SAMPLE COPY: College Voice Edition 16

College Voice

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Drawing inspiration from our archives. | Exploring sustainability. A personal view of NHS care. | Equality, diversity and inclusion at the College. The impact of mentoring. | Exams, courses and conference schedules.

For the Fellows and Members of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow

Left: Delegate at Interactive Cardiology Conference, 2024. Credit: Jamie Simpson

Cover Image: Lucy Baldwin Gas-Oxygen Analgesia Apparatus. Image Credit: College Heritage team

Welcome to College Voice

Welcome to our sixteenth edition of College Voice. This latest edition has a brand-new look with sustainability at its core, which is just one of the many steps our College is taking to progress towards our goal of becoming a net zero organisation. I am delighted to announce our Sustainability Steering Group has published its Climate Change and Sustainability Action Plan (p.24) to ensure climate consciousness weaves through all College activities.

In the current circumstances, it is understandable that many of us are concerned about the future of the NHS and its ability to survive with ever increasing pressure. An ageing population (p.6) and obesity cases rising among youth (p.15), and its associated impact on health and economic cost are just some examples of the growing demand projected in the health service.

In our cover feature, ‘the prescription’, we are also reminded of the great innovation in medical treatment the NHS has facilitated (p.18).

In a personal reflection from Jeremy Bagg, our former Director of Global Health, he proves the NHS is still an institution to be proud of, driven by those who have a passion to care (p.28).

As ever, I hope this edition will bring you assurance and be informative to the support our College can offer you, no matter what stage you are in your career. Please let me know if we can be of more specific assistance in any situation yourself or your colleagues are facing by contacting me at: president@rcpsg.ac.uk.

Mr Mike McKirdy President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow

Right: President Mike McKirdy Credit: Jamie Simpson

Right: Capturing the moment for a new Member of the College at our November 2023 Diploma Ceremony. Credit: Jamie Simpson

Newsbites Prestigious medal01 and award03 presentations, College takes action on sexual misconduct02 , and welcoming our new office bearers05 .

01 Livingstone medal presented to Professor Sir David Warrell and Lady Mary Warrell

In October 2023, we held our Faculty of Travel Medicine Annual Conference. One of the most popular talks of the conference features the ‘Livingstone Lecture’, which on this occasion looked at Dr David Livingstone’s experience of disease in Africa and its relevance to modern travellers. The Lecture was delivered by Professor Sir David Warrell and Lady Mary Warrell, world leaders in the management of the neglected tropical diseases, snakebite and rabies. Sir David said the lecture had given him the opportunity to delve into the writings of David Livingstone, which were a revelation for his early descriptions of many tropical diseases that still exist today. Lady Mary provided an update on new schedules for rabies vaccination using intradermal method.

After their talk, Dean of the Faculty of Travel Medicine

Dr Sam Allen (far right) and out-going Honorary

Secretary Fiona Steven (far left), presented the Livingstone Medal to Professor Sir David Warrell and Lady Mary Warrell.

02 Breaking the silence: College takes action on to address sexual misconduct

Our College has set out a 10-point action plan aimed at tackling sexual misconduct in healthcare.

The plan includes a range of measures to support healthcare professionals, from providing education and training, to strengthening our Code of Conduct and supporting data collection on inappropriate behaviours.

College President Mike McKirdy said: “We want to ensure that every member of our extended College community feels safe and respected in their place of work.

“The action plan is not an exhaustive list – we will continue to work with Fellows and Members to listen, and hear, what other actions we might take.”

You can find our full 10-point action plan on our website: rcp.sg/BreakingTheSilence

It follows the publication of the Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery’s independent report, Breaking the Silence: Addressing Sexual Misconduct in Healthcare, published in 2023. This highlighted concerning findings – among them, that 63.3% of female respondents had been the target of sexual harassment, and 30% of women had been the target of sexual assault.

03 College events team receives Prestige Scotland Award

Our 1599 at the Royal College team are behind the success of every event at our College – conferences, functions and celebrations. In October, the 1599 team was awarded Corporate Events Venue of the Year at the Prestige Scotland Awards 2023.

The judges noted the team’s dedication to “ensuring every event is a success, no matter the occasion”.

Conference and Events Manager, Fiona Hainey, said: “It’s fantastic to see the hard work of the team recognised in this way. Events bring thousands of attendees into the College every year, and this shows the service we provide is second to none.

