British Medical Association

The British Medical Association is a registered trade union and professional body representing doctors across the United Kingdom, founded in 1832 as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association. It does not regulate doctors, a role held by the General Medical Council, but instead advocates for its members' interests and for the medical profession generally, serving as one of two primary national contract negotiators for doctors with NHS employers. The BMA operates through representative committees, an Annual Representatives Meeting, and a Council that meets several times a year, and it publishes The BMJ, one of the world's leading medical journals. Headquartered at Tavistock Square in London since 1925, it played a significant role in passing the Medical Act 1858, which established professional medical regulation in Britain.