GP and Doctor resource directory: colleges, societies, guidelines and support

General practice is at the centre of the NHS, and clinicians often need to access multiple organisations for guidance, education, standards, and professional support. This directory gathers together Royal Colleges, specialist societies, regulators, CPD providers, NHS resources, prescribing references, safeguarding services, and more - all in one place.

Each entry links to the official website and includes a short description for context. Bookmark this page for quick access during your day-to-day practice.

Royal Colleges

• Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP)

  The UK’s professional membership body for GPs, providing clinical resources, training, research, and advocacy.

  Visit RCGP

• Royal College of Physicians (RCP)

  Represents hospital physicians, sets clinical standards, and provides training across internal medicine specialties.

  Visit RCP

• Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England)

  Supports surgeons with education, exams, and surgical safety guidance.

  Visit RCS England

• Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd)

  Surgical and dental college offering training and exams.

  Visit RCSEd

• Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow (RCPSG)

  Covers both medicine and surgery, providing multi-specialty professional support.

  Visit RCPSG

• Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych)

  Professional body for psychiatrists, setting mental health care standards.

  Visit RCPsych

• Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH)

  Training, exams, and guidance for paediatricians.

  Visit RCPCH

• Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG)

  Guidance on reproductive health, pregnancy, and gynaecological care.

  Visit RCOG

• Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA)

  Oversees anaesthesia, pain medicine, and intensive care standards.

  Visit RCoA

• Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth)

  Professional standards and education for eye health specialists.

  Visit RCOphth

• Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath)
  Covers all pathology specialties, lab medicine, and diagnostic standards.
  Visit RCPath

• Royal College of Radiologists (RCR)

  Guidance and training for clinical radiology and oncology.

  Visit RCR

• Faculty of Public Health (FPH)

  Specialist faculty of the RCP, leading public health standards.

  Visit FPH

• Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FOM)

  Workplace health, occupational disease prevention, and training.

  Visit FOM

• Faculty of Sports and Exercise Medicine (FSEM UK)

  Focused on exercise medicine and musculoskeletal injury care.

  Visit FSEM

Specialist Societies

• British Thoracic Society (BTS)

  Guidance on respiratory disease, asthma, and COPD.

  Visit BTS

• British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG)

  Digestive health, endoscopy, and liver disease.

  Visit BSG

• British Society for Rheumatology (BSR)

  Arthritis, autoimmune, and musculoskeletal conditions.

  Visit BSR

• British Association of Dermatologists (BAD)

  Skin disease resources, clinical guidelines, and patient leaflets.

  Visit BAD

• British Society of Haematology (BSH)

  Guidance on blood disorders and transfusion practice.

  Visit BSH

• British Cardiovascular Society (BCS)

  Cardiovascular disease, research, and clinical standards.

  Visit BCS

• British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS)

  Urology guidance and patient information.

  Visit BAUS

• British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH)

  STI and HIV clinical guidelines.

  Visit BASHH

• British Pain Society (BPS)
  Education and multidisciplinary guidance on pain management.

  Visit BPS

• Society for Endocrinology (SfE BES)

  Hormone health, diabetes, and endocrine disorders.

  Visit SfE

• ENT UK

  Ear, nose and throat specialists’ professional body, with guidelines and patient leaflets.

  Visit ENT UK

• British Society of Immunology (BSI)

  Research and clinical standards in immunology.

  Visit BSI

Nursing, Pharmacy & Allied Health

• Royal College of Nursing (RCN)
  Nursing standards, education, and workforce support.

  Visit RCN

• Société agréée de physiothérapie (CSP)

  Physiotherapy professional body, guidelines, and CPD.

  Visit CSP

• College of Paramedics
  Education, standards, and advocacy for UK paramedics.

  Visit College of Paramedics

• Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS)

  Represents pharmacists, providing standards, education, and advocacy.

  Visit RPS

Regulatory & Standards Bodies

• General Medical Council (GMC)

  Regulates doctors and manages revalidation.

  Visit GMC

• Care Quality Commission (CQC)

  Regulator of health and social care in England.

  Visit CQC

• Institut national pour la santé et l'excellence des soins (NICE)

  Evidence-based guidelines and quality standards.

  Visit NICE

• Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) (Réseau écossais de directives intercollégiales)

  Clinical guidelines for NHS Scotland.

  Visit SIGN

• Agence de réglementation des médicaments et des produits de santé (MHRA)

  Medicine and device regulation.

  Visit MHRA

• UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)

  Infectious disease and public health protection.

  Visit UKHSA

• Human Tissue Authority (HTA)

  Regulates use of human tissue in medicine and research.

  Visit HTA

Public Health & Screening

• UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC)

  Recommends national screening programmes.

  Visit UK NSC

• NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT)

  Organ donation and blood services.

  Visit NHSBT

• Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH)

  Education, training, and advocacy in public health.

  Visit RSPH

Research & Data

• National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)

  NHS research funding and trials.

  Visit NIHR

• Cochrane UK

  Evidence-based reviews and summaries.

  Visit Cochrane UK

• Office for National Statistics (ONS) – Health Data

  National health trends and statistics.

  Visit ONS

• OpenPrescribing.net

  GP prescribing data visualised.

  Visit OpenPrescribing

Safeguarding & Child Protection

• NSPCC Child Protection in Healthcare

  Training and resources for recognising and responding to abuse.

  Visit NSPCC

• Forced Marriage Unit (FMU)

  Guidance for safeguarding vulnerable individuals.

  Visit FMU

• National FGM Centre

  Training and resources on female genital mutilation.

  Visit National FGM Centre

Quality Improvement & Audit

• Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP)

  Oversees national audits and QI resources.

  Visit HQIP

• RCGP QI Hub

  Templates and resources for QI in primary care.

  Visit RCGP QI Hub

Emergency & Urgent Care

• Resuscitation Council UK

  Guidelines for life support and resuscitation.

  Visit Resus UK

• Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care (RCSEd)
  Supports pre-hospital emergency medicine.

  Visit FPHC

Rare Disease & Genomics

• Genomics England

  NHS Genomic Medicine Service resources.

  Visit Genomics England

• Rare Disease UK

  National alliance for rare disease advocacy.

  Visit RDUK

• Orphanet UK

  Rare disease information and research.

  Visit Orphanet

Professional & Support Organisations

• British Medical Association (BMA)

  Doctors’ union and professional body.

  Visit BMA

• Doctors’ Support Network (DSN)

  Peer support for doctors’ mental health.

  Visit DSN

• NHS Practitioner Health

  Confidential NHS mental health service for doctors.

  Visit Practitioner Health

• DocHealth

  Confidential psychotherapy service for doctors.

  Visit DocHealth

• GLADD - The Association of LGBTQ+ Doctors and Dentists

  Peer support and advocacy for LGBTQ+ clinicians .

  Visit GLADD

Practice Management & NHS Resources

• NHS England Primary Care Resources

  Official GP updates and policy.

  Visit NHS England

• Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF)

  Annual guidance and rules.

  Visit QOF

• NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA)

  Contractor payments, pensions, prescribing services.

  Visit NHSBSA

• RCGP Toolkits

  Safeguarding, frailty, care home, and clinical toolkits.

  Visit RCGP Toolkits

• iGPM
  The representative body for all Managers working in Primary Care in the UK.

  Visit iGPM

Ethics & Law

• Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS)

  Fitness-to-practise hearings.

  Visit MPTS

• Nuffield Council on Bioethics

  Independent analysis of ethical issues in medicine.

  Visit Nuffield