The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has announced that Dr Mumtaz Patel will step in as acting president, following the decision of Dr Sarah Clarke to step down from the role last month.
She will perform the duties of the president and will chair meetings of the RCP Council until an election can be held.
Dr Patel previously served three years from 2020 as RCP’s global vice president, where she helped develop the organisation’s global strategy to grow and diversify the RCP’s international membership, strengthen networks, and deliver the Global Women Leaders programme.
More recently she has been RCP senior censor and vice president for education and training, where she has overseen the RCP’s education strategy.
She is also a consultant nephrologist at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and postgraduate associate dean for NHS England.
Dr Patel was awarded the Outstanding Leader Award in March 2024 as part of the inaugural Global Women in Healthcare Awards.
“I am honoured that RCP Council has placed its trust in me until a new president can be elected,” said Dr Patel.
“I would like to thank my senior leadership colleagues for their collegiate approach as we work to rebuild the strong reputation of our college over the coming months.”
The main priority will be to usher in a period of stability for the RCP and to regain the trust and confidence of the membership, she added.
“This means taking action to support the next generation of our early career doctors, as well as delivering on the recommendations of the short life working group on physician associates.”
The latter will be led by Dr Hilary Williams, the RCP's vice president for Wales.
Dr Patel concluded: “I’m also determined that we deliver real change through a constitutional and governance review, so that we can be a membership body relevant and supportive to all the doctors we serve.”
Planning for the election of the next substantive president has already started, with final elections slated for next April.
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