From The President's Desk
19 May 2026
(Last updated: 19 May 2026 12:52)
Clinical work
The week had an intense start with a minimally invasive beginning, and middle, and then a big finale. The latter case involved ‘extensive open techniques,’ and it’s a blessing that the case is now doing well. Without going into details, it’s the sort of case that one feels that made a difference and that feeling is one of the biggest rewards in our profession. Could not have done it without the team and the steadfast support of the ITU.
SCTS Secretariat
Over the last six months we can see changes within our secretariat bearing fruit. I enjoyed time with them in our office in the Royal College of Surgeons. Our team feels more stable and effective as new and returning colleagues have settled into their roles. We have also increased oversight by the senior leadership team.
There is a focus on improving processes and strengthening organisational delivery. Our new Treasurer Karen Redmond has joined a team that is receptive to further review and has identified a range of areas for development which we hope a future COO led structure will help implement going forward.
Military preparations
We attended the Reception Arrangements for Military Personnel (RAMP) planning discussions at the Royal College of Surgeons where representatives from the MOD, NHS and the surgical specialty associations considered the implications of responding to increased military casualty scenarios. These were important discussions which highlighted wider issues around national preparedness, workforce resilience, supply chains, and the need for coordinated professional leadership during increasingly uncertain geopolitical times. Many lessons from the COVID era remain relevant and there was broad recognition that surgery and healthcare systems need to continue strengthening resilience and adaptability. From the SCTS viewpoint we have already been raising awareness, have set up a working group and are planning educational sessions.
Royal College of Surgeons
I represented SCTS at the Buxton Browne lecture at the Royal College of Surgeons. The lecture focused on patient safety and was followed by a dinner attended by past presidents of the College together with representatives from a range of organisations. It was particularly good to reconnect with former colleagues and teachers including Barry Jackson who was President of the College (many years back) when I was a SHO at St Thomas’s Hospital and for whom I worked during his presidential year.
SCTS Fundraising
SCTS continues to look at how we raise funds and with that in mind I attended a fundraising event organised by Ideal Medical Solutions to mark their fifteen years in business. SCTS was one of three charities supported. The event demonstrated how effectively professional relationships, charitable activity and wider community engagement can be brought together and provides useful ideas for future SCTS initiatives.
NHS Commissioning & Cardiac Surgery Transformation
Last week also saw circulation of encouraging news that NHS commissioners are developing new coding arrangements for minimally invasive cardiac surgery. This should help support more consistent commissioning of these procedures and aligns with wider transformation work taking place across cardiothoracic surgery. This came about through the efforts of our president-elect Enoch Akowuah and the adult cardiac surgery sub-committee now led by Hari Doshi.
Walking & Home
It was a busy and professionally sociable week. We did not manage a longer distance walk this weekend but still completed a couple of shorter 10k’s walks wandering around the Royal Horticulture Society Gardens in Wisley and the National Trust Claremont Landscape Garden near Epsom where the charity dinner had taken place. I was particularly taken by some vigorous digitalis and some bright orange rhododendrons that matched my jacket.
It’s GCSE time. The questions can be tricky! Enough said.
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