ENT UK NEWSLETTER - Spring Special 2024
23 May 2024
(Last updated: 25 Jun 2024 11:32)
Find out more about all the great activity going on across ENT UK!
Membership Groups
Special Interest Groups
ENT UK Education - Inspiring Excellence
Several developments this year have affected ENT education, including the cessation of the MRCS ENT examination: the last date will be October 2024. The GMC and ICBSE recognise MRCS as the examination required to progress from basic surgical training to any specialist higher surgical training (HST). Discussions are underway to provide opportunities for those progressing to HST in ENT Surgery to cover the knowledge and learn the skills expected of a current doctor commencing ST3 in ENT. In 2025, MRCS part B and MRCS (ENT) will be accepted for National Selection.
We are delighted to have new leads for ESSC, PESC, and webinars with RCSEd and are looking to appoint section leads for E-lefENT. The ENT National Trauma course is now established, and centres nationwide have been appointed to provide it over the next few years. The ENT UK Spring Meeting 2024 in Edinburgh was well attended and provided an opportunity to discuss various topics on "inspiring excellence and shaping the future," including the results of the NAIROS and NATTINA studies, the introduction of robotic surgery, and sustainability.
Wendy Smith, Director of Education
ENT UK Foundation
The ENT UK Foundation was established with the aim of giving back to the profession, and the ultimate goal of its "rasion d'etre" is to improve ENT healthcare for all. The Foundation is going from strength to strength, and our fundraising has enabled us to award multiple Education and Research Grants over the past three years. We are also keen to support many more international projects and collaborations. Please find out more about our impact and operation in my recent presentation at the Spring Meeting.
We look forward to announcing the winners of this year's grants and trainer awards at the Research Showcase meeting on October 4 in York!
Nirmal Kumar, Foundation Committee Chair
Specialty Advisory Committee
2024 continues to show lower logbook numbers across all regions. Trainees and trainers are now comfortable with the MCR process, and trainees are obtaining their CCT, with the majority going on fellowships to hone their surgical skills further. The first changes to the ORL curriculum will be made this summer as part of a more dynamic process with yearly changes to remain current. There is a plan to introduce more simulation training, particularly with some procedures with low access and numbers, such as septorhinoplasty. We hope these changes will be announced later this year.
National selection for 2024 remained online, and 90 candidates were invited for interviews. At the time of this newsletter, there were 58 vacancies. In 2025, the portfolio will change to recognise quality rather than quantity and place more emphasis on logbook numbers. More details are available on the Yorkshire and Humber website. The current state of the ENT workforce remains a huge concern nationally, and work is ongoing to map the current provision of services with population demographics. The new route to CESR was launched in November 2023, and applications have slightly increased to date. Read the latest Speciality Specific Guidance here.
Ann-Louise McDermott, Chair of the Specialty Advisory Committee
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British Rhinological Society (BRS)
Our BRS and BRS juniors' annual meeting in Cardiff was a massive success. We had a record number of delegates travelling to Wales in early May who, notably, braved the train strikes. A special thank you to all those who attended and to our platinum and gold sponsors. Well done to Ben Stew, our BRS Welsh representative council member, who organised the programme and to the BRS council, BRSJ council and ENT UK for making this event a success. The dragons' den and poster presentations remain incredibly popular amongst our members.
BRS continues to lead in teaching, research, and inspiration across all domains of rhinology, with a future focusing on standardising 'rhinology patient pathways' with diagnostics, AI technology, and sustainability at their core. We will continue to work with NHSE and ENT UK to ensure rhinology is fully represented nationally. We collaborated with BSFPS and ENT UK to create guidelines and recommendations on Cocaine-induced Nasal Vasculitis, which are now on the ENTUK website. Our Advanced Rhinology Training Fellowship, led by Louise Melia, was a huge success, and our mentorship programme for new consultants has been successfully launched.
Thank you to Sam Leong, our impressive treasurer, Henry Sharp and Mr Ben Stew for their diligent and committed tenures on the Council. I wish them all the best in the future as they demit. Congratulations and welcome to our new President-Elect, Ashok Rokade. Welcome also to San Sunkaraneni, our new treasurer; Pranter Brahmabhatt, our new Welsh council member representative; and Annakan Navaratnam and Oke Okonkwo, our new England representative council members. BRS 2025 will be held in Edinburgh at the Royal College of Surgeons, and we look forward to seeing you all there.
