The Local Medical Committee is an independent, self‐financing body, with statutory functions, which is formally recognised by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and NHS England, as well as the Integrated Care System Board.
Its independent status allows it to exercise medico‐political functions in addition to statutory functions. This duality of function is unique and contributes to the influence of the LMC.
The statutory functions are concerned mostly with the interest of the individual General Practitioner in relation to their contract with NHS England, or other employing organisations, or employer (including GP practices) and the continuing dialogue between the LMC, NHS England and the CCG/ICS.
The medico‐legal functions are primarily concerned with the collective interest of General Practitioners (irrespective of contractual status) as a group and these operate through a quite separate channel, consisting of LMCs, Conference of LMCs, the General Practitioners Committee (GPC) of the BMA and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). If this channel of communication is to be effective, the flow of information must work in both directions from the LMC to the GPC and vice versa.
On a regular basis, the Secretaries of the Local Medical Committees in Wirral, Liverpool and Sefton, along with Mid Mersey and Cheshire LMCs, discuss anomalies in the interpretation of the GMS and PMS contracts and payment of fees, within the Statement of Financial Entitlement as well as issues affecting salaried/sessional GPs, which appear to be occurring within different parts of the region.
There are also on‐going discussions about, and involving, APMS practices. These LMCs work collaboratively as the Association of Cheshire and Merseyside LMCs. Between them, the LMCs ensure that there is LMC representation on the Northwest Regional Council of the BMA.
Cheshire LMC covers the majority of the historic county of Cheshire.
Since local authority restructuring it now is limited to those areas within the boundaries of Cheshire East and Chester and Cheshire West local authority areas. We have boundaries with other LMC areas including Wales, the Wirral, Mid Mersey, Trafford, Stockport, Derbyshire, North Staffordshire and Shropshire. GP practices within this boundary are covered by Cheshire LMC.
Coverage map
