Welcome to our elected Council members 2023
20 Apr 2023
We are pleased to announce that Professor Vivien Lees, a consultant plastic surgeon in Manchester, has been elected as Vice President. She will begin her three-year term in July.
We are also delighted to share that the membership has elected six members to our College Council. We are delighted to welcome Ms Ginny Bowbrick, Professor Andrew Carr, Miss Bryony Lovett, Mr Ram Moorthy and Mrs Dorothy Kufeji to the team. We also welcome back Professor Peter Sagar, who will be returning to Council as an elected member following his first term as an ASGBI Representative. All six will be formally admitted to Council in the summer.
Thank you to our demitting Council members for all the work they have done on behalf of members and the College: Professor Neil Mortensen, Mr Tim Goodacre, Mr Richard Kerr, Mr Ananda Nanu, Professor Tim Rockall, Miss Victoria Pegna and Mr John Abercrombie (demitted in 2022).
Learn more about them and their priorities as Council members below, and find out more about our current Council members.
Vivien Lees – Consultant Plastic Surgeon
Professor Vivien Lees is Professor of Plastic Surgery at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester where she is specialty lead and has clinical interests in hand surgery including wrist, rheumatoid and children’s hand disorders. She is particularly concerned with issues of access to surgical careers of the UK in the face of rising costs of training.Vivien Lees – Consultant Plastic Surgeon
Peter Sagar – Consultant Surgeon/Professor of Colorectal Surgery
Specialty: General SurgeryPeter Sagar – Consultant Surgeon/Professor of Colorectal Surgery
Accepting current healthcare challenges, at the College we can help.
Early years:
- Tackle disparity of access to quality training with enthusiastic trainers
- Work with hospitals to provide appropriate office accommodation, nutritious food 24/7 & suitable rest facilities.
- Proactively promote the pleasures of careers in surgery to students & trainees.
Middle years:
- Eliminate the normalisation of bureaucratic mediocrity.
- Counter the toxic culture of guilty until proven innocent for doctors in difficulty
Later years:
- Ensure hospitals value the talents of the surgical workforce to underpin career development
Everyone:
- Embed equality, diversity & inclusivity in surgical culture.
Remember: nobody wins unless everybody wins.
Ginny Bowbrick – Consultant Vascular Surgeon
Specialty: Vascular SurgeryGinny Bowbrick – Consultant Vascular Surgeon
Bringing my experience in Training, Workforce Planning and Diversity & Inclusion, my 3 priorities are:
- Training backlogs and extensions
- Workforce crisis
- Tackling BUH and lack of inclusivity with the need to change culture in Surgery
Ultimately I hope this will improve the care and outcomes of our patients and also the working lives of all surgeons.
About me:
- Consultant Vascular Surgeon
- Head of School of Surgery, KSS
- Chair, Vascular Surgery SAC
- Clinical Advisor, HEE Workforce Alignment
- Chair, RCSE Pride in Surgery Forum (PRiSM) for LGBTQ+ surgeons and allies
- Participant in Regional and National projects for neurodiversity for trainees and patients
Andrew Carr – Nuffield Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery Honorary Consultant Surgeon
Specialty: Trauma and OrthopaedicsAndrew Carr – Nuffield Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery Honorary Consultant Surgeon
My reason for wishing to serve on Council is to offer experience gained from senior leadership positions in the NHS and in UK and European Universities. In particular to promote and support the overall role of the college and to enable improvements in research and teaching in all surgical fields. My three main priorities are firstly to increase participation of surgical patients in high quality observational studies and multi-centre randomised trials to enable evidence based decisions, secondly to encourage and support career long improvements in wellbeing and work life balance and thirdly to promote equality and diversity among surgeons.
Bryony Lovett – Consultant Surgeon, Medical Director for Surgery MSE Foundation Trust, Chair of the Court of Examiners
Specialty: General and Colorectal SurgeryBryony Lovett – Consultant Surgeon, Medical Director for Surgery MSE Foundation Trust, Chair of the Court of Examiners
20 years’ experience as a Consultant Surgeon, Medical Director for Surgery merging three Trusts, MBBS and MRCS Examiner and Court Chair, RCS Human Factors Tutor, WIST Council member and ASiT President, Deanery and professional standards setting (ICBSE/ IQA) roles equip me to:
- support the College in its strategic aims whilst our Profession faces unprecedented challenges; surgical backlog, workforce and financial pressures
- be passionate about promoting surgical careers, teaching and training to sustain excellent patient care, research and innovation
- to develop multidisciplinary team working
From my experience and insight I also understand the commitment of sitting on Council.
Ram Moorthy – Consultant ENT/ Head and Neck Surgery
Specialty: Otolaryngology - Head and Neck SurgeryRam Moorthy – Consultant ENT/ Head and Neck Surgery
The NHS is in crisis. The backlog is rising, a motivated and well-trained surgical workforce is vital to resolve
the crisis. Council must provide strong and diverse leadership, reflective of the membership.
My three priorities if elected to Council will be:
- Supporting SAS surgeons with tailored career development including CESR support.
- Ensure that the College provide more regional support, in-person and virtually, aimed at early and mid-career consultant surgeons.
- Supporting trainees in the development of both technical skills and non-technical skills required for a modern surgeon, minimising any financial burden placed on the aspiring surgeon
