Tpiece Spring2016Contents:President’sreportTraineenewsCharityoptionsScottishSnippets
AnnualDinner2015inAberdeen
President’sReport
TheTpiecestartsanewyearwhich
seestheNHSundergoingtheusual
battlesthroughthewinterpressures,
increaseddemandforpaediatric
anaesthesiainputinandoutofthe
operatingroomandunresolved
issuesaroundsevendayworkingand
contracts.Whilethecorebusinessof
theAssociationofPaediatric
Anaesthetistsistosupport
education,standardsand
developmentofthosewhoare
involvedwithanaesthesiaofinfants
andchildrenundergoinganaesthesia,
itishardnottobeinfluencedbythe
currentissuesfacingtheprofession.
Thisprobablyisaveryimportant
timeforallus:occasional
practitioner,traineeorspecialistin
paediatricanaesthesiatomaintain
closetieswiththeAPA.Ourwebsite
continuestoexpandprovidingkey
informationoncurrentissues,and
theworkoftheeducationcommittee
ledbyMarkThomasandprofessional
standardsledbyBobBingham
maintainsastrongsourceof
informationandguidance.Welook
forwardtoafullBelfastAnnual
scientificmeeting(May4-6th)
completewithahalf-dayTrainee
meetingontheWednesdayat
nominalcost,parallelstreamsof
lecturesontheThursdayandFriday,
workshopsandagreatsocial
programme.Maintainingcontact
throughmembershipoftheAPAis
vitalatthistimesothatwecan
supporteachother.Werecentlysent
outamembershipsurvey,whichwill
helpCouncildirecteffortsand
activitiesinthenextyear.However,
wearealwayshappytorespondto
directcontact,suggestionsandcalls
foradviceandcontactdetailsareon
thewebsite.Mye-mailaddressis
takeafewdaystogetbacktoyou,I
willrespondassoonasIcan.
AstheAPAhasevolvedovertime,
themakeupofmembershipand
Councilhaschangedconsiderably
fromasmallergroupofspecialist
paediatricanaesthetists,toamuch
broaderbasethatreflectsthewide
spectrumofpaediatricanaesthesia.
ThecurrentCouncilreflectsnotonly
thedifferentenvironmentswhere
paediatricanaesthesiaisundertaken
butalsotheregionalapproachesto
practiceacrossGreatBritainand
Ireland.Wealsogetvaluableinput
fromanelectedoverseas
representative,atpresentheldby
WalidHabrefromGeneva.Itis
essentialthattheAPACouncil
continuestobeaninclusivegroup
andinordertomaintainthis
“freshness”thereneedstobea
regularintakeofnewCouncil
memberswhohavetheideasand
enthusiasmtotakepaediatric
anaesthesiaforward.Thishas
becomeincreasinglyimportantas
childrenwithcomplexneedsarenot
justfoundinlargespecialistcentres
andwaysneedtobefoundto
integratecarethroughoutregional
networksandwaysfoundto
maintainskillsandknowledge.I
wouldthereforeurgethosefrom
bothspecialistandmixedpracticeto
considerapplyingforCouncilelection
laterthisyearwhenvacancieswill
occur.Personally,after15years
associatedwithCouncilIstillfindit
reallystimulatingtoworkwitha
groupofenthusiasticindividualsas
wetryourbesttosupportthe
professionandpracticeofpaediatric
anaesthesia.
Wehavehadsomechangeson
Councilinthelastfewmonths.Karen
Bartholomewwhoisnostrangerto
APAcouncilthroughherworkwith
thelinkmanschemeisnowan
electedmembertoCouncil.Wealso
welcomeDrRichardMarks,Vice
PresidentoftheRoyalCollegeof
AnaesthetistsandDrUpmaMisra
CouncilmemberofAAGBIandonthe
EditorialBoardofAnaesthesia.Both
areco-optedtostrengthenourties
withthesetwoimportantnational
bodiesandcollaborateonmatters
paediatric.Formanyyears,theAPA
providedPeerreviewofpaediatric
anaestheticpracticeattherequestof
anaesthesiadepartmentsinorderto
evaluateallaspectsofpaediatrc
anaesthesiaanditsadjacencieswith
aviewtohelpthelocalteamimprove
theirpractice.Thisaspectofour
workwasmuchapprovedand
admiredbymanyofourcolleaguesin
otherspecialties.Recently,theRCoA
hasbegunrollingoutasimilar
schemeofqualityimprovement
throughpeerreviewthatcanbe
applieduniversallytoallhospitals.
