the standards and status of general practice'.

Although various attempts were made in the nineteenth century to found a college to represent general practitioners it was not until the founding of the National Health Service in 1948 that the need became urgent. General practice became responsible for all personal medical care and the gateway for individuals to access hospital, specialist care and sickness benefit. However, general practitioners were not able to cope with such a massively expanded service without a reciprocal rise in physical, financial and administrative support. J S Collings, an Australian visitor to England in 1950 reported that he had observed exhausted and demoralised doctors, hurried work and low standards.

A small group of general practitioners decided to do something to improve matters. They wanted to provide leadership, raise standards of education, practice and research through the establishment of a dedicated college for general practitioners. In 1951 a meeting was held and by February 1952 a steering committee was formed. The committee included seven general practitioners and five sympathetic consultants and was chaired by a former Minister of Health, Sir Henry Willink. Other members included Drs. Fraser Rose, Geoffrey Barber, Talbot Rogers and John Hunt. After only eight meetings the new College of General Practitioners was legally constituted in Nov 1952.

Unlike the other medical colleges the Royal College of General Practitioners has a federal structure with regional faculties and Scottish [1953] and Welsh [1968] councils as well as the College council. The College council meets five times a year and is made up of representatives from the 33 faculties as well as 18 elected members. There are five Honorary officers elected by Council: Chair, two Vice-Chairs, an Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer. The President is elected by membership in a national ballot and like the Honorary officers holds office for three years.

The College of General Practitioners received the prefix `Royal' in 1967 and was presented with its Royal Charter in 1972. In 1972 HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was appointed an Honorary Fellow and became President of the College - since relinquishing the post he has been the College's patron. In 1992, the College's fortieth year HRH The Prince of Wales accepted the Presidency.

The College purchased its London Princes Gate headquarters, the former residence of the American ambassador, in 1962.

Membership was opened in January 1953 and within six weeks 1655 doctors had joined. By the time of the first AGM in November 1953 committees had been established to consider education for under and post graduates and for general practice research.

An examination committee was formed in November 1954 "to give full and detailed study to an examination as a possible method of entry to Membership of the College..." but the first examination for membership [MRCGP] of the RCGP was not held until in 1965 and three years later the examination became the sole method of entry to the College. A new higher class of membership "Fellowship" was formed in 1967, this was traditionally awarded to College members who had made a contribution to the development of general practice and/or to the College. A second route to Fellowship started in 1989 with Fellowship By Assessment [FBA]. An examination board was established in 1987. In November 1995 a working group MAP [Membership by Assessment of Performance] was set up to look into alternate ways of membership than examination with the proviso that such alternative assessment must be of equivalent status and rigour to the MRCGP examination.

Other major activities of the College have included successfully campaigning for compulsory vocational training through its submission to the Todd report [1966]; establishing of university departments in general practice; research including national mortality surveys and oral contraception studies; quality initiatives "What Sort of Doctor" [1985] and clinical practice evaluation CPEP [1998]; patients liaison [1983]; Commission on Primary Care [1991]; work on clinical research and medical ethics; international relations (including helping to form equivalent colleges in other countries) and publications including the British Journal of General Practice. The Royal College of General Practitioners has worked together with other Colleges, medical institutions and government departments on an ongoing basis and on an ad hoc basis to produce specific reports and policy statements.

In 1981 the College was restructured with the creation of four divisions: communications, education, membership and research these were reduced to three in 1987 with "services to members and faculties", "clinical and research" and education. In 1993 the division structure was replaced by four co-ordinating networks covering education, research, quality and services. Each network is supported by committees and task forces concentrating on a specific subject. E.g. prescribing, nutrition, AIDS, inner city, rural, maternity care, substance abuse, women in general practice.

Central records are created by the College Council, Committees, working parties and task forces and those departments based in the College's headquarters in London, including corporate affairs which administers the Council and Committee system which the formulates college policy; administration of the College, examinations, membership, courses, publications, press and PR, finance, information, development and sales.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Records generated by central departments of College 1951-2001
A CE A
Formal
Records (including Annual Reports) generated by the formal, public functions of the College such as Annual General Meetings, College Dinners and Annual Lectures.

A CE B
Council
Records of College governing body and its precursors, including the General Practice Steering Committee and the Provisional Foundation Council.

A CE C
Executive
Records of executive bodies, including Finance and General Purposes Committee (1953-1964), General Purposes Committee (1964-1989) and Council Executive Committee (1989-).

A CE D
Finance
Records of finance bodies and officers, including Finance Committee (1964-).

A CE E
Fellowship & Awards
Records generated by committees concerned with the granting of College fellowships, awards and other honours.

A CE F
Membership & Examinations
Records of membership and examination officers and committees.

A CE G
Research
Records of Research committees and projects.

A CE H
Education
Records generated by committees, working parties and projects concerned with education and training.

A CE J
Quality & Clinical
Records generated by committees and projects concerned with quality standards and clinical practice.

A CE K
Technical Services
Records generated by technical services supporting the work and maintaining the premises of the College.

A CE L
Services to Members
Records generated by College services to members, including publications and information provision.

A CE M
Faculty Support
Records generated by central College contact with regional (including overseas) faculties and regional Councils.
(Not to be confused with records relating to individual faculties, which are treated as separate fonds (A-FE, A-FH, A-FI, A-FS, A-FW, A-FX ).

A CE N
External Relations
Records generated by College contact with external organizations.

A CE O
Networks
Records of Networks Department A CE P
International Department
This coordinates the work of The International Committee.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

According to series see scope and content section.

Conditions governing access:

Access is at the discretion of the Royal College of General Practitioners. Requests for access should be made in writing to The Archivist, Royal College of General Practitioners, 14 Princes Gate, Hyde Park, London SW7 1PU.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copyright is vested in the Royal College of General Practitioners.

Finding aids:

A database of all of the College archives, down to individual files level is maintained by the Archivist. The database can be searched in the College library.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

From creating departments

Allied Materials

Related material:

College archives:
AFE
English Regions:Faculty Records
1953-2001

AFH
London and Home Counties Faculty Records
1954-1990

AFI
Ireland:Faculty Records
1954-2001

AFS
Scotland:Faculty Records
1954-2001

AFW
Wales:Faculty Records
1955-2001

AFX
Overseas Faculty and College Records

ARE
Research Unit Records
1957-1993

Princes Gate building collection

Oral history video collection.

Private papers:
BWO
W O Williams papers
1958-1988

Dinwoodie papers
1962-1992

B/HU
John Hunt, Lord Hunt of Fawley papers
1930-1984

John Horder papers
1951-1995

B/BY
Professor Patrick Byrne papers
1950-1983

Sykes papers
1970-1974

B/PI
William Pickles papers
1912-1972

Aitken papers
1952-1982

Medical Recording Service Records
1968-1971

B/MCK
Sir James Mackenzie papers
1870-1970

B/FR
John Fry papers
1955-1995

CHI A
National Association of General Practitioners papers
1844-1846

Publication note:

A History of the Royal College of General Practitioners edited by John Fry, Lord Hunt of Fawley and RJFH Pinsent (1983); The Royal College of General Practitioners Forty Years On (RCGP, 1992); 14 Princes Gate - Home of the Royal College of General Practitioners by Stephen Pasmore and John Horder (RCGP, 1987); The Writings of John Hunt edited by John Horder (RCGP, 1992).

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Compiled by Claire Jackson, College Archivist, Royal College of General Practitioners.

Rules or conventions:
National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997; ISAD(G), Second Edition, 2000.

Date(s) of descriptions:
July 2001