CBS News, Updates and Member Benefits

27 February 2020

Appointment of Interim Managing Director

- The beginning of January saw CBS implement one of its strategic promises with the appointment of James Rose as Interim Managing Director.

Under the existing rules, senior officers must be voted in by trade union members, so if approved by the membership, James will be elected into the position formally at the next AGM. This will likely be later in the year and further information will be sent over the coming months.

James has come from a background working within the professional medical indemnity field. His experience spans both traditional defence organisations having worked for the Medical Defence Union and in the FCA regulated insurance industry for companies including Premium Medical Protection and Medical Professional Indemnity Group. Knowledge of both clinical / professional employment risks posed to surgical teams, and building market leading positions for organisations, are understood to be required skills to facilitate expansion for CBS.

As its first employees, James Rose and Helen Crookes are working hard on moving CBS forward by ensuring robust procedures and IT systems are in place, to assist with the delivery of service to members.

New Partners

New partnerships have been created for CBS Members to take advantage of. (More information can be found via the links below):

1. Your Travel PA is run by Kelly Ball who can offer a personal holiday planning service. Kelly’s time is at no cost to you, and she can source the best deals and itinerary to suit your holiday requirements. Your Travel PA aims to compete with pricing from companies like Expedia, Jet 2 etc.

2. Servicesure Autocentres – At participating sites, a 10% discount is available to CBS members on car servicing and parts. Check the website but it is possible that you already use the garages that participate, if so, you can claim the discount going forward.

3. PPM – Practice management software, that provides anyone in private practice, the support they need to become more organised with time, finances and communication, which will ultimately all help improve patient care. There is a 10% discount given on the upfront cost charged to PPM clients. Just inform the PPM team you are a CBS member.

Further partners will be introduced in the coming months.

Go Cardless direct debit

A new direct debit payment system is now in place which offers monthly or annual membership payment plans, a far easier way to spread the cost and ensuring your membership does not lapse! We’d be grateful if you can continue spreading the word about CBS and encourage colleagues to join from as little as £13/month for Fellow Membership, £9/month for Associates (non-consultant), £4.50/month for Trainees.

Membership offers

FSSA 50% Lifetime Founding Fellow Membership offer

Membership is steadily rising and there are still a few FSSA 50% refund places available which effectively ensures Lifetime Membership for £250 (pay £500 and receive a £250 refund from the FSSA), if you are a member of one of the 10 eligible Specialty Associations. For more information please contact Helen, Membership Manager – admin@cbsgb.co.uk

CT1 and CT2 grades

These grades are currently being offered two years for the price of one, at a direct debit of £2.25/month.

Safety at Work Survey

You may have seen an email from CBS asking you to take part in a survey regarding the Safety of Surgical Staff within the workplace. This has arisen as a result of the shocking statistics revealed last month that many NHS hospitals are breaking the law by failing to protect staff from violent attacks. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said 25 NHS trusts are in breach of rules designed to make sure they manage risks to their staff from violent patients or members of the public. CBS are interested to know what your experiences are around staff safety and welfare.

Thank you to those of you who have taken part, the survey will be open until Friday 6 March and consists of 