ThisprocessofAnaesthesiaClinical
ServicesAccreditation(ACSA)has
drawnmuchfromourown
experienceofpeerreviewandSimon
Courtmanhasputahugeamountof
workwittheRcoAinestablishing
appropriatepaediatricneedswithin
thecoredomainsoftheACSA
process.Anothercurrentactive
collaborationisajointprojectwith
theRCoAledbyAlistairCranstonand
KathyWilkinsontodevelopa
micrositeforSafeguardinglevel3
trainingforanaesthetists.These
collaborativeprojectsallbodewell
forcloseintegratedworkingacross
theAnaestheticorganisationswith
theAPAprovidingacentral
touchstoneforspecialistadviceand
inputinpaediatricanaesthesia.
2015hasbeenagoodyearfor
researchwithintheAPA.Notonly
weretwopaediatricanaesthetic
projectsgivenGrantfundingbythe
NationalInstituteforAcademic
Anaesthesia(NIAA),butalso,the
resultsofapreviousAPA
commissionedandfundedresearch
project,the“painathomestudy”
waspublishedinthejournalPediatric
Anesthesia.SallyWilmshurst,from
GreatOrmondStreet,whohasbeen
appointedbyCounciltoleadthe
developmentofQuality
Improvement(QI)methodologyin
paediatricanaesthesia,iscurrently
workingonhowtohelpdifferent
departmentstosetupandundertake
QIprojectsinthefuture.Sallygavea
briefpresentationofhervisionon
howtorolloutthisprojectatthe
recentCouncilmeeting,andnowshe
hasbeentaskedtosetouta
blueprintofhowindividual
departmentscanorganiseandroll
outtheirinitialQIprojects.Please
watchoutforthisdevelopmenton
theAPAwebsite.Wearealsoaiming
tohelptheseprojectsgetoffthe
groundandwillbeworkingouthow
todothisinthenextfewmonthsas
theprocessdevelops.Thisyearalso
sawtheformationofthePaediatric
AnaesthesiaTraineeResearch
Network(PATRN)ledbyDrElin
Hugheswhoisthetraineerepon
CouncilincollaborationwithDrsZoe
HarclerodeandAnnaBarrow.They
havealreadystartedworkonsome
simpleprojectsandfollowinguseful
informaldiscussionswiththe
paediatricsurgicaltraineenetwork
wehopethatsomemorecomplex
collaborativestudiescouldbe
undertakeninthenextcoupleof
years.
Ilookforwardtoanenergetic2016
withabrilliantBelfastAnnual
ScientificMeeting.Wewillletyou
knowwhatyouhavecomeupwith
asprioritiesfortheAssociationfrom
themembershipsurvey.Meanwhile,
ifthisismoreconvenient,letushave
yourideasfornewprojectsandareas
youthinkweneedtoconcentrateon
inthenextcoupleofyears,anddo
considerwhetheryoumightwantto
applyforelectiontoCouncilinthe
future.
AndrewWolfAPAGBIPresident
TraineeNews
PATRN,thenewtraineeresearch
networkhashadaverygoodstart.
Sofar,overfortyAPAtrainee
membershavejoinedfromamixture
oftertiarycentresanddistrict
generalhospitals.Ourpilotproject,
ondaycasetonsillectomy,hasclosed
andthedatacrunchinghasbegun.A
secondprojectiscurrentlyonthego.
Anumberofothershavesuggested
projectsthatthey’dliketoput
throughthenetwork.ThePATRN
committeewouldliketosayabig
thankyoutothosewhohavejoined
andhelpedwiththefirstdata
collection.Wewillbecontactingyou
shortlywithcertificatesforyour
portfolios.Usingthenetwork,we
havethepotentialtocollectmuch
moremeaningfuldata,andhopefully
completesomeworthwhileprojects.
Ifyouwouldliketojoin,orhavea
projectidea,pleasegetintouchand
we’llseehowwecanhelp.Theemail
addressis
Thenew‘ArticleWatch’featureison
theAPAGBIwebsite.Thiscontainsa
summaryofthemostrecent
quarterlyarticlesofnoteinthefield
ofpaediatricanaesthesia.Thisisa
fantasticresourceforkeepingupto
date,lookingforjournalclub
inspiration,pre-interviewcramming
andguidingfurtherreading.Ifany
APAtraineememberswouldliketo
writean‘ArticleWatch’piece,email
I’dbehappytohelpyou.
Weareattemptingtoimproveand
updatetheexamquestionsonthe
APAGBIwebsite.AnAPAtrainee
memberDrDaveNewbyis
endeavouringtosetupanexam
writinggroup.Youmayhave
receivedanemailaboutthisalready
andcontactedhimdirectly,however
ifyoumissedit,hecanbecontacted
Ihavegainedanenormousamount
frommy(nearly!)twoyearsactingas
rep.Notonlydoyougetaninsight
intohowalargeorganisationlike
APAworks,itisfantasticplatformfor
interactingwithothertraineesin
paediatricanaesthesia,introducing
projectsthatcanhaveabigimpact
andseeingthemthroughtofruition.
