New Council members have been elected to the RCOG Council, responsible for furthering our mission and supporting our members.
Elections have been held to appoint individuals to the following roles:
- Two vacancies for regional Members' Representatives (MRCOG)
- Twelve vacancies for regional Fellows' Representatives (FRCOG)
- Four vacancies for International Representatives (FRCOG)
This page provides information about the results, roles and the process.
Results
Members
| Region | Member (MRCOG) elected |
| West Midlands | Archana Hatti |
| East Midlands | Frances Hills |
Fellows
| Region | Fellow (FRCOG) elected |
|
London: North, Central, East and North West |
Joseph Iskaros |
| East of England | Alastair McKelvey |
| South West | Rachna Bahl |
| North West | Andrew Pickersgill |
| Kent, Surrey and Sussex | Melanie Tipples |
| Thames Valley and Wessex | Aparna Reddy |
| East Midlands | Mausumi Das |
| Scotland (two seats) |
Evelyn Ferguson Paul Mills |
| Wales | Sujeewa Fernando |
| Ireland - Republic of Ireland | Suzanne O’Sullivan |
| Ireland - Northern Ireland | Hans Nagar |
| Middle East and North Africa | Sherif Abdel Fattah |
| America/Australasia/Pacific Rim | Peter von Dadelszen |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | Samson Agwu |
| South Asia | Santanu Acharya |
Eligibility
RCOG members standing for election to Council as a UK/ROI Fellow or Member Regional Representative are required to meet the following eligibility criteria:
- To be a Fellow or Member of the College, whose main or principal appointment is in the same constituency as the vacancy for which they are applying
- To be in active practice, up to and including the date of installation of new Council representatives
- To be up to date with their RCOG membership subscription
- If standing for election for a vacant Member’s post, to be nominated in writing by three Members of the same constituency, all of whom must be up to date with their membership subscription
- If standing for election for a vacant Fellow’s post, to be nominated in writing by three Fellows of the same constituency, all of whom must be up to date with their membership subscription
RCOG members standing for election to Council as an International Representative are required to meet the following eligibility criteria:
- To be a Fellow in active practice in the UK or Republic of Ireland up to and including the date of installation of new Council representatives
- To be up to date with their RCOG membership subscription
- To be nominated in writing by three Fellows or Members of the College, all of whom must be up to date with their membership subscription
Please note that a person may only be nominated as a candidate for one Constituency in any one year.
Role description
The role description below includes information about the responsibilities, time commitment and eligibility of RCOG Council members.
- Regional Council member role description
- International Council representative role description
You can read more about the RCOG Council, including terms of reference and meeting dates here. Please also see the RCOG Regulations, which guide the governance, management and business arrangements of the College.
All members of Council must undertake to abide by the RCOG Code of Conduct.
Voting process
The ballots were circulated electronically by CES (Civica Election Services) according to the timeline set out below to:
- All Fellows (FRCOG) in London: North, Central, East and North West
- All Fellows (FRCOG) in East of England
- All Fellows (FRCOG) in Thames Valley and Wessex
- All Fellows (FRCOG) in East Midlands
- All Fellows (FRCOG) in Scotland
- All Members (MRCOG) and Fellows (FRCOG) in America/Australasia/Pacific Rim
- All Members (MRCOG) and Fellows (FRCOG) in Sub-Saharan Africa
- All Members (MRCOG) and Fellows (FRCOG) in South Asia
Only those ballots from Fellows and Members who are up to date or exempt from paying subscriptions were included in the election process.
The elections were held using the single transferable vote system.
The RCOG Chief Executive is the Returning Officer and has ultimate responsibility for the Council election process.
Timetable
| Wednesday 23 April at 12pm | Closing date for receipt of nominations |
| Tuesday 27 May | Ballots circulated by CES |
| Thursday 26 June | Closing date for receipt of ballots |
| Thursday 3 July | Votes counted by CES |
| Friday 4 July | Results announced and new members take office |
| Thursday 21 August | Induction for new Council members |
| Friday 12 September | Attendance at first Council meeting |
Contact us
If you have any questions about the process, please contact:
Email: rcogelections@rcog.org.uk
Tel: +44 20 7772 6345
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
The RCOG Regulations Section 1.1 state that “Active Practice” in respect of a Fellow or Member that she or he:
- has a valid licence to practise as a medical practitioner from the UK General Medical Council or the Medical Council of Ireland (or any statutory successor to such bodies); and
- is engaged as a medical practitioner in the UK or the Republic of Ireland in the practice of obstetrics and/or gynaecology for which a licence to practice is required in terms of (1.) above; and
- is not in arrears with her or his subscription to the College
A person shall only be eligible to be a candidate for an elected member position if she or he is in active practice throughout the period from the date of her or his nomination to the date of taking office.
Yes. The College will accept either scanned signatures or a digital signature in place of a hand-signed document. The College will not accept a simple typed signature.
Please see an explanation of single transferable voting here.
Different rules apply for Fellows, Members and Officers.
Members:
RCOG Regulations state that any Member elected to Council shall serve a term of four years in office. After this, the Member is not eligible for re-election to Council unless they become a Fellow of the College, at which point they are eligible to be elected as a Fellow representative.
Fellows:
Fellows elected to Council serve a three-year term in office. After this term, they may stand for re-election as a Fellow for one further term of three years.
Officers:
Officers retiring from Council are eligible to stand for election as a Member or Fellow representative, but only after three years have elapsed from the end of their Officer term.
Please see RCOG regulations 8.1-8.2 and 10.23.