Sanjay Vyas is the senior gynaecologist at Southmead Hospital, Bristol, where he has been a Consultant for over 20 years. He is also an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Bristol.

Sanjay qualified from the University of London in 1985 and is a nationally recognised expert in gynaecology, laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery and pelvic ultrasound scans. A large proportion of his surgical work involves keyhole surgery for treatment of heavy periods, ovarian cysts, endometriosis and other benign conditions. The majority of his patients have been referred directly to him for this expertise, and other consultants locally regularly seek his opinion.

Sanjay has been an elected member of the Councils of both the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and was elected to be Vice President of the British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy in 2016. His work has contributed to significant improvements in the structure and provision of training junior doctors, and he is regularly invited to lecture at national and international educational meetings.

The BSGE is a respected and influential specialist society due to the passion and vision of our past and current members. I wish to build on these achievements to ensure women have access to the best endosurgical care. It is for this reason I would like the opportunity to step up and lead our society. I believe that I can enhance the status of gynaecological endoscopic surgery in the UK and exert influence on training and the current / future roles of specialist nurses and consultants. I aim to achieve this using my national / international profile and the experiences I have gained from involvement in the BSGE and the wider NHS.

I have contributed to the BSGE for over 20 years through lecturing, training, writing papers / guidelines and serving on sub-committees. I have been a member of BSGE Council since 2013, leading the Research & Audit portfolio where I conceived and developed the BSGE surgical information collection system (www.bsgesics.com). Other BSGE contributions include establishing our clinical studies group in 2011 (research funding > £5 million) and chairing the BSGE Endocentres scientific group. I was on RCOG Council (2007-2013). I am a scientific editor (BJOG and Gynaecological Surgery), a member of the NIHR Research Panel, the NICE HMB guideline and RCOG Clinical Informatics committees.

I am proud to be part of the BSGE and have greatly enjoyed exchanging ideas and making new friends. I will do my very best as VP and President of the BSGE.

As a minimal access surgeon with over 20 years experience, I learnt my trade under the
auspices of Chris Sutton and Percy Coats. I have been a consultant in Guildford since 2001.
My skills set includes advanced laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgery, particularly with
relation to endometriosis, uterine disease and prolapse. I am Director of Gynaecological
Surgery and Research at the MATTU and Clinical Director of the MSc in Advanced
Gynaecological Endoscopy at the University of Surrey.
Credentials
I have previously served on both the BSGE and ESGE Councils. I have substantial experience
in delivering training programs, including budgetary responsibility and program management.
I have over the years developed excellent relationships with industry, who continue to support
the society and training for our speciality as whole. It is vital that we maintain and foster this
support.
Ethos:
It is important that we value and nurture our human resource, from which will flow excellent
patient care. I would like to help take our society back to its’ roots whilst looking to the
challenges of the future, with training and the sharing of knowledge at it’s heart.
As Treasurer I feel that I would be in a good position to help with this task.

Having served on the BSGE council for more than 7 years, (trainee rep 2009-11, senior council member since 2013), I feel ready to step up and continue to offer my services as an officer with the role of the Honorary Secretary.

Some of my contributions as a council member include setting up the video library and starting and overseeing the video competitions (both of which have been running successfully since 2009) and leading the project of the new website, from concept to launch. Perhaps the contribution I am most proud of has been proposing, editing and producing our newsletter, The Scope, the 9th issue of which is coming out shortly.

I would like to think that I have been able to do my share of work to make our society stronger than ever and I also hope that I have been able to demonstrate that I can spot areas that need improvement, come up with ideas to make things better and take the lead and work hard to execute them and bring them to fruition.

My clinical practice is almost solely dedicated to advanced endometriosis surgery, leading two of the busiest BSGE accredited endometriosis centres in Chertsey and Tehran.

I believe there is a lot more work to be done, particularly for our trainees and I would welcome the opportunity to continue to be a part of it.

Kirana is a Consultant Gynaecologist at the BSGE accredited Endometriosis Care and Research (CaRe) Centre at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford having completed the RCOG/ATSM in advanced laparoscopic surgery. He won RCOG Bernhard Baron travelling fellowship and BSGE travel scholarship to visit centres of excellence in France (Strasbourg, Rouen) and in Australia (Melbourne).

Kirana has been an active member of the BSGE since 2009. He was elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2014 as the trainee’s representative of the BSGE council. He had proposed, designed and co-organised the annual BSGE fresh cadaveric laparoscopic anatomy course in Oxford University, which continues to have excellent feedback. He is great passion for training and has been a faculty member of the RCOG benign gynaecology/laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgery courses.

