Dave Bunting

This edition of JODS is published at an exciting time of year in the BADS calendar when we are preparing for the 30^th BADS Annual Scientific Meeting, this year to be held at the Royal Society of Medicine in London on 27^th and 28^th June. We have received a large number of high-quality abstracts, of which 30 will be presented orally and many more in poster form. The programme for the meeting includes talks from speakers on a variety of topics covering general surgery, urology and gynaecology themes as well as talks on new technology, benchmarking and going green in ambulatory surgery! There will also be workshops on spinal anaesthesia, discussing the need for post-operative carers and optimising your day case pathway as well as a debate on whether slow surgeons/anaesthetists should be banned from the day surgery unit, which promises to generate an interesting discussion. A link to the full programme can be found in this edition of JODS via the contents page. Please also consider downloading the new Conference App, launched for this year’s meeting via the links below, especially if you are planning to join us at the conference next month:

BADS 2019 Conference Apps

Android App:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=badsconference.droid&hl=en_GB

 Apple App:

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/bads-conference/id1446266263?mt=8

This edition of JODS contains an original article on paediatric opiate use after hernia repair, an audit of the recording of Hba1c and blood pressure in elective surgical referrals from primary care, a report of a new, simple technique for managing the difficult to deal with problem of a buried PEG tube bumper and a report of a closed audit loop on training opportunities in day surgery.

Immediately following this editorial, you will see the President’s letter from Mary Stocker. This is in fact Mary’s last letter as President before she hands over to our President Elect Kim Russon. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mary for her excellent stewardship over the past 3 years. Under her leadership, BADS membership has grown and the organisation has undergone a number of important developments. JODS underwent transition to the popular app and web-based electronic formats; the BADS website has undergone redevelopment and Mary has worked together with a number or organisations to provide benchmarking, to deliver guidance on developing day surgery pathways and to host a wide range of educational events and meetings across the UK. In a financially-challenged, resource-limited NHS, never before has the day surgery agenda been more important and Mary has worked relentlessly to promote and enhance the benefits day case and short stay surgery have to offer.