‘I am sorry to have to inform you that Jonathan Frappell, past president of the BSGE (2010-2012), died early on Thursday morning 22nd February.

‘Lovely, kind, humble and a true gentleman describe Jonathan to a tee. He was a great surgeon at the forefront of MAS in gynaecology working as a consultant in Plymouth. Although retired he continued to maintain his contact with the Society.

‘Jonathan had sent me an email the day before to let us know, that due to illness, he would be unable to join us in Belfast for the ASM. He will be sorely missed.’

The post In memory of BSGE Past President Jonathan Frappell appeared first on BSGE.

• Vice President, who will after two years become BSGE President (1 vacancy)
• Honorary Secretary (1 vacancy)
• Senior Council Member (5 vacancies)
• Senior Trainee Representative ST5-ST7 (1 vacancy)
• Junior Trainee Representative ST1-ST4 (1 vacancy)

Each BSGE member will be able to vote for each position up for election. Members should vote for the person or persons that you wish to be elected. Positions will be awarded to the candidate with the highest number of votes.

Please note that your ballot form can only be submitted once, so you should be careful and ensure that you have selected the candidate or candidates you wish to vote for in each of the positions open for election. All submitted ballots are final and cannot be changed, any attempts to submit multiple votes will not be counted when calculating the final results.

 The important dates to remember:

Closing date for voting is Monday, 25th March 2024 at 5pm.

 Results will be announced at the BSGE 2024 Annual General Meeting on Thursday, 2nd May, 2024.

Check out the candidates and submit your vote at : https://www.bsge.org.uk/elections-2024/

The post BSGE Elections 2024 appeared first on BSGE.

Our Manchester ASM was finally realised over 19^th – 21^st April, a mere 3 years after it was originally planned. We ran a hybrid meeting in the end to allow as many of our colleagues to attend as possible, due to the unfortunate clash with Eid al-Fitr. My thanks to Sujata Gupta and her team for sticking with it and to all our members and industry partners for making it happen. It was our first ASM working with Outsource Events, our Professional Conference Organiser, who with Atia and her team delivered the biggest and arguably one of our most successful ASMs ever.  Highlights included live surgery and cadaveric dissection supported by our Rhodium sponsors Karl Storz and Ethicon Endo Surgery and RCOG President Ranee Thakar who was this year’s Alec Turnbull Lecturer. Feedback was excellent with particular regard to the program, venue, networking and catching up with colleagues. It was felt that some aspects of the catering could be improved but overall the significant majority of us were very happy and would come again!

So with that in mind next year is Belfast. It will be first time that the BSGE have held a meeting in Northern Ireland, something that is well overdue.  The program is drafted and pre-congress courses planned with cadaveric and live surgery sessions on the Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Shaun McGowan and his team have laid on a social program to rival the best. Dining in First Class in the Titanic Galleries and dancing in Steerage says it all. This year we have capacity for over 500 at dinner so partners and significant others will be most welcome. I said this about Manchester but this really will not be one to miss. Registration opens soon so have your abstracts ready and please put the dates in your diary and maybe plan a little extra time to enjoy Belfast and it’s hospitality before or after the conference.

The ASM for 2025 has been awarded to Leeds again scheduled for early May. Planning has already started with visits to Leeds and the venues. Our local team is in Leeds is led by Dorota Hardy and James Tibbott who will be updating us in Belfast.

RIGS has been a growing success within the Society and our national training programme has entered it’s 3^rd year, organised centrally but delivered locally. The new format of single days for basic, intermediate and advanced has simplified the admin and travel as well as making attendance easier regarding study leave and faculty. This along with GESEA Certification and our hysteroscopy and laparoscopy courses run jointly with the RCOG provide a substantial portfolio of postgraduate training in minimal access surgery for our members.

Nurse members have been extremely active as part of, and outside of, the ASM with their own streams and workshops.  The Endometriosis CNS study day in London was a real success and I am looking forward to the BSGE Nurse Hysteroscopy course in December.

At the time of writing we have just concluded the 2^nd Seniors Professional Development Meeting at the MATTU in Guildford generously supported by Storz and Ethicon Endo Surgery. Joe Amaral, who was part of the team that developed ultrasonic energy devices for use in Minimally Invasive Surgery in the early 1990s, led an extremely stimulating session on the Thursday, with live surgery and lab skills on the Friday interspersed with a convivial dinner and networking on Thursday evening. There is more on this in the latest edition of Scope. Moving forward I hope that this meeting will become a fixture in the BSGE calendar delivering something different year on year.