He has been a part of BSGE subcommittees contributing to SCOPE e-newsletters, guidelines, laparoscopic and hysteroscopic training. He co-organised the first Young Endoscopic Platform (YEP) meeting at the Jubilee ASM of BSGE and represented ESGE/YEP from 2013-15 developing networks between European trainees.

He is a member of the medical advisory panel of Endometriosis UK and contributes to it's charitable activities. His MSc in advanced gynaecological endoscopy from University of Surrey (with merit pass) evaluated a structured training module for any laparoscopy, which has helped feed the proposed RCOG national simulation curriculum.

Kirana is a co-author for the latest Cochrane review of surgical treatment of endometriosis and guidelines (to be published) on management of distension media in hysteroscopy and consent for laparoscopic surgery.

Kirana was a trainee representative for the BSGE and was elected to become a senior council member in 2016. His experiences and relationships created, have given him insight in to the working of our society and views of our membership, which enables him to effectively represent and continue to improve services for the members.

For me, the BSGE stands out amongst fellow national societies in its inclusiveness, forward thinking and its effectiveness to responsibly drive through key issues such as training programmes, setting standards and national governance.
I was lucky enough to have been the Chair of the Organising Committee for the 2015 BSGE Silver Jubilee meeting. In this role I gained considerable understanding and experience of the working of the society, its profile, role, projects and administration.
I had ample opportunity to work with members of Council as well as a significant number of members nationwide spanning nurses, junior and seniors who worked collaboratively with me to make the meeting the biggest and most profitable annual scientific meeting yet.
Having whet my appetite, I am keen to serve the society in a productive fashion and I want to help ensure that it continues in its direction:
- to reach out to all gynaecology endoscopy subspecialties
- to recognise and represent multi-disciplinary team members
- to appeal, encourage and facilitate education for trainees.
To this end I am already involved in BSGE anatomy and surgical training workshops, and it would be a pleasure to assume greater responsibility with Council.

Natasha Waters trained in laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgery in Australia, France (European Institute of Telesurgery, IRCAD, Strasbourg) and Minimal Access Therapy Training Unit, Surrey alongside gynaecology, urology and colorectal colleagues. She maintain links with Strasbourg and as a faculty member for the annual Business, Engineering and Surgical Technology Course at the Institute of Hybrid Surgery.
She works at Western Sussex Hospitals Trust which performs around 90% of our hysteroscopic procedures in ambulatory (office) setting, which has changed from 12% in 2012. The Trust is continually looking into ways to minimise discomfort and pain for the patients. They introduced the vaginoscopic approach as a default approach for hysteroscopy combined with the opportunity to be fully informed about the procedure before coming to the clinic and have any concerns answered by nurses on arrival at the clinic along with short waiting times before the actual procedure which made a substantial difference in pain scores.

Natasha supports trainees though mentoring and Fellowship in Ambulatory Gynaecology and works on safety and complication prevention in laparoscopy and hysteroscopy and in particular, support trainees to develop their roles as future Leaders in Ambulatory Care. She recently completed the Diploma in Clinical Risk and Claims Management.

In hysteroscopy, together with European colleagues, Natasha is working on developing and improving the Ambulatory Gynaecology Training module and the work has started on updating current Hysteroscopy ATSM.

In laparoscopy, Natasha is working on BSGE National Laparoscopic Hysterectomy (LapHyst) Project as a Governance and Research Lead for the Project alongside Jim English, Mark Whittaker and Ertan Saridogan. The project is working on safe introduction of training for Laparoscopic Hysterectomy similar to LAPCO program with the aim of increasing the national rate of laparoscopic hysterectomies to 30-40% and with the aim of training program to become self-perpetuating.

Chris has been a consultant gynaecologist in Portsmouth since 2001. He is the lead for minimally invasive gynaecological surgery and developed the Southern Endometriosis Centre in 2003, which is now part of the Endometriosis Centres network in the UK. Chris has been involved with training and education for gynaecological endoscopy for many years. He has been part of the faculty at the Minimal Access Therapy Training Unit (MATTU) in Guildford and has also been a Programme Director for the Advanced Gynaecological Endoscopy MSc at the University of Surrey. He has helped establish a simulation training unit in Portsmouth and has helped with the introduction of basic endoscopic training for trainees in the Wessex region.

Chris is involved in a number of the College courses for both laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgery and has also been on the Scientific Advisory Committee for hysteroscopic surgery for the annual scientific meetings of the American Association of Gynecological Laparoscopists (AAGL).
Chris has been on Council since September 2014 and will be taking over as Chair of the Endometriosis Centres project from May of this year.

Donna has completed a two-year term as trainee representative on the BSGE council, from 2016-2018, and sits on the BSGE subcommittees for Awards & Bursaries and Communications & Website.

