A LATTER-day Doctor Finlay is to be the next secretary of the British
Medical Association, representing 92,000 UK doctors.
Dr Mac Armstrong, 47, runs the village general practice in Connel,
Argyll, with his wife Katie, and a third partner.
After a double life as family doctor and medico-politician, he was
appointed by the BMA Council yesterday to succeed Dr Ian Field in the
association's top full-time post in November.
He described the new job as a tremendous honour and an enormous
challenge. He intends to commute at weekends to his home in the
Highlands, where his wife will carry on the practice with partner Dr
Alison Davies.
''We have had 18 very happy years here, and Katie has too much to give
for her to give up now, and we want our patients to know they are still
going to be looked after,'' said Dr Armstrong, who sees improving women
doctors' career paths as a key issue for the BMA.
Dr Armstrong is chairman of the BMA's Scottish Council and deputy
chairman nationally of the GP body, the General Medical Services
Committee.
One of his major challenges will be helping his members to cope with
the workload resulting from changes in the health service.
''Our members' needs are pretty constantly changing -- I see the
future as one of of increasing diversity,'' he said. ''There are going
to be so many more employers than there were in the past, for example --
health boards, trusts, hybrid health authorities, possibly private
companies running hospitals on behalf of the NHS.
''For the patients the thing is to emphasise that the NHS will
continue -- as we are assured by the Government it will -- to operate on
the basis of treatment free at the point of need and paid for from
general taxation.
''We owe it to our members to give them a high quality of service in a
world of increasing perplexity, anxiety, and heavy workload. The
emphasis will be on quality of education and lifestyle -- a well trained
and well-rested doctor is a better doctor.''
Ernest McAlpine Armstrong was educated at Hamilton Academy and won a
series of prizes in medicine, surgery and obstetrics at Glasgow
University.
He has two sons aged 20 and 16 and lists sailing, opera and church
music among his leisure pursuits.
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