Our relationship with Europe remains strong. Yet again the UK were the largest national group attending the ESGE held in Brussels. Travelling by Eurostar had the additional excitement this year of mixing with Scottish supporters on their way to Lille for the Rugby World Cup. The later trains I understand were slightly more lively than those early morning slots.You will find the conference reports entertaining. Next year the meeting is in Marseilles slightly later than usual towards the end of October.

As always my thanks to Atia and Charis, our secretariat, and of course my fellow officers and council members, who along with our BSGE faculty, make it all happen. It takes a lot of hard work and does not happen by itself but it is incredibly rewarding, so do think of getting involved. BSGE elections are just around the corner so why not give a it a go and put yourselves forward. You won’t regret it.

2023 is now nearly over and I am officially senior! Not only that but my time as President is drawing to a close and I will be handing over to Arvind Vashist towards the end of our meeting in Belfast. The two years has just disappeared which runs true to the adage the time really does fly when you are having fun.

So once again as the holidays draw near I would like to wish you all the best for the Season and hope you will all get some time off with your families and friends.  Here’s looking forward to 2024. May it be an even better one.

Andrew Kent

BSGE President

The post President’s Seasonal Message appeared first on BSGE.

‘It is with great sadness that I have to report that David Redwine, a previous Alec Turnbull Lecturer and Honorary Member of our Society, has died unexpectedly at home in Phoenix, Arizona. Certainly a giant in our field and a great friend to many. 

‘Our thoughts will be with Laurie and his family.’

Dr David Redwine was a pioneer in endometriosis research and treatment making important contributions to the understanding of endometriosis and its surgical excision.

Before his retirement in 2012, Dr Redwine headed the world-renowned and award-winning Oregon Institute of Endometriosis at St. Charles Medical Center, Bend, Oregon. He operated on thousands of women with endometriosis from all across the USA, Canada and beyond. He will be greatly missed.

The Society will feature an obituary of David Redwine in the next issue of The Scope, which will be released in December.

The post In memory of Dr David Redwine appeared first on BSGE.

‘The RCOG are currently recruiting clinical representatives for their Women’s Network. This is an exciting opportunity for a clinician who is passionate about helping guide the patient and public involvement activity across the College.’

The RCOG Women’s Network is a strategic RCOG committee. There are 14 core lay members and four clinicians from across the UK on the Network which meets four times a year.

Members represent the Network across a wide range of RCOG activities, ensuring the service user perspective is at the heart of RCOG discussions and decision making. Selected for their broad expertise and passion for women’s health, Network members help the College with the development of guidelines, patient information, training and education, continuing professional development, audit and quality improvement and policy. They also bring insight into the College on current and emerging issues in women’s health which may need consideration and action, and lead their own projects.

The clinical representatives on the Network work alongside the lay members to ensure the College is putting the patient/public perspective at the heart of all it does. The clinical representatives can bring their experience and understanding from frontline practice, including knowledge of some of the challenges and issues affecting women and people, to help inform the Women’s Network views and work plan.

Network members serve a three year term, with the potential of serving one further term.

BSGE members who are interested in getting involved should apply by Sunday 5 November. Click on the link below to find out more:

https://brnw.ch/21wDwXQ

The post RCOG Committee Recruitment appeared first on BSGE.

With the theme ‘Back to basics’ presentations will include expert speakers on:

• The BSGE database
• The patient’s story
• The initial consultation
• Using Dienogest in practice
• Endometriosis and the bowel
• The evolving role of the nurse
• Encouraging self-management
• A holistic approach to pain management

There is a discounted rate for BSGE members of £100, however non-members are welcome for a fee of £125.

Course organiser Gilly Macdonald, BSGE Endometriosis CNS representative, encouraged members to register for this course that will provide  valuable training and a great opportunity to share information and support with fellow professionals.

Find out more and register at

www.bsge.org.uk/event/bsge-autumn-endo-cns-education-day-2023/

The post Endometriosis CNS Autumn Education Day appeared first on BSGE.

Stephen Quinn was a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at St Mary’s Hospital and also practised at the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s and the Portland Hospital for women and children. He was a valued member of the BSGE, President Andrew Kent paid tribute to Stephen and sent his condolences to his family:

‘Stephen was a wonderful person. I got to know him when he was on our MSc at Guildford. He was a skilled clinician, taken before his time.’