Peter Andrews, BRS President
British Society for Facial Plastic Surgery
It is just about time to hand over my Presidency to Anshul Sama, President-Elect of BSFPS. I want to congratulate Anshul, whom I have no doubt will take the BSFPS forward to new heights. We have filled out all the council positions and regional representatives as planned. We have also updated the BSFPS website, adding a new section on the history and past presidents of BSFPS. Alwyn D'Souza will kickstart our summer webinar lectures via Zoom on Thursday, June 6. The links for all the lectures will be sent nearer the time. We will soon be advertising for two STORZ-funded BSFPS Travelling Fellowships for 2024. Anshul Sama will organise our BSFPS dissection course in Nottingham from 28 - 30 May 2024. Our podcast/ coffee room chats, which are done by our senior colleagues in collaboration with the RCS, are available for members to watch. Our next BSFPS Annual Meeting will be held in Nottingham on 17-18 October.
My personal best wishes and kind regards to all the BSFPS members and their families.
Natarajan Balaji, BSFPS President
British Society of Otology
The British Society of Otology had a very successful two days in Glasgow, including the annual Balance Course, proficiently run by Owen Judd, the first in-person BSO Juniors meeting, and the BSO Annual Meeting.
The BSO Juniors Day was held in the fantastic clinical simulation lab at Kirkland's Hospital and was organised by Arun Iyer, who was ably supported by Lucy Dalton. Trainees were treated to several different virtual, synthetic, and animal models to learn and practice ear surgery. The balance course received fantastic feedback from all delegates. Arun Iyer also organised the Annual Meeting at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. The programme was packed, as was the college's beautiful and creaky lecture theatre. There were sessions on the Past, Present and Future of otology, free papers and finally, a round table on the role of simulation in training otologists.
This meeting marks the end of Simon Lloyd's superb tenure as President and the handover to me. Fortunately, I will still have support and guidance from Simon as he will serve for another two years as past President. An election was held at the AGM, and we have two new members for the BSO Council in Joe Manjaly and Charlie Huins.
We have just reached the end of a five-year strategy for the BSO, and I am pleased to say the Council has delivered on all points of this, mainly supporting research. We have awarded 15 research grants over the last three years and plan to award more on an annual basis. We are about to launch a national tympanoplasty electronic database that is available for all BSO members to use. We have also been asked to take over the organisation and awarding of the excellent Matthew Yung & Chris Raine Travelling Scholarship. We hope to award two of these annually to young consultant otologists who want to visit centres of otological excellence worldwide.
Finally, I would like to give you all early notice for next year's BSO Annual Meeting at the University of Birmingham on 2 - 3 April 2025.
Peter Monksfield, BSO President
Community ENT Group
ENT Community Group members have assisted with producing content for elef-ENT learning modules, including teaching documents on hearing tests and hearing rehabilitation. The ENT Community Group is meeting on June 7 2024 and ENT UK is looking to collaborate with other stakeholders with an interest in ENT to optimise ENT care in the community.
Wendy Smith, Chair of the Community ENT Group
Head and Neck Society
I am delighted to report that the 6th Edition of Head and Neck Cancer: United Kingdom National Multidisciplinary Guidelines has been published in the JLO.
There are plans to return to the very popular 'evidence-based meetings' in 2025, with a provisional meeting on sinusoidal cancer in York in March 2025 and a meeting on hypopharyngeal cancer in November 2025.
We have funds available now to offer travelling fellowships to overseas young consultants (within five years of appointment) from under-resourced countries to help facilitate visits to two to three Head and neck units in the U.K. We hope to advertise these posts soon.
I want to thank Shane Lester for his excellent work as Secretary to the Society. He will remain on the Council but has demitted from his role. I hope you have noticed the advertisements sent out via the usual methods from ENT UK email for two further positions on the Council.
We look forward to welcoming new and driven colleagues to contribute to the Head and Neck Society.
Sanjai Sood, Head and Neck Society President
Staff and Associated Specialists
The 7th SAS Conference is scheduled for 20 - 21 June in Birmingham. The programme is excellent, with a wide variety of speakers on all subspecialties. Highlights include practical workshops on paediatric airway management and updates on the CESR Portfolio Pathway for 2024. All SAS doctors are encouraged to participate in this thoroughly educational conference.
