President
HDU is a nationally recognised trade union which represents and advises all grades of hospital doctor in the UK, both in the NHS and private sectors.
Formed in 1948, when it was identified that consultants needed a membership body that would speak for them in the early years of the NHS, that need has never abated, and decades later we have a stronger, larger union with a track record of supporting its members.
Today HDU accepts into membership consultants, SAS, resident and locally employed doctors of all specialisms. Medical students can join as associate members.
HDU is a professional association and a registered trade union affiliated to the Trades Union Congress and General Federation of Trade Unions.
Dr Paoloni is a Consultant Anaesthetist based in Bristol and current HDU president. She was elected the first woman president of our predecessor HCSA in 2019, and reelected in 2025. She remains actively involved in work around the Gender Pay Gap in Medicine.
Martin is HDU’s General Secretary and previously National Officer for the North West. He has extensive experience of representing trade union members in Unite, the GMB and most recently as a caseworker for Citizens Advice.
Dr Anna Beattie is a Consultant Cardiothoracic Radiologist at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She has held a number of national leadership roles, including serving as chair of the Junior Radiologists’ Forum, member of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges Trainer committee and, as an FRCR examiner, contributing to the education, training and assessment of future radiologists.
Dr Narayanan is a Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Torbay Hospital. He has previously held positions as College Tutor, Training Programme Director and Clinical Director in the South West. Prior to becoming a Consultant, he was overseas trainees’ representatives at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
President
Vice President
Past President
Resident Doctor NEC member
London (West) & Central NEC member
Midlands NEC member
North Eastern NEC member
North Western NEC Member
Northern Ireland NEC member
Scotland NEC Member
Pritika is our National Officer for the Midlands. Prior to joining HDU she worked in the legal sector including 15 years at the Solicitors Regulation Authority alongside being Unite’s workplace chair. Pritika holds a TUC Diploma in Employment Law, is Mental Health First Aid-trained and represents members in workplace investigations, disciplinaries, grievances and appeals.
HDU is a democratic organisation that alongside individual workplace representation for its members seeks to represent their views and interests, and those of the wider community of hospital doctors, in every workplace and NHS trust or board across the UK.
The HDU is governed by its ruling National Executive Committee (NEC), who are elected by members every two years to carry out governance and oversight of the union’s affairs. As well as representatives from each of HDU’s 9 districts, there are reserved NEC seats for SAS and resident doctors.
A president elected by a ballot of all members leads the presidential team to deal with day-to-day matters, composed of the president, vice-president and past president.
HDU members also elect a general secretary every five years to oversee the staff team and work to the strategic objectives set by the NEC.
Members are informed on the progress of the union via General Meetings.
The HDU rules are reviewed and amended by General Meetings of members.