Message from the President, April 2020
Dear Colleagues,
I hope you are well and have not been overwhelmed by the coronavirus. We are living through an astonishing period in history impacting every aspect of our lives in a way which no-one has ever previously experienced. To help our website has information for surgeons and parents and a UK-Covid-19 data collection in children has been created which can be accessed here. The NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Global Surgery are also running an international cohort study aiming to assess the outcomes of surgery in patients diagnosed with Covid-19 which can be accessed here.
By now you will have heard the 67th International Congress in Bruges this summer has been cancelled, another victim of the pandemic. The good news is that we have not been impacted financially by deferring the event to 2021 in the same venue. We know that delegates will be disappointed but hope you agree that it is important to put your safety first. Information regarding 2020 registration and abstracts can be accessed here. We look forward to a bumper meeting in conjunction with BARD running from the 7-10th of July 2021 in Bruges and Birmingham will now host our 2022 congress.
NHS England’s Paediatric Critical Care and Surgery in Children Review has now been completed and work now progresses towards implementation of the model of care. A suite of documents to support this are available here and a summary report has now been published that provides an overview of the work of the programme, and is available here. I would encourage you to engage with the ODN’s and apply for the surgical lead role in your local network.
Congratulations to Simon Kenny who has been appointed as NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Children and Young People in addition to his role as clinical lead for paediatric surgery with the Getting It Right First Time programme. Publication of the GIRFT review into paediatric surgery is anticipated later this year and BAPS response is available here.
The Paterson report published in February highlighted for me the importance of Paediatric Surgeons having an honest and transparent relationship with families. As an organisation we have a lay representative on executive and are exploring how to engage more effectively with medical charities. Last year’s congress in Nottingham where charity representatives participated I felt brought added value to the meeting but there were some dissenting voices. If you wish to express your opinion – please contact me via [email protected]
BAPS International Affairs Committee have generously donated £1000 to InterSurgeon a free to use service bringing people together in the field of global surgery. The funding will help develop a profile for general surgery including paediatric surgery and allow them to create offers and requests which will be matched by InterSurgeon. To see its potential please click here.
Finally, my thanks to Evenlyn Ong BAPS HonSec for all her hard work and dedication over the last 3 years. Ashish Desai takes over the role this month and brings his experience and enthusiasm to the job. This leaves a vacancy as Honorary Treasurer and if you are interested please contact the office before April 15th via [email protected] – a job description is available here.
Our sincere thoughts are with all members and your loved ones across the world who have been affected by Coronavirus. We look forward to a brighter future.
Richard Stewart
President BAPS
PS: The office is unaffected by the current crisis and remains working for BAPS members.