“Of course, as well as corporate events, we also welcome personal celebrations. My team is always particularly delighted to welcome any Fellows and Members who would like to organise an event or celebrate an occasion in the College.”

04 New exam centre in Delhi

A new examination centre for surgical trainees will open in Delhi this May, offering the MRCS Part B exam.

This is the latest in a series of developments to increase opportunities to access the exam, reflecting the longstanding friendship between our College and the surgical community in India. It follows the opening of a fully-booked MRCS Part B exam centre in Pune, in partnership with Symbiosis International, and a centre in Thiruvananthapuram in partnership with KiMS Health, which will run the exam in September.

College President Mike McKirdy said:

“Our highly-experienced exams team is looking forward to meeting our Delhi candidates in May.”

1599 is available for conferences, meetings, private dining or life celebrations (weddings, funerals, retirement parties). Visit the 1599 website to find out more: 1599.co.uk

05 New President-Elect and Officer Bearers take up roles

Our new President-Elect, Professor Hany

Eteiba, took up his role at our AGM in December. He will succeed current President, Mike McKirdy, in December 2024.

Professor Eteiba is a renowned cardiologist, based at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank. He has served the College for more than 20 years, as well as holding posts including President of the Scottish Cardiac Society, Associate Medical Director of the Golden Jubilee, and Honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow.

Following our 2023 Executive Board and Council elections, our new Honorary Secretary, Dr Morven McElroy, Vice-President (Medical) Dr Richard Hull, and Vice-President (Surgical) Mr John Scott also took up their roles at the AGM. Matthew Walters and Martha Quinn were elected as Ordinary Councillors while John Robertson and Stuart Fergusson were elected as Regional Councillors.

Understanding frailty

Written by Silje Welsh

Edited by Elaine O’Connor Image courtesy of Silje Welsh

With an ageing population and advancements in medicine and surgery, frailty affects increasing numbers of patients and their healthcare teams around the UK. College Voice spoke to the inaugural Frailty Fellow, Silje Welsh, about her pioneering research into the assessment of frailty in vascular surgery.

Right: Silje Welsh

Silje’s interest in frailty was first piqued as a general surgery trainee. “I rotated through vascular surgery and was struck by the significant proportion of frail patients with urgent surgical pathology,” she explained. “I noted that many of these patients suffered turbulent perioperative courses and posed difficult challenges in terms of medical management, rehabilitative and discharge processes.

“This postgraduate research fellowship represented an excellent opportunity to deepen my understanding of these complex patients and to explore avenues for improving certain aspects of care provision.”

The Fellowship is a new collaboration between the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and the Vascular Society of Great Britain and Ireland and is being conducted through

the University of Glasgow with a combination of medical and surgical supervisors.

Following the recognition of frailty as an indicator of poor prognosis for adults, there has been a lot of research and vast amounts of data have been accumulated. But lack of consensus has meant this hasn’t translated into positive changes. Through her work, Silje has identified 43 different frailty assessment tools, but little to separate them in terms of which is most clinically useful.

“A standardised approach to frailty assessment would unify healthcare professionals’ understanding of the frailty concept, endorse a common language around frailty and ultimately support the development of services to help care for this increasingly common and vulnerable patient cohort,” Silje said.

“It has been a privilege to join a community with an interest in improving the care of older adults.”

Silje Welsh

The next step is to identify improvements to our approach to managing older adults living with frailty, through gathering clinically-relevant frailty related research data and increasing understanding of the issue.

“Firstly, my prospective observational study is collecting data on the feasibility and prognostic value of routine frailty assessment in a vascular outpatient setting,” Silje added. “Surgeons are increasingly trying to identify patients who may derive greater benefit from non-operative management and basing my study in a busy NHS clinic allows me to include patients managed surgically and conservatively. I have included five commonly used frailty tools based on different frailty theories and, in part, promoted by national healthcare policies.

Participant recruitment has exceeded expectation and I look forward to sharing the results after the one-year follow-up has concluded.

“Secondly, I am conducting a national qualitative study examining stakeholders’ perceptions of the current challenges in frailty management and describing the perceived barriers in developing a frailty-sensitive healthcare pathway. Identifying and understanding these challenges will inform future clinical service transformations.”

Reflecting on the Fellowship, Silje would recommend it to other clinicians interested in research into frailty.

