From the President's Desk
Operating, Advocacy, Collaboration, AGM
30 June 2025
(Last updated: 30 Jun 2025 13:46)
It’s been another rewarding week, for the Society and for me personally.
I enjoyed 2 operating lists and a weekend on call! The range of thoracic cases, from a technically extreme resection for metastatic disease, to more straightforward procedure I guided a trainee through, was a reminder of the breadth our specialty. There’s something satisfying about mentoring the next generation, while still keeping our hands firmly in there. They often have a new trick as well! Our minimally invasive patients are already recovering at home, and our biggest case is making steady progress.
Outside the operating theatre, I was delighted to teach on a new Cambridge course. We welcomed delegates from across the UK and overseas. The hands-on sessions with uniportal and subxiphoid approaches to the chest were enhanced by the excellent facilities and donated cadaveric tissue, for which we are immensely grateful. We also had engaging discussions with new industry partners. Events like this are essential for building skills and relationships, and I’m grateful to all who helped make it possible, especially the course director who is also one of our new SCTS Fundraising co-leads Giuseppe Aresu.
This week also underlined the vital role of advocacy in the busy healthcare landscape. I joined patients, clinical leaders, commissioners, and politicians at 10 Downing Street to celebrate 35 years of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. We support the continued rollout of lung cancer screening. This programme is already saving lives, and we anticipate a significant rise in activity. Meeting that demand isn’t just about numbers, it’s about service transformation. We need Very Enhanced Recovery In Thoracic Anaesthesia and Surgery (VERITAS). We must further embrace day-of-surgery admission, minimally invasive techniques, fast-track anaesthesia, virtual wards and enhanced community care. This is a “win-win-win”: for patients who are diagnosed earlier and treated better, for the NHS which uses fewer resources, and for teams who find pride and purpose in delivering high-quality care. A similar ethos needs to spread more widely in cardiac surgery. With our president-elect Enoch Akowuah, adult cardiac surgery sub-committee members and other partners such as BISMICS and ACTACC we are working on that part of our programme as well.
Aman Coonar, SCTS president with Tom Newsom-Davis BTOG president at 10 Downing Street advocating for lung cancer care and thoracic surgery
The collaborative spirit continued through the week. SCTS members participated in the quarterly meeting with NICOR to review data-led initiatives. We had further meetings with BTOG (British Thoracic Oncology Group). to move forward plans for a joint working. Colleagues were also examining, adding to their busy clinical workloads.
We continue to make progress on an upcoming fundraising event to support the growth of SCTS both by raising money and increasing our visibility. We need to be seen to be heard.
On a personal front one of my daughter came back from months abroad, and another is heading off on her medical elective: the family and profession roll on.
As always, thank you to all our members, colleagues and admin team. We are stronger with more voices.
AGM
Online AGM at 17:00 – 18:15 on the 2nd July 2025. Please join us when we will be able to share our plans and update on progress.
Register in advance for this webinar
Aman S Coonar
President, Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in Great Britain & Ireland (SCTS)
Feedback is encouraged and gratefully received.
Please send comments to Emma Piotrowski at emma@scts.org or contact me directly at aman.coonar@nhs.net.
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