Contact your Regional Director
Our RCS England Regional and Devolved Nation Directors act as our key representatives locally. Regional Directors are fellows of the College who have been appointed to lead local engagement with members, fellows, Schools of Surgery and other key surgical stakeholder groups.
You may wish to contact your Regional Director for feedback on issues of local or national importance to RCS England and to find out more information about membership, guidance or resources. Your Director will be happy to hear from you!
Regional Directors also chair our Regional Boards and provide leadership to regional representatives including Regional Specialty Professional Advisers and Surgical Tutors. They can put you in touch with your trust or speciality representative. If you cannot get hold of your regional director please email Outreach North or Outreach South.

About Tawakir
My ethos is to bring the best out of our trainees through training, mentoring and coaching and by being a fair advocate for them. I am the Guardian of Safe Working for the Trust. I represent my Trust in the East Midlands Surgery for Children Network. As regional Director, other than being the surgical voice of the East Midlands, I continue to champion the wellbeing of our junior doctors.
Outside of work, I am a wife and a mother and love taking walks in the country, travelling and entertaining.

Richard Wharton, East of England
- Contact Richard: rwharton@rcseng.ac.uk
- We are now recruiting a Regional Director for the East of England, apply here by Friday 16 June 2023
Richard Wharton, East of England
About Richard
Outside of surgery, I enjoy cycling in the Norfolk countryside, organising piano concerts in my hospital and acting as a taxi service for my children.

James Casha, Kent and Surrey
- Contact James: jcasha@rcseng.ac.uk
- We are now recruiting a Regional Director for Kent, Surrey and Sussex, apply here by Friday 16 June 2023
James Casha, Kent and Surrey
About James
I was appointed as the RCS England Regional Director for Kent and Surrey in 2020, I'm also a member of the College's ATLS faculty, and act as an AAC representative and a member of the AO UK Trauma faculty. My other roles include Staff Governor on the Council of Governors EKHUFT and Co-Chair Audit and Governance Committee. I am particularly passionate about training, governance and wellbeing.
Outside of surgery, I am a husband and a father to my two daughters. My hobbies include history and photography. I am involved in work with several charities.

About Huma
My neurosurgical training in the UK was mainly based in London. I have been working as a consultant neurosurgeon at The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery since 2009. In addition to being a Regional Director, I am a faculty member. I am a passionate advocate for teaching and training and have worked as Training Programme Director for Neurosurgery. Currently, I am an accessor and even a question writer for the intercollegiate Neurosurgery exam!
My sub-specialist interests are:
- Brain Tumour surgery
- Gamma Knife peripheral nerve surgery eg carpal tunnel and nerve biopsies
- Intraventricular endoscopy for obstructive hydrocephalus, colloid cyst, Tumour biopsy
- Degenerate spine eg lumbar and cervical disc surgery, management of low back pain
Outside of medicine, I enjoy playing tennis, swimming and meditating.

Saswata Banerjee, London (North East)
- Contact Saswata: sbanerjee@rcseng.ac.uk
Saswata Banerjee, London (North East)
About Saswata
Outside work, I enjoy being on his bike in Epping Forest, being a parent and indulging in discovering great places to enjoy any world cuisine.

Bhavin Visavadia, London (North West)
- Contact Bhavin: bvisavadia@rcseng.ac.uk
Bhavin Visavadia, London (North West)
About Bhavin
My experience with higher surgical training, as assistant TPD and then as the SAC liaison representative, has allowed me to fully support both trainees and trainers. As Chair of the Consultants and Specialists Group of BAOMS, I engage with maxillofacial colleagues at all stages of their careers. I have a special interest in coaching and mentoring and have continued to support clinical staff – especially as we recover from the pandemic.
Being a Regional Director allows me to network with colleagues in other surgical specialities and allows the College's work to reach our surgeons and trainees. It is so important to continue to promote the College’s roles in providing externality, quality assurance and support at this time. I strongly believe that we have to embrace the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy and provide the best support for all our trainees, who all too often are in the crossfire of change and uncertainty.

Jerome Davidson, London (South)
- Contact Jerome: JDavidson@rcseng.ac.uk
Jerome Davidson, London (South)
About Jerome
In my spare time, I enjoy playing golf and trying and trying to keep fit in the gym.

About Gwen
When I’m not at work, I am a busy Mum to two young children and, if we’re not at home in North Yorkshire, we can be found on the incredibly beautiful beaches in Northumberland which is our ‘Happy Place’! Whether it’s digging sandcastles, in the water body boarding or paddle boarding we’re always enjoying the fresh air.
As Regional Director I am encouraging engagement between the region and the College by promoting College initiatives such as Parents in Surgery which I feel particularly passionate about. It’s imperative that, with the support of the College, our colleagues can continue to deliver high-quality care in this post-covid era and I will endeavour to facilitate this. We have two fantastic medical schools in the region, and engaging and encouraging this diverse group of talented people to pursue a career in surgery is also a fantastically rewarding part of my role.