She has gained considerable experience in minimal access surgery, having won a BSGE travelling fellowship in 2013 to work within Sydney Women’s Endosurgery Centre and having completed the ATSM in advanced laparoscopy, subsequently commencing a Post CCT fellowship at the Wirral University Teaching Hospital. She has recently been appointed as Consultant at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals.

Donna has supported the development of Registrars in Gynaecological Surgery (RIGs) to improve opportunities and communication amongst trainees. She conducted a BSGE laparoscopic training survey and completed the RCOG Gynaecological Surgery training analysis for 2017. Having identified deficiencies in training across the UK she subsequently conceived, organised and implemented the RIGs/ BSGE Intermediate Laparoscopy Course in 2018.

Donna was responsible for the introduction of the ‘Pecha Kucha’ into the BSGE Annual Scientific Meeting as well as organising the first trainee breakout session. She is organising faculty for the 2018 pre-congress video-editing workshop and the RIGs Annual Dinner in Edinburgh.

I have been a member of the BSGE for more than 20 years and a regular attender of the annual meetings. I would like to be elected to the council to further the society’s aims to improve standards, promote training and encourage innovation by the exchange of ideas within the MAS community.

My experience as Consultant Gynaecologist since 2001 and Clinical Director for Gynaecology at the Bart’s Health, the country’s largest trust (2012-2015), and my current post as Clinical director for Women’s services at Whipps Cross has given me the level of experience that would aid me in the role of council member.

My passion is for the delivery, promotion, and training of consistently high quality MAS. At Whipps cross this has resulted in 100% women needing surgery having their ectopics treated laparoscopically irrespective of site or haemodynamic status with trainees performing most of the procedures, and more than 50% of hysterectomies and myomectomies being performed laparoscopically.

To help promote laparoscopic hysterectomy I am a preceptor on the BSGE lap hysterectomy programme. To promote training I am a preceptor to one of the only 5 advanced ATSM trainees in the country and my trainees having won prizes for their presentations at BSGE ASM for 3 years in a row.

I am driven and welcome innovation for patient outcomes having published widely on topics including ectopic pregnancy, laparoscopic myomectomy and hysterectomy.

As a council member, I hope to continue to help eliminate women’s healthcare delivery disparities and raise systematic health care issues for women using information technology and App development to acquire and disseminate information to effect change in practice.

I have many years of experience working with women in all aspects of their care. Practising in outpatients, operating theatre (Gynae sister) and ward departments.
The past sixteen years provided me with the opportunity to work with women diagnosed with severe endometriosis. This inspired me to look at how we can enable women to manage their disease and understand the impact it has on them and their family. My work involves input with patients support groups, facilitating, teaching and training for health care professionals and being part of various committees. I am a member of Endometriosis UK medical advisory panel which I see as an important link to the everyday work we do in offering verbal and written advice, information and support. I am a member of the NICE guideline committee and the James Lind Alliance (JLA) PSP steering group; demonstrating the need for guidance and a firm commitment to offer the best care available by researching the way forward. I am passionate about nursing and remain committed to sharing my skills, knowledge and expertise in order to achieve this goal. It will be a privilege to represent my colleagues by being a member of the BSGE committee and look forward to working with the RCN to move the role of the endo nurse forward.

I have been an active member of the BSGE over the years and believe I would be an excellent representative. I have previously been the Trainee representative 2011-13. During that period, one of the things I was proudest of was helping to develop the first TLH training course with Ethicon, this has subsequently grown and involvement with industry has grown leading to more excellent courses be offered. Currently I am on the Endometriosis Sub-committee and working closely with the endometriosis nurse specialists. My interests are MAS training and Endometriosis, these are the areas I would keen to represent and help build on.

I am a Consultant at the Royal Cornwall hospital and work as part of the Endometriosis service and ambulatory gynaecology team promoting MAS and supporting our trainees in developing their skills. I would like to take this opportunity to bring my ideas and enthusiasm to the council.

I work as a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at The Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead, London specialising in Advanced Minimally Invasive Gynaecological Endoscopic Surgery.

In 2014 I was elected as a BSGE council member in charge of the trainee portfolio and re elected in 2016. During my 3 years on council I founded the trainee group RIGS (Registrars in Gynaecological Surgery) aiming to improve training and resources. Since inception RIGS has grown from strength to strength and 13 UK regional representatives have been appointed. In addition, we have initiated RIGS training courses and have regular breakout meetings and events at annual scientific meetings.

I have recently completed an MSc in Advanced Gynaecological Endoscopy based at the University of Surrey and currently my research includes work on endometriosis, humidification in laparoscopic surgery, design and validation of a laparoscopic hysterectomy scoring system, 3D and Robotics. In addition, I am actively involved in teaching and part of over 15 National and International course faculty.

