On behalf of BAUS I am delighted to welcome you to the 2019 Annual Meeting in Glasgow.
I think you will agree that this year’s programme really does reflect the breadth of our urological practice. A range of subjects relevant to the management and delivery of general urology will be covered, as well as addressing more specialized areas of practice. I have no doubt that you will find the meeting informative, stimulating and thought- provoking. The format of the sessions will allow time for debate among delegates.
We continue to face challenges on many fronts in our daily lives as surgeons and the meeting includes sessions that will address some of these – including "Decision making in the context of significant medical comorbidity", "Medicolegal Issues" and an update on "The Mesh Crisis". It is, however, important for us to recognise the many developments in our specialty and across the NHS. You will hear more about some of these during your time in Glasgow. Simon Harrison will provide an update on GIRFT, which has been running for a year. There will also be an outline of the Innovation Programme run by NHS England, and the latest on trials being run in urology. Of broad appeal will be the sessions on "The Health of Men", "Can’t Pee, Won’t Pee" and the "Highlights of the Year and of BAUS 2019".
On an international front, the Urolink session on Wednesday features Professor Emile Rwamasirabo (King Farsad Hospital, Rwanda) who will talk about COSESCA and what you can do to help.
I am delighted that sessions relevant to our trainees have a prominent place at this year’s meeting. The BAUS Section of Trainees (BSoT - formerly SURG) have put together several sessions that will run across the three days of BAUS – including sessions on "Post CCT Fellowships: Where, Why and How?"’, "Bouncing Back: Support and Guidance for Those Unsuccessful at ST3 National Selection", and a "Less Than Full Time Trainees Session". The sub-plenary session on Tuesday afternoon includes a debate on the future of urology and the new curriculum. The Guest Lecture by Adam Kay (Comedian, author of "This is Going to Hurt" and former doctor) will prove, I am certain, to be a very popular talk.
On Tuesday we have a session geared towards core trainees which will give a background to the sub-specialties of urology and "How to Get Ahead in Urology". The BJU International is supporting a teaching course on "Preparing for Consultant Interviews" so I would encourage trainees to come along.
On the theme of research, Vincent Gnanapragasam is leading a teaching course on "Research Methodology" on Monday morning and, on Monday afternoon, you can hear more about BURST’s excellent programme of supporting research. Tim O’Brien is running a course on Monday which is designed for Clinical Leaders and will offer practical training and support as well as starting to build a network of urological leaders.
The history component of the meeting increases each year and, once again, there will be a museum on the BAUS stand in the exhibition, in addition to the History of Urology ePoster session on Tuesday. I am grateful to Jonathan Goddard and his colleagues for their continued enthusiasm.
I am delighted that we have a truly excellent and diverse programme of guest lectures. On Wednesday Dr Neil Spenceley (the BAUS Guest Lecturer) will challenge us on "Poor Behaviours in Healthcare" and Mr Bill Turnbull (Journalist and TV Presenter) will share his thoughts on what patients want to hear when they have a cancer diagnosis in his JCU Guest Lecture. On Monday. The Urology Foundation Guest Lecture will be given by two of the "Atlantic Seamen" who together completed a truly remarkable feat of endurance, rowing 3000 miles across the the Atlantic with only a 28-foot ocean rowing boat in which to take refuge. The Atlantic Seamen rowed to raise awareness of urological and men’s-health issues and we are lucky to have two of them share their experience. The BJU International Guest Lecturer is Professor Dame Sue Hill who will explore the impact of genomics on future clinical care; we welcome them all.
The BAUS Sections continue to have significant input into the meeting programme and, once again, they have put together sessions of the highest quality. They include state of the art lectures and updates which feature international experts as well as sessions of general interest including "Advanced and Recurrent Disease" which considers the impact of the 2018 Turnbull / Fry effect on British Urology.
The meeting could not take place without our distinguished international and national experts who will take part in plenary, sub-plenary and poster sessions - I would like to take this opportunity to extend a very warm welcome to them all. I would especially like to thank the Presidents of the AUA, the Urological Society of Australia & New Zealand, and the Urological Society of India for travelling such long distances to join us. We are fortunate to be able to benefit from this degree of collaboration and wealth of knowledge, and it is my belief that our relationship with these key organisations will continue to strengthen year-on-year.
BAUS would not be BAUS without a social component to the week, and you will be pleased to learn that this year is no different. There is a Civic Reception at the Glasgow City Chambers on Monday evening (from 6.30 - 8.30 pm). The following awards will be presented during the evening - the BAUS Gold Medal (to Kieran O’Flynn), the Karl Storz Harold Hopkins Golden Telescope Award (to Ben Challacombe) and John Anderson Award (to Veeru Kasivisvanathan). You can book tickets when you register for the meeting – this event always proves to be popular – and tickets are limited – so please book early. As ever, this meeting would not be possible without the generous support of our partners in Industry – so please make time in your programme to visit the stands, talk to the exhibitors and help to secure the future of this successful relationship – I know that the companies really appreciate your “footfall” and interaction.
I am particularly grateful to the BAUS Programme Committee, under the leadership of Paul Jones (Honorary Secretary), for all the hard work in putting BAUS 2019 together. This is no mean feat of co-ordination and I know they could not have done their work without the first-class support from the team in BAUS Office – especially Harry Heald, Hannah Doyle and Louise Finch. I must also thank our abstract markers, Asif Muneer (Honorary Secretary Elect) for his oversight of the Teaching and Skills Courses, all the Course Directors and Faculty. Also thank you in advance to all the speakers, chairs and presenters for giving up their time and expertise so readily.
The entire meeting would not, of course, be as successful and enjoyable without your input and interaction as a delegate In summary, I hope that you have an enjoyable meeting which will provide the opportunity to learn, teach, discuss, catch up on old acquaintances and make some new ones.
Session are only recorded and displayed if the presenters give their consent to recording & publication. Although the majority of presenters did agree to this, some did not, so the BAUS TV account does not include every presentation given at BAUS 2019. Videos and photos can be viewed in the Media Gellery.