Anyexpressionsofinterestin
becomingthenextrepresentative
shouldcometomeinitiallyandI’llbe
happytotalkyouthroughwhat’s
involved.
DrElinJonesAPAGBITraineeRepresentative
ONLYAFEWDAYSTOGO!
BOOKonlineNOW@
http://www.apagbi2016.co.uk
SAVEtheDATE
APALinkmanMeeting2016
MondayNovember7th
Birmingham–detailssoonat
http://www.apagbi.org.uk
Councilshorts:
NewmembersofCouncil
• KarenBartholomewelectedH0memember
• NirmalaSoundararajanelectedLinkmanCo-
ordinator
Congratulationstoboth
Electionseason
Electionswilltakeplaceinthesummerforanew
Traineerepresentativeandintheautumnfora
newHomemembertoCouncil.Detailswillbe
postedontheAPAwebsite.
APAMembersSurvey2016
ResultsandCouncil’sresponsewillbepostedon
thewebsitesoonaftertheASMinBelfast
JacksonReesLecture2015,AberdeenMr.ChrisAllenreceivedhisJacksonReesmedalfromDr.BobBingham,outgoing
APAPresident,attheAberdeenmeeting
Aberdeen2015
Overseasmissions
TheAPAisawarethatmany
anaesthetistsconsiderworking
overseasasavolunteerduringtheir
workinglives.Therearemany
websiteswithinformationforeach
individualcharityandthereissome
usefulinformationonboththe
AAGBIandRCoAwebsites.However,
thesedonotspecificallylookat
paediatricanaestheticpossibilities
abroad.
Therefore,wearetryingtosetupa
databaseforinformationforanyone
wishingtothinkaboutvolunteering
foranoverseaspaediatric
anaestheticplacement.Theaimisto
collectalistofthoseavailable,abrief
descriptionofwhattheworkentails,
contactdetailsofthecharitywebsite
andofanyonewhohasworkedfor
thatcharityiftheyarehappytobe
contactedbyanyonewhois
interested.Iamawarethatthereare
sometraineeopportunitiesbutalso
volunteeronesforconsultants.
Pleasecanyoueitherletmeknow
aboutanythatyouhavebeen
involvedinorareawareofandwe
willputthemonthewebsitefor
othersasaresource.
Manythanks
ScottishSnippetsThishasbeenaninterestingyearfor
paediatricanaesthesiainScotland
withtheopeningoftheRoyal
HospitalforchildreninGlasgow,the
hostingoftheAPAinAberdeenand
theretirementofoneoftheprevious
APApresidentsDrNeilMorton.
SPAN:TheWinterEducationmeeting
entitled“CriticalCareUpdate”on
the11thofDecemberprovedpopular.
Thecentrallocationandvariedtopics
drewalargegroupofpaediatric
enthusiastsfromaroundthecountry.
Themeetingconsistedoflecturesin
themorningsessionsandaseriesof
workshopsintheafternoon.
ThenextAGMwillbeheldonthe13th
ofMay2016intheTeachersbuilding
inGlasgowwithvideo-conferencing
beingavailableonrequest.Further
detailsandoutlineprogrammewill
beavailableonthespanwebsite:
www.span.scot.nhsinduecourse.
Scotlandhashadanexcellent
responsetothecallforinclusionin
theApricotstudywithallhospitals
submittingdata.DrTomEngelhardt
willhopefullypresentsomeofthe
findingsatthenextAGM.
SCCCSS:MrFraserMunrohasnowsucceeded
MrRoderickDuncanaschairofthis
groupofPaediatricSpecialty
Consultants.Therecontinuestobe
problemsrecruitingintopaediatric
surgicalspecialtypostssuchthatthe
long-termretentionofsuchservices
isanincreasingconcern.Ashortlife
workinggrouphasbeencollatinga
paperlookingathowtoensure
trainingenablesandinformsthe
futuregenerationsofpaediatric
surgicalspecialists.Areportformthis
shouldbeavailableinthenear
future.
NSD:Nationalservicesdivisionhas
recentlysetupanewgroupwhose
remitistoaudittheManagedClinical
NetworkswithinChildren’sSurgical
Servicestoensurechildrenare
receivingthebestcarepossible.
MEPA/MEPA-FC:Bothofthesecoursescontinuetobe
popularwithConsultantsand
traineeswishingupdate/enhance
theirpaediatricanaesthetic
management.Coursesarebasedat
theScottishCentreforSimulation
andClinicalHumanFactorsatForth
ValleyHospitalandcanbebooked
throughthewebsite:
www.scschf.org
CarolynSmithAPAGBIScottishRepresentative
ANDFINALLY
“Peter,only5moresleepsuntilthemeetinginBelfast.Ican’twait!”SeeyouallinBelfast.Haveasafejourney.