A proud Yorkshireman, Stephen was born in Ugglebarnby near Whitby and attended schools in Eskdale and Whitby. He gained his MBBS from University College London in 2001 and then trained in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Oxford, Dublin, Sydney and London. He completed his Doctorate of Medicine at Imperial College, studying uterine fibroids and gained a masters in Advanced Gynaecological Endoscopy at the University of Surrey.

Stephen was an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at Imperial College London, teaching medical students and acting as the principal investigator of multiple research studies into uterine fibroids, adenomyosis and recurrent miscarriage.

Stephen operated to remove 100 fibroids during one remarkable procedure, which the BBC filmed in episode 1 of ‘Your Body Uncovered’. The BBC rescreened the episode on June 19^th in his honour.

Many tributes to Stephen have been published online, one said:

‘Stephen was amazingly kind, compassionate and empathetic to the women he cared for. He is one of the kindest doctors I have had the pleasure of working with. Stephen is an irreplaceable loss to his profession, but most of all to his family and friends.’

The charity Wellbeing of Women has set up a fund in Stephen’s name to support the next generation of doctors caring for women’s health. You can donate by clicking here.

Mr Stephen Quinn is survived by his wife of 15 years, Annabel, his 13-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son. Stephen’s family said:

‘Stephen spent his career dedicated to women’s health, starting from his medical school elective when he encountered the impact of obstetric complications first hand. As well as being a dedicated doctor, he was a lovely dad, husband, son, brother, uncle and friend and we will all miss him very much.’

Stephen’s funeral will take place on Friday 30th June at St Vigor’s Church, Fulbourn, Cambridge at 11am where all are welcome; this will be followed by a committal service at Cam Valley Crematorium for family and close friends at 1pm.

Friends and colleagues can share their thoughts and memories of Stephen on:

https://stephenquinn.muchloved.com

The post In memory of Mr Stephen Quinn appeared first on BSGE.

The ESGE Advisory Board Elections applications have now closed and voting is now open for ESGE members.  BSGE members will receive a unique link to vote from the voting platform directly.

In case you have not received this link or in case you have further questions, please send an e-mail to the ESGE Central Office: centraloffice@esge.org

The deadline for voting is Monday 10th April 2023

The post ESGE Advisory Board Elections 2023 appeared first on BSGE.

The next Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held at 5.30 pm on 20th April 2023 in the Exchange Auditorium, Manchester Central at the end of first day of BSGE Annual Scientific Meeting. The AGM will consider suggested amendments to the constitution. Honorary Secretary Kirana Arambage said:

‘The constitutional changes aim to expand Council to include new portfolios due to increased membership over the last few years. We now have over 1,600 members including the recently introduced Overseas Members- we are expanding the portfolios to provide increased cover for the increased work of the Society.

‘RIGs has gone from strength to strength, so we are adding an extra Trainee Representative to support the growing numbers of trainee members. You can see the document with the suggested amendments by clicking here:  Amendments to BSGE Constitution. The changes are highlighted in yellow.’

Kirana asked members to consider the changes, saying:

‘I would be grateful for your kind comments and suggestions. You may wish to compare the amendments with the constitution which was agreed at the AGM in 2019.

‘During the AGM, you will hear from the BSGE Officers and you can get an update on the achievements of each BSGE portfolio and their plans for the future.

‘I would welcome any items you have for the agenda and really hope you put this date in your diary. Your opinions and comments are highly appreciated. Please email them to bsge@rcog.org.uk by 1st April 2023.’

The post Proposed constitution changes at the BSGE appeared first on BSGE.

‘We are already rushing through 2023 and our long awaited conference in Manchester will soon be upon us. I hope that many of you will be able to join us and as part of this attend the AGM on the Thursday evening on 20th April. You will receive notification of this in due course with some minor changes of our constitution for you to consider prior to the meeting.

‘We will also be announcing the results of the current round of elections for Council.

‘To that effect the Council elections are now live on the BSGE website and I urge you to take a few minutes and vote for for your preferred candidates.’

This year there are three senior vacancies  (out of five candidates) and one trainee vacancy (with two candidates applying for the position). The two nurse specialist vacancies were uncontested so Gilly Macdonald and Caroline Bell will serve a second term on Council in their current roles.

the election is a first past the post system for all posts. All fully paid members of the Society, based in UK, can vote for any candidate in any of the categories.

The closing date for voting is on Friday, 24th March 2023 at 5pm.

The post BSGE Elections appeared first on BSGE.