I continually fundraise for Endometriosis UK. In 2014, I ran the London Marathon raising £2,333.75, In 2016 I ran the British Vitality London 10Km run, raising over £740 and am scheduled to run again in July 2017.

My continuous research, teaching and training activity has led me to have good relationships with industry. As well as this my time previously spent on council will enable me to contribute not only to the continuous growth of RIGS but also at representing the senior members of our society.

James graduated from Medicine in Sydney, Australia and immigrated to London in 2010. He is currently ST7 undertaking Benign Gynaecology and Advanced Labour Ward ATSMs at King’s College Hospital and has a particular interest in laparoscopic training.

James became a member of the BSGE in 2013 and is a strong advocate of the generous training opportunities the Society offers. With support of a BSGE Travel Bursary, he completed a comparative analysis of advanced endoscopic training programmes in Australia and the UK.

As BSGE Trainee Representative James has become an active member of the BSGE Laparoscopic Training Subcommittee. He hopes to utilise this platform to improve the standardisation of laparoscopic training across the UK and increase support and guidance to deliver training at Trust and Regional level.

After graduating from Nottingham University, completing foundation training in London and Core Surgery in Wales, I am currently ST5 in Cardiff where I will commence the advanced laparoscopy for the excision of benign disease ATSM this August.

I am RIGS regional representative for Wales, committee member/social secretary for the Trainees in Wales O&G Society and UHW trainee representative. These roles provide grounding for fulfilling the position of junior council representative, requiring effective teamwork and leadership, facilitated by efficient communication and organisation. I have demonstrated these key skills and would utilise them to represent views and opinions of trainees within the BSGE. I am committed, enthusiastic and enjoy engaging with colleagues.

In 2016 I won best candidate at the “WelshEndoscopySkillsTraining” course, prizes for best ST3-5 and overall best O&G trainee in Wales 2017, along with a BSGE trainee video prize. These awards show my hard work and commitment, essential when representing colleagues on a national committee.

In 2016 I completed an observational fellowship with Professor Einarsson, president of the AAGL. I have presented internationally (AAGL/ESGE/RCOG), continuing to seek opportunities for research/quality improvement in training and service provision in minimal access gynaecology. I took a lead role in the successful bid to host the 2019 BSGE ASM at Celtic Manor, continuing to be an active member of the organising committee. This demonstrates my ambition to go above and beyond when presented with a challenge.

I would be honoured and excited to follow Donna’s impressive example and represent my trainee colleagues on council.

As specialist societies co-ordinator for the BSGE, Atia Khan is the first point of contact, and something of a Girl Friday, for BSGE members.

Lesley Hill Lesley has been the Accounts and Database Administrator for almost a quarter of a century! Born in London and raised in Kidderminster, she was educated at Kidderminster High School for Girls. Her working life began in the Civil Service and, after the birth of her son, and five years in Germany working as an English Secretary, she returned to England and furthered her career to management. Lesley became Head of Examinations Services at Pitman Examination Institute in Godalming, Surrey dealing with schools and managers throughout the world. She became a full member of the Institute of Management. She managed 54 staff and played a major role in the development of the company’s computerisation. After 12 years, Pitman relocated to London and Lesley decided to start afresh in a stress free (!) job. She secured a position with Jeremy Wright to build up his private medical practice. From the day Jeremy handed her a set of index cards she has helped to develop the BSGE into the impressive Society it is today. Lesley suffered her second bout of cancer in 1997 and when her husband retired from St George’s Medical School in 1998, they decided to move to Cyprus where she continued her work for the BSGE.18 months ago they left Cyprus and now spend a lot of time in Spain. They have a place in Midhurst, West Sussex. Whether in Spain, England, on a cruise or a far off land, every day is a work day and she is always ready, computer to hand, to deal with members’ problems, needs and queries and to ensure she fully supports the Treasurer with his many duties. Lesley thoroughly enjoys all that she does for the BSGE and its’ members and will continue to do so as long as her services are required!

Dr Jane Gilbert qualified as a doctor from St Mary’s Hospital Medical School just as it was being eaten up by Imperial College. She has been working for the past eighteen years as a health journalist. She has been published widely and created content for Roche Pharmaceuticals, Diabetes Wales, Hamlyn books, Boots, ITV and Channel 4 and a number of NHS Trusts.

She is currently employed as the BSGE’s assistant editor as well as creating digital health information ‘prescriptions’ for the E-Health company Pocket Medic.

Members of a certain age may remember Jane’s toe-curling interview for medical school which featured on the BBC series “Doctors to Be’ –she definitely still enjoys a bit of Shakepeare!