Rules & Regulations
1. Name
The name of the Association shall be "The National Association of Medical Personnel Specialists".
2. Objectives
The objectives of the Association are to develop expertise and disseminate good practice among Medical Personnel Specialists by:
2.1 improving the quality of training for Medical Personnel Specialists and encouraging support for specialist training programmes.
2.2 publishing a regular Newsletter (quarterly) for the membership, and other documents designed to promote best practice within medical personnel.
2.3 providing Regional and National networks to give more immediate support to individual members.
2.4 organising an Annual Conference to up-date members on current aspects of Medical Personnel.
2.5 ensuring representation and greater publicity for the views of the members on Medical Personnel matters.
2.6 working to establish career progression pathways for members within and beyond the medical personnel specialty.
3. Membership
Full Membership shall be open to anyone directly involved wholly or partly in Medical Personnel work within the National Health Service. Associate Members (e.g., employees of BMA, Locum Agencies) can join, but are not entitled to vote. There shall be a category of 'retired' members for anyone who was an ordinary member of the Association and who, for any reason, has ceased to be employed, or now works elsewhere in the NHS. Full and retired members will have the same rights. Exceptionally, the National Forum Skills and Executive (plus ratification at AGM) may appoint honorary life members who pay no fee and who may speak, but not vote, on Association business.
4. Fees
4.1 There shall be an annual membership fee which will be reviewed annually and agreed by the NAMPS Executive. The fee for Associate members will be double that of the Members, and a fee of 50% of the ordinary membership fee will be set for retired members
4.2 The Annual Conference fee is only open to members; therefore non-members will pay the current membership fee in addition to the conference fee,
5. Governance
The direction and governance of the Association shall be as follows:
5.1 The Annual General Meeting (AGM)
5.1.1 The Annual General Meeting shall be the policy making body of the Association.
5.1.2 It shall determine the rules and constitution of the Association.
5.1.3 It shall elect annually the Officers of the Association.
5.1.4 The Annual General Meeting shall always be held during the Annual Conference of the Association.
5.1.4 The membership may submit in writing proposals to the Annual General Meeting provided that they carry the signature of ten current ordinary members.
5.2 Extraordinary General Meetings
An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be convened with a minimum of one month’s notice if it is requested in writing and supported by a majority of the then current membership of the National Forum.
5.3 The National Forum
5.3.1 The National Forum represents the membership between Annual General Meetings. It is required to meet at least twice every year in Spring and Autumn. Where necessary it interprets policy for the National Executive and it is specifically responsible for arranging the programme of the Annual Conference.
5.3.2 The National Forum shall comprise one representative from each of the SHA areas (or successor organisations as agreed by the National Executive) and one representative each from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In each of these constituencies there shall be a deputy member to represent the constituency in the event of the absence of the formal member of the National Forum. Such a person shall have full voting rights as if they themselves were a member of the National Forum.
5.3.3 National Forum representatives shall be elected annually and no member shall act for more than four years consecutively. After serving for four consecutive years a member may not be eligible to stand for the National Forum again for a further period of four years in the same capacity.
5.3.4 It is for the membership in the constituency to determine how they will decide upon their representative and alternate representative. It shall be the responsibility of the current member serving at the time of the formulation of these rules to canvass the opinion of the members about the methodology for election, either by meeting, or by letter, according to what is most appropriate.
5.3.5 In the event of the failure of a constituency formally to nominate a representative or a deputy in writing, the National Executive may, exceptionally for one year, nominate a constituency representative.
5.4 The National Executive
5.4.1 The National Executive shall comprise a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer. (If not one of these Officers, the Communications Coordinator, the Training Co-ordinator, the Conference Co-ordinator and the Sponsorship Co-ordinator shall be ex-officio members of the National Executive).
5.4.2 The four Executive Officers plus ex-officio members shall be appointed for a period of one year by the membership present at the Annual General Meeting. Nominations for Office, bearing the signatures of two current members, shall be submitted to the President one calendar month before the date of the Annual General Meeting.
5.4.3 No Executive Officer serving for four consecutive years shall be eligible to hold the same office again for a further four years. No Executive Officer may serve in the same post for more than four years in any eight.
5.4.4 No member of the National Executive shall act as a Forum representative in addition to holding an Executive position.
5.4.5 The Executive will carry out the business of the Association and represent the Association between Annual General Meetings.
