About LMCS & NILMC

What are the LMCs

Recognised by successive NHS Acts, Local Medical Committees (LMCs) are independent, self-financing bodies with statutory functions to represent the interests of general practice alone and act as its advocate.

There are four LMC areas in Northern Ireland

  • Northern LMC

    Northern LMC incorporates practices in:

    • South East Antrim

    • Ballymena

    • Mid-Ulster

    • Causeway

    Find out More
    Map of Northern Ireland showing regions labeled Causeway, Antrim and Ballymena, South East Antrim, and Mid-Ulster.

  • Eastern LMC

    Eastern LMC incorporates practices in:

    • North and West Belfast

    • South and East Belfast

    • North Down and Ards

    • Down and Lisburn

    Find out More
    Map of Belfast with divisions labeled as North and West Belfast, South and East Belfast, and North Down and Ards, and Down and Lisburn in blue.

  • Southern LMC

    Southern LMC incorporates practices in:

    • Armagh

    • Dungannon

    • Craigavon

    • Banbridge

    • Newry

    • Mourne

    Find out More
    Map illustration showing several regions labeled Armagh, Craigavon, Dungannon, Banbridge, Newry and Mourne in Northern Ireland.

  • Western LMC

    Western LMC incorporates practices in:

    • Limavady

    • Londonderry

    • Tyrone

    • Strabane

    • Fermanagh

    Find out More
    Map of Ireland showing the counties of Londonerry, Limavady, Strabane, Tyrone, and Fermanagh.

What LMCs do for GPs

  • We represent all NI GPs currently on the performers list and trainee GPs throughout their training, rather than just during general practice rotations (we do not seek a contribution to the LMC’s levy from GP trainees).

    Being represented by the LMC allows GPs and their practices to utilise the knowledge and experience of the LMC, as well as receiving a variety of communications (see Dissemination of Information Relevant to General Practice section). We are unable to offer assistance to unrepresented GPs.

    We represent the views of GPs to the local Integrated Care Office of the SPPG, and to any other appropriate organisations or agencies.

    We work with many organisations to ensure patients receive services and care in accordance with the profession’s local and national priorities. This can mean the LMC robustly defending the profession’s views when those of others conflict with what GPs believe is in their patients’ best interests. We also defend the right of GPs to refuse non-contractual work, and will negotiate an alternative solution when other organisations wish to impose work on practices.

    Our aim is to represent and support GPs, ensuring that they are valued and their skills are properly utilised, and to facilitate the smooth running of general practice. We are committed to the values of equity, fairness, openness and equal opportunities.

    We are keen to ensure that we are as inclusive as possible of all GPs, regardless of their contractual status, working arrangements etc. To this end, any comments or suggestions regarding the LMC’s representation of GPs would be welcome via email to your local LMC secretary.

    Please refer to the contact section of this website for details.

  • As an independent body with no political constraints, we can act as an advocate and can offer help on all matters relevant to general practice. GPs are welcome to contact us for help and advice to assist steering through the NHS, and the following list, while not exhaustive, highlights some of the areas in which we can offer advice, negotiate, mediate etc:

    Disputes between GPs and other bodies, eg schools, councils, private employers etc; NHS regulations/legislation; GP contracts, terms and conditions of service and remuneration; Completion of medical reports/certification; Partnership issues; Prescribing queries; Premises/estates issues; Occupational health issues, eg sick doctors; The NHS complaints process and disciplinary procedures; Workforce planning; Education and training – undergraduate, postgraduate and vocational training, continuing professional development; Professionally led regulation and professional standards – ethical, conduct and performance, including clinical governance.

    If you are in any doubt as to whether or not we can assist with a particular issue, please contact us. We will offer you assistance or direct you to a more appropriate source if the issue falls outside of our remit.

    Please note that NI LMCs cannot provide individual legal or financial advice but provides representation, guidance and support for GPs in NI. We will not accept liability for use made of our services in circumstances in which individuals or practices ought also to have obtained appropriate legal and/or financial advice but have not sought to do so.

  • We regard communication with constituent GPs as essential. We hope that through utilising many different forms of communication we are able to help GPs to prioritise the information and keep abreast of the main issues impacting on general practice. Our communications take many forms depending on the information they are designed to convey, such as:

    We are always looking to improve our communication with constituents. To this end, we would welcome any comments or suggestions via email to your local LMC secretary. Please refer to the contact section of this website for details.

  • We have an extensive network of contacts, through a combination of regular meetings or ad hoc meetings when particular issues of mutual interest or concern arise. These contacts include the following organisations:

    HSCB, Dept of Health, PHA, BMA NI, All 5 NI Trusts; RCN, Federation Support Unit & the wider Federation community, BSO.

  • The General Practitioners Committee (GPC) is the ‘parliament’ for GPs. It is a standing committee of the BMA, with authority to deal with matters affecting NHS GPs, whether or not they are BMA members. Every part of the country has at least one spokesperson on the GPC to present its views and debate key issues. Throughout the year papers are produced for discussion at LMCs and, from time to time, the GPC consults all GPs directly through surveys and questionnaires. We help to disseminate this information and will often encourage participation in GPC consultations, as these are conducted for the benefit of the profession.

    GPC representatives and LMC representatives meet at the Annual Conference of LMCs. Proposals from individual LMCs across the country are debated alongside those from the GPC. The outcome of the debate determines the framework for the profession’s negotiations at both national and local levels.

How LMCs work

  • Each local LMC consists of up to 16 GPs elected on a locality basis. Elections take place every 4 years according to the approved constitution. Any GP contributing to the LMC’s levies and on the Medical Performers List can be nominated for election.

    Our constitution allows for the election of doctors working under a variety of contractual arrangements and for the co-option of doctors offering expertise not represented elsewhere on the committee, such as representatives from secondary care, public health and GP trainees. This encourages open and lively discussion and allows the LMC to be representative of differing opinions.

    Any GP interested in being co-opted to a vacancy or wishing to be involved with the LMC in some capacity can register this interest and obtain more information by emailing your local LMC secretary. Please refer to the contact section of this website for details.

  • Officers are elected by the committee to the positions of Chair, Secretary and Treasurer (Who also acts as assistant Secretary in ELMC)

    The Officers attend meetings, negotiate with other organisations, respond to practice queries and produce the guidance, reports, newsletters etc referred to above. Advice is taken from the full committee to guide discussions and the results of meetings are fed back to the committee. The Secretary is the first point of contact for all of the LMCs.

    Any represented GP or Practice Manager who would like to meet the LMC officers and learn more about our work would be very welcome to do so. Please email your local LMC secretary to arrange a convenient date/time.

  • We are funded by levy contributions from NI GP practices and by practitioners registered with the LMC as sessional GPs. This is the primary source of income for the LMC and is used to pay for meeting space, admin support and expenses.

About NILMC LTD

What is the NILMC LTD

The 4 LMCs - Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern are part of Northern Ireland LMCs Limited, Registration no: NI611771. NILMC is incorporated as a limited company.

NILMC LTD Disclaimer

Northern Ireland Local Medical Committee Limited does not provide legal or financial advice and thereby excludes all liability howsoever arising in circumstances where any individual, person or entity has suffered any loss or damage arising from the use of information provided by Northern Ireland Local Medical Committee Limited in circumstances where professional legal or financial advice ought reasonably to have been obtained.

Northern Ireland Local Medical Committee Limited provides representation, guidance and support to GPs and practices. Northern Ireland Local Medical Committee Limited strongly advises individuals or practices to obtain independent legal/financial advice.