Dave Bunting

Taking the opportunity to reflect on the success of the recent BADS Virtual conference, for those of you that did not manage to attend the event, this edition of JODS includes a report for the conference by Fiona Belfield. This edition also features a number of reports recently published in the Clinical Services journal (CSJ). I would like to take this opportunity to thank the CSJ for allowing us to reproduce their work. They offer a report on delivering day surgery as default, reflecting on work presented at recent virtual conferences including the BADS/HCUK Day Case Major Knee Surgery event. Their next article highlights some of the issues raised at the BADS Virtual conference held in March and focussed on how day surgery can be used to recover elective surgery. The also published a report on how waiting lists can be managed in the Covid-19 era, identifying day surgery as a very important part of this agenda. Finally, included is an interesting article raising an important issue relevant to surgical practise as much as any NHS domain. This addresses workforce burnout in the NHS and how this can be tackled.

This edition of JODS includes a report identifying reasons for increased length of stay in patients undergoing hemi-thyroidectomy patients; a service evaluation into paediatric fasting times and the results of a topical survey on patients’ attitudes towards Covid-19 safety precautions.

Please keep your submissions to the journal coming in and remember – JODS still offers citable peer-reviewed publication with no author processing fees. Updated author guidelines and submission instructions can be found in this edition of the journal.

Whilst JODS has been enjoying the relatively new format of electronic publishing with the obvious benefits this brings to its readers, it’s time for a shake-up to modernise the look and provide a broader range of content. The next edition of JODS is due for publication in November and promises to deliver enhanced figures/graphics in addition to new features that may include interviews with experts in the field of day surgery, puzzle/quiz corner and more…watch this space!

Finally, it is a pleasure to welcome Jo Marsden, our new BADS President to JODS. Her first President’s letter in this edition of the Journal demonstrates her passion for driving the day surgery agenda and for continuing to raise the profile of BADS, building on recent successes of the excellent virtual conference and an increase in the BADS membership numbers across all member categories.