5.4.6 The National Executive shall meet quarterly.
5.5 The President
5.5.1 The President shall be a distinguished person who is not eligible for ordinary or retired membership of the Association.
5.5.2 The President shall be paid no fee or honorarium but may be paid expenses as per Section 9 of these Rules.
5.5.3 The duties of the President shall be to preside at the Annual General Meeting and at the half-yearly meetings of the National Forum.
5.5.4 The President may undertake such other representational duties as may be requested of him or her from time to time.
5.5.5 The President shall serve for a period of two years and may not serve for a period longer than four years.
5.5.6 One year before the expiry of the term of office of a President the Chairman shall propose a name to the AGM to serve as President in twelve months' time. Should that name be rejected by vote it will be the responsibility of the Chairman, within a period of six months, to call for written nominations with four signatures and to organise a 'first past the post' postal ballot. The resulting appointment will be notified to the membership in the following Newsletter.
6. The Annual Conference
The National Forum shall appoint a Conference Committee of four, drawn from the membership of the National Forum. It’s Chairman shall be an ex-officio member of the National Executive Committee, if not already an elected member. This appointment will be made at the Annual General Meeting, twelve months in advance of the following Annual Conference. The Committee shall be responsible for all aspects of planning the Annual Conference (with the exception of the Conference Programme) and will be accountable to the Executive Committee.
7. Publications
7.1 The Association will produce a quarterly Newsletter free to the membership, and such other publications and web-based services as are agreed by the Annual General Meeting or the National Forum.
8. Training
8.1 The National Forum will be responsible for encouraging the provision of appropriate training for the membership within the organisation, primarily on a one day basis, or on one day or short residential programmes.
8.2 The National Forum shall appoint a Training Committee whose Chairman shall be an ex-officio member of the National Executive Committee if not already an elected member.
8.3 The Association will give its name to approved programmes and advertise these in the Newsletter.
9. Qualifications
The National Forum will have financial support for the development of agreed qualifications. The fees and expenses of participants should be borne by members’ employers.
10. Finance
The finances of the organisation shall be disbursed only in ways approved in these rules or by special resolution at an Annual General Meeting or an Extraordinary General Meeting.
10.1 Postal, stationery, and photocopying expenses in connection with the official work of members of the National Executive will be paid after the submission of a standard expense claims form and approval by the Treasurer.
10.2 The Committees shall, if required, have budgets each year to cover the same as in 10.1, established by the National Forum for all their necessary preparatory work. Expense claims will be submitted and approved as in 10.1 above.
10.3 Where necessary, and claimed, travelling expenses will be paid to members of the National Executive, the National Forum and the Standing Committees provided for in these rules, provided that support is not being given by the employer; e.g., for a training meeting at which some additional time is allowed for NAMPS business. Mileage expenses must be paid only at the NHS public transport rate, currently 24 pence per mile or at second class rail fare. The only exception is when those officers participating in NAMPS training courses have to use their car due to the amount of materials being transported, in which case NHS standard mileage rates will be applied according to the c.c. of the car. Expenses claims will be submitted as in 10.1 above.
10.4 Fees payable to training organisers, speakers etc will be agreed annually by the National Executive and skills coordinators
10.5 Each member of the National Executive may, if unavoidable, claim up to four overnight stays against presented receipts.
10.6 The Treasurer shall provide a full set of accounts for the AGM and have available at all times, full documentation relating to each financial transaction of the Association. These will be available for inspection, to any member of the Association, at any time.
11. The Dissolution of the Association
The Association may only dissolve by an email ballot with a 2/3 majority of the actual membership voting in favour. In this event any remaining assets are to be donated to some aspect of the clinical work of the NHS, as agreed at a final meeting of the National Forum.
12. Changes to the Rules of the Association
Rules may be changed at the Annual General Meeting or at an Extraordinary General Meeting. Members should have a minimum of one calendar month's written notice of proposed changes. To be successful rule changes require a simple majority vote from ordinary members in attendance.
Alternatively the National Forum may sanction an on-line, e-mail or postal ballot on a rule change. In such instances, all ordinary members must be balloted, and members should have a minimum of one calendar month's written notice of proposed changes; members may cast their votes at any time during this period. To be successful in this way, rule changes would require a simple majority vote from ordinary members choosing to participate in the ballot.
The National Forum may not order a postal ballot on a rule change that has been specifically rejected at an Annual General Meeting within the previous two years.