The appointment process for Committee members is underway and results will be announced following the next Committee meeting.
Members applying for CESR are welcome to approach the SAS Chairman for informal advice and guidance. The Committee will appoint CESR buddies to support doctors applying for CESR.
Ramanathan Swaminathan, SAS Chair
YCOHNS
YCOHNS are looking for a new President. James Barraclough is handing over to a willing volunteer, so please send expressions of interest in this exciting and essential role to james.barraclough1@nhs.net. We are also starting to organise this year's meeting, the details of which will come out very soon. It is likely to be a similar format as our hugely successful 2023 re-launch event, which was well over-subscribed with an evening of networking and then a busy meeting the next day filled with essential talks about everything new ENT consultants need to know. Please watch this space for details!
James Barraclough, President of YCOHNS
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BOARS
The ENT UK BOARS Virtual Spring Meeting 2024 was a resounding success, showcasing the latest advancements in ENT surgery. Presentations covered diverse and innovative topics shaping the field's future, from the application of AI in cancer management to developing telemedicine models for remote clinical practice worldwide.
Andrew Williamson, Chair of INTEGRATE, also delivered an engaging keynote on the society's ongoing projects and the direction of the trainee research collaboration. The afternoon session involved critiquing the GENERATE ENT research priorities, a platform to evaluate current research progress and propose potential future priorities.
Carl Philpott led the BOARS AGM, which prompted dynamic discussion regarding the society's progress and future aims. The meeting concluded with the presentation of awards. Ruby Sekhon, a core surgical trainee, received the Junior Prize for presenting a Systematic Review of Myringitis Management, a collaboration across the British Society of Otology Juniors. The prestigious Philip Stell Prize was awarded to Amar Rajgor, an NIHR-funded doctoral research fellow, for his exciting work on using imaging analysis to predict survival in laryngeal cancer.
Overall, the meeting was successful, fostering collaboration, innovation, and recognition within our community. We look forward to our next meeting in Autumn 2024.
Carl Phillpott, President of BOARS
British Society for History of ENT
The next BSHENT Annual Meeting will take place on Thursday, December 5. Next month, there will be a 'Call for Papers' for this popular meeting, which will take place in the Toynbee Mackenzie ENT Room at the Royal Society of Medicine. Twelve 'registrar' papers will be chosen to compete for the JLO Prize. There will also be one invited paper from an ENT historian. I am happy to respond to any questions relating to the meeting. Please Neil Weir at entuk@entuk.org.
Neil Weir, BSHENT President
Global Health
The Global Health Committee has been busy with several new and ongoing initiatives. We continue to run our grant scheme, which awards grants to health professionals and non-governmental organisations involved with ENT-related initiatives. The projects must demonstrate sustainability in areas of greatest need. Grant applications will be launched in June; details are available on our web page.
The Global Health Committee is a stakeholder at the World Hearing Forum established by the WHO. Leye Oyelakin has taken up the role of representing the committee and is doing an excellent job! We are also part of an initiative organised by Chris Lavy at the Royal College of Surgeons to work with and learn from other global health speciality groups, including the excellent Global Surgical Frontiers course held at the Royal College of Surgeons in June.
The Global Health webinar conference will take place on Friday, November 15. We have a fantastic programme of international speakers who will discuss various exciting and challenging topics, and we invite you to save the date and join us.
Nick Eynon-Lewis, Chair of the Global Health Committee
Women in ENT Surgery
Women in ENT Surgery will continue to focus on leadership in 2024. On May 20, Co-Chair Anna Slovick and Secretary Marie Lyons led the inaugural WENTS Leadership Course at the Royal College of Surgeons England. Delegates of all genders engaged in discussions about effective leadership, how to have challenging conversations, and tools and resources to build skills. We are grateful to the Foundation's Andrew Foster Grant for facilitating the day.
After our well-attended leadership webinars with fighter pilot Mandy Hickson and business psychologist Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, we are hosting "My path to leadership" with Helen Cocks, our new President of ENT UK, and Clare McNaught, the first female Vice-President of RCSEd on June 10.
International Women's Day on March 8 saw the launch of a second round of WENTS' Shyamala Grants for education for projects encapsulating the day's theme of 'Inspiring Inclusivity'. Successful applicants will be announced soon.
Anna Slovick, Co-Chair of WENTS
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