Maureen Baker (born 20 September 1958) is a Scottish

medical doctor A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

who was Chair of the

Royal College of General Practitioners The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is the professional body for general (medical) practitioners (GPs/Family Physicians/Primary Care Physicians) in the United Kingdom. The RCGP represents and supports GPs on key issues including l ...

(RCGP) from 2013 to 2016. She was previously Honorary Secretary of the RCGP from 1999 to 2009.

Early life and education

Baker was born in

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

on 20 September 1958. Her parents were Helen and William Murphy. She was educated at the Holy Cross High School in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

. After school, she studied medicine at the

University of Dundee The University of Dundee; . Abbreviated as ''Dund.'' for post-nominals. is a public university, public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a University college#United Kingdom, university college in 1881 with a donation ...

, graduating with MB, ChB in 1981. She then attended the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

, obtaining a DM.

Career

From 1985 to 2000, she worked as a general practitioner in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

. Early in her career, she was involved with teaching. She joined

Connecting for Health The NHS Connecting for Health (CFH) agency was part of the UK Department of Health and was formed on 1 April 2005, having replaced the former NHS Information Authority. It was part of the Department of Health Informatics Directorate, with the role ...

in 2007. She is Clinical Director for Patient Safety at the

Health and Social Care Information Centre NHS Digital is the trading name of the Health and Social Care Information Centre, which is the national provider of information, data and IT systems for commissioners, analysts and clinicians in health and social care in England, particularly th ...

(HSCIC). In December 2013, the ''

Health Service Journal ''Health Service Journal'' (''HSJ'') is a news service that covers policy and management in the National Health Service (NHS) in England. History The '' Poor Law Officers' Journal'' was established in 1892. In 1930, it changed its name after ...

'' listed her as the 26th most powerful person in the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

. In 2014, she was listed in the journal's top 100 clinical leaders, and in 2015, she was as the 39th most influential person in NHS (England). She is now Chair of the

Professional Record Standards Body The Professional Record Standards Body was established in the United Kingdom in April 2013 by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) is the coordinating body for the United Kingdom and Ireland's 23 Medi ...

Royal College positions

She was elected as Honorary Secretary of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) in 1999. In May 2013 she was elected as chair of the RCGP Council, taking up the position in November 2013. During her term as chair of RCGP council, she often articulated problems affecting general practice, acknowledging that some of these problems have been attributed to the "pull of London and the South-east". She has commented on the need to be able to improve the distribution of the medical workforce, suggesting that reasonable incentives might help attract doctors to some areas. Her term as Council Chair ended in November 2016, when she was succeeded as Chair by

Helen Stokes-Lampard Dame Helen Jayne Stokes-Lampard (born October 1970) is a British medical academic and a general practitioner. She is Chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) a GP Principal and Chair of the National Academy for Social Prescribin ...

Awards and honours

She was made a

Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the

2004 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2004 were appointments by some of the Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

for services to medicine. In 2009, she received the RCGP Foundation Council Award for meritorious services to general practice.

Personal life

In 1984, she married Peter Baker. They have two daughters, Carolyn and Elena.

References

External links

RCGP Leadership Team
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Maureen 1958 births People educated at Holy Cross High School, Hamilton Alumni of the University of Dundee Alumni of the University of Nottingham Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Scottish medical doctors 21st-century Scottish medical doctors British general practitioners Scottish women medical doctors Fellows of the Royal College of General Practitioners Living people 20th-century women physicians 21st-century women physicians 20th-century Scottish women