“Working with clinicians and academics from surgical and geriatric services has allowed me to both develop academic skills in a rapidly growing field, but also critically consider how this important progress can be translated into positive clinical change,” she said.

“The Fellowship has introduced me to likeminded clinical academics across the UK and it has been a privilege to join a community with an interest in improving the care of older adults with vascular issues. I have learned the importance of clinicians and researchers working together to ensure the greatest levels of research impact and this Fellowship represents a perfect marriage of the two job roles.”

Thanks to Miss Silje Alvsaaker Welsh MRCS MBChB BSc (Hons) MSc

Keeping inclusion on the agenda

Written by Elaine O’Connor

Edited by Hannah Parker

Our Inclusion Advisory Group (IAG) was founded over two years ago to represent Fellows and Members and ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) stay firmly on our College agenda. Fellows Moe Oo, Thisara Weerasuriya and Kirsty Colquhoun are all members of the IAG. They shared some of their reflections on its work so far.

Images courtesy of Jamie Simpson, Moe Oo

Contributors: Moe Oo, Thisara Weerasuriya and Kirsty Colquhoun

Right: Thisara Weerasuriya

“Our College is a multi-national, global community, with members all around the world. Inclusivity, and bringing in people from all different backgrounds to our conversations, is instrumental to the College,” said Moe, who leads the IAG.

The IAG helps us to ensure that EDI is at the forefront of all College activity. The group includes members from all Faculties with an interest in EDI. For Thisara, a desire to increase representation for clinicians in SAS (specialty and specialist grade) roles within College life led him to volunteer, while Kirsty’s passion for improving accessibility in healthcare motivated her to join the group.

The group has already had a number of successes. Their EDI conference attracted over 80 attendees from around the world. Group members have worked with the GMC, health boards and other organisations, to represent our diverse College community. They have attended bystander training, which empowers people to challenge poor behaviour and discrimination.

The IAG has been essential in informing and overseeing our EDI action plan –helping identify and prioritise actions such as improving accessibility, introducing mandatory training for staff, or working to ensure that our membership is reflected in Boards, Committees and other roles such as examiners.

“We have been looking at different barriers that might face people within the College, and what we can do to challenge that,” Kirsty added.

“A key thing for me has been looking at how to encourage more female Fellows and Members to become examiners or get involved with other leadership roles,” said Moe.

A new SAS Forum has also been established and with support of the IAG a successful bid was made for the National SAS Conference, which will be hosted by the College in June.

“As a group, we have worked to achieve a lot in a short space of time,” Thisara said. “It is good to see a drive towards diversity within the College environment; from Fellows and Members to staff.”

“Widening engagement is a focus of the group – we want to make sure that more voices from within our College community can be heard,” said Moe. “No matter what part of the world you are in.

“We’re also interested in the progress and support of doctors in training and medical students; as the future of our profession.”

“For me, challenging negative attitudes is a big thing,” Kirsty added. “For disabled people, whether they are patients or healthcare workers, negative attitudes can be one of the biggest barriers because

it takes away opportunities for employment, education, healthcare. We want to ensure people are equipped to challenge those behaviours and speak out when they see them.”

For Fellows and Members who are interested in learning more, or who are keen to raise an issue with the IAG, the best thing to do is contact our membership team.

“We are here for all Fellows and Members, so please get in touch if there is an issue which is important to you,” Thisara said.

“I think the work of the Group, and the College overall, show that EDI is of key importance,” said Kirsty.

“Our College has a long history, but it’s essential to reflect who our members are now – in the 21st Century, and that is what we want to help to do,” Moe added.

“We come from lots of different, diverse backgrounds, but we are all an equal part of our community.”

Find out more about the Inclusion Advisory Group through our website: rcp.sg/IAG

Moe Oo is a Physician and Geriatrician, Head of MBChB at the University of Leeds, Deputy Director of Medical Exams at the College and EDI Lead for the British Geriatrics Society.

Thisara Weerasuriya is an Associate Specialist in Trauma and Orthopaedics and an honorary senior clinical lecturer at the University of Glasgow.

Kirsty Colquhoun is a Geriatrician and Subdean for the University of Glasgow Medical School. She is Secretary for the Oncogeriatric SIG group for the British Geriatrics Society, and a Trustee of Cerebral Palsy Scotland.

“We come from lots of different, diverse backgrounds, but we are all an equal part of our community.”

Moe Oo

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