Gemma Faulkner, North West (Eastern Sector)
- Contact Gemma: gfaulkner@rcseng.ac.uk
Gemma Faulkner, North West (Eastern Sector)
About Gemma

Ryan Baron, North West (Mersey / Western Sector)
- Contact Ryan:rbaron@rcseng.ac.uk
Ryan Baron, North West (Mersey / Western Sector)

Tim Nedas, South Central
- Contact Tim:tnedas@rcseng.ac.uk
- We are now recruiting a Regional Director for South Central (Oxford) and a Regional Director for South Central (Wessex), apply here by Friday 16 June 2023
Tim Nedas, South Central
Makis Laftsidis, South Coast
- Contact Makis: mlaftsidis@rcseng.ac.uk

About Katie

About Matthew
Throughout my career, I have been immersed in training and education. I finished up as Director of Medical Education in Plymouth for 7 years, including a spell on the Council of the National Association of Clinical Tutors. I was a member of the Court of Examiners of the RCS and a few years ago became an Assessor; I am due shortly to take up the role of Lead Assessor for the Intercollegiate Board.
I was delighted to be appointed Deputy Regional Director. It has provided a great opportunity to gain a better understanding of the range of activities in which the College is involved and the services that it provides. The great enjoyment of the role is liaising with my Director and the wonderful College Outreach Team to spread the word about all the good work that the College does and to try to engage surgeons with it, from the outer reaches of the South West.

Ayaz Lakdawala, West Midlands
- Contact Ayaz: alakdawala@rcseng.ac.uk
- We are now recruiting a Regional Director for the West Midlands, apply here by Friday 16 June 2023
Ayaz Lakdawala, West Midlands

Arin Saha, Yorkshire and the Humber
- Contact Arin: asaha@rcseng.ac.uk
Arin Saha, Yorkshire and the Humber
About Arin
I am a General, Upper GI and Bariatric Surgeon at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary (Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust). I obtained my undergraduate medical education at the University of Cambridge before moving to Yorkshire for Basic Surgical Training. I went on to complete a period of postgraduate research at the University of Leeds before completing my Higher Surgical Training in the Yorkshire and the Humber Deanery.
I am proud to be part of an award-winning surgical team which has worked to design novel job plans for surgeons and trainees, challenging and changing the traditional ways of working; many of these changes have led to markedly improved outcomes after both elective and emergency surgery in Huddersfield. I was appointed as the Regional Director for Yorkshire and the Humber in 2019 and am passionate about fostering and promoting connections between surgeons and trainees across specialities, throughout our region. I am proud of the outcomes and training that Yorkshire delivers and am grateful for the opportunity to represent our region within the wider College environment. I am a keen advocate for fairness and sustainability and believe that the College plays a vital role in developing the future of our profession; the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy is a crucial part of this role. We have three brilliant medical schools in our region and an important part of our regional strategy is to engage with our students and encourage and inspire them into surgery.
I am determined to ensure that the health and well-being of all members of our surgical teams is maintained and strongly believe in the importance of a healthy work/life balance; away from surgery, I am a keen (though not particularly able) footballer and enjoy spending as much time as possible with my family; when not working, weekends are spent watching and ferrying my children to and from football matches with time spent walking and cycling whenever possible.
I am happy and keen to be contacted by anyone in the region and strive to improve the working lives of my friends and colleagues throughout Yorkshire.
Devolved Nations

About Irfan
I completed my higher degree (MD) at the University of Leeds, funded by the Royal College of Surgeons of England via a research fellowship. I completed my higher surgical training in Mid Trent Higher Surgical Rotation and was appointed Consultant Surgeon in NHS Grampian in 2007. I hold academic appointments at the University of Aberdeen as an Honorary Professor and a visiting Professor at Robert Gordon University. I also serve on the Court of Examiners for RCS England and JCIE (Joint Committee of Intercollegiate Examinations).
Outside of surgery, I am a husband and father to three beautiful children (a son and two daughters) who are now starting their professional careers. This gives me time to follow my passions, including aviation, studying nature and charity work.

About Mark
Within work, I am passionate about transforming our health service and supporting colleagues to achieve their potential. I have a keen interest in supporting our surgical trainees and am passionate about innovation, change and collective leadership within the HSCNI. In 2017 I was appointed to the Department of Health’s Transformation Implementation Group (TIG) and in 2020 to its Regional Management Board. In 2022 l led the Department’s Review of General Surgery standards document which provides a blueprint of best practices for our local hospitals. I am also the District Surgeon and Trustee of St. John Ambulance.
What I enjoy the most about being the Northern Ireland Director is working with the incredible team of people from the College and board members to highlight the needs of patients and the surgical community, as well as lobbying stakeholders on ways we can accelerate elective recovery.
