Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Local Medical Committee (LMC)

About Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Local Medical Committee (LMC)

The aim of Beds and Herts LMC Ltd is to support GPs and practices to aspire to excellence in patient care by advising on and promoting the development of all aspects of general practice. Local Medical Committees (LMC) are statutory organisations recognised in the NHS Act since 1948 as the only elected professional body representing all local GPs. Set up in 1911, they predate the NHS and have played pivotal roles in facilitating the functioning of the NHS. They have survived many NHS re-organisations and have adapted when necessary to new NHS structures. Area Teams have a statutory duty to consult with their local LMC on certain issues. Because of their adaptability, the way local LMCs are structured varies around the country. For Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire there is one LMC covering the two counties, and the main committee delegates all its strategic and policy functions to two sub-committees – one for Bedfordshire (including Luton) and one for Hertfordshire. The sub-committees are made up of elected GP representatives and are supported by a secretariat team based in Stevenage. In 2006, the Beds and Herts LMC became incorporated as Beds and Herts LMC Ltd allowing us to expand the services we provide whilst ensuring adequate liability insurance for all LMC representatives. Even though the LMC is a Limited Company it remains a not-for-profit organisation, limited by guarantee only: there are no share-holders and no one benefits from dividends. Any profit made is put back into the organisation and used for the benefit of GPs and their practices and helps to keep the levy as low as possible.