ABSTRACT
Hamish Robin Peter Meldrum had been involved in medical politics since the 1970s. Meldrum stood down from the General Practitioners Committee chairman role after being elected British Medical Association (BMA) Council chairman on 28 June 2007. The implementation of the new Health and Social Care Bill brought more challenges for Meldrum. He was accused by some members of the London Regional Council of the BMA for failing to promote members’ views and for not taking a harder stance over the Health and Social Care Bill. Meldrum, and the majority of BMA Council, believed that the best way forward was to keep communication open with the government and try to obtain a mutual resolution. Meldrum ended his five-year BMA chairmanship in June 2012. Meldrum’s emphasis on talking rather than a confrontational approach to politics has enabled him to achieve so much during very challenging times in his career.
