OxNoG – The Oxfordshire Non-principals Group

Constitution

Version 0.6 08/02/09 - DRAFT

The Oxfordshire Non-principals Group shall be hereinafter called 'the Group', Salaried GPs, Retainers, Registrars, Locum GPs, Out-of-Hours GPs shall be called ‘Non-Principals’.

1. Aims of the Group

a. To reduce non-principals isolation, including professional, social and educational

b. To share work experiences and opportunities that would otherwise be missed, namely Sessional Locum work in the first instance, but also to allow details of permanent positions to be shared. OxNoG is NOT a locum agency, and cannot accept responsibility for lost job opportunities or income for example that might be missed through loss of normal service. It is an amateur project, and at the moment there is no funding being provided to support it.

c. To improve communication between non-principals and other bodies (including but not limited to Practices, the PCT, LMCs, the educational Deanery, and the National Association of Sessional GPs)

d. To consider and act on other issues relevant to Non-Principals in Oxfordshire as they arise

e. To support Non-Principals who are new to the area, and newly qualified General Practitioners

2. Registration with the Group

a. Registration with the Group is discretionary and should be applied for under supervision of the Representatives (see 4)

b. All members must hold registration with the GMC and their membership will be validated online, once only, using the search function available at http://www.gmc-uk.org/register/search/index.asp# at the point of registration but will not be validated thereafter.

Associate Membership - Non-sessional GPs such as Principals, GP Registrars, and GPs who are out of area may be allowed membership of the group, but their right to vote in decisions and receive advertisements may be withheld at the discretion of the Representatives (see 4 )

c. the Group will not hold extended details such as indemnity reference numbers or other identifying information as the consequential security risk is too great without professional security software

d. members should be aware of the GMC guidance on Good Practice and be aware that the National Association of Sessional GPs has helpful guidance available to members; membership of the NASGP is not mandatory to join the Group

e. the members must keep only their GMC number and email address on file – all other details are optional

f. the Group will hold a Register of active members that can be produced on request at the discretion of the Representatives

g. the Group can agree to disband in the event of a 2/3rds majority of votes, with appropriate arrangements for closure of any assets that the Group might accrue over time

h. the Group does not need to register for the Data Protection Act as it is a not for profit agency (see letter on the main website). The Group Representatives will not forward details of the Group Members to third parties without explicit permission

3. Representation in the Group

a. it is expected that there will be one or more Representative members who take responsibility for maintaining contact with other services such as the NASGP and to be a point of contact for local practices etc as well as maintaining the database

b. Representatives should ideally be ‘voted in’, but in the first instance it is expected that Tom Nichols will be Representative at least during the initial service development. The ballot would need to be organised with an anonymous voting system, arbitrarily at yearly intervals from the initial service live date.

c. major decisions about service design / redesign including this Constitution may necessitate a democratic vote, with equal voting parity between members including the Representatives, and it is expected that Group members will respond to votes even if only to abstain. In the event of a result that does not give a majority, the Representatives shall have the deciding vote

d. complaints should be made to the Representatives who will attempt to resolve any disputes

e. In the interests of 'fair play' in a competitive market of locum work, if a Representative receives a job advertisement where a Practice Manager had been intending to advertise to the Group not the individual, they should return the email with instructions about how to advertise to the Group, and not propose to accept the work directly.

4. Future Service development – proposed features of the service members should be aware of include

a. Expenses – Tom Nichols is expecting to contribute towards service development on an amateur basis without remuneration initially. There are expenses incurred however, for example the time spent administrating the Group, the fee for hosting of the service, registration of a website address (URL), and it may be that the service seeks funding in the future for time by either locums, practices, other organisations or any combinations thereof to be invested to maintain the service. The Representatives would be expected to produce accounts of expenses available to all members.

b. The ability for practices to advertise urgent job requirements by text message may be added to the communication database

c. it is expected that the Database will be used to facilitate communication with Group Members with other information, but the specifics of what is forwarded, and how to opt in and out of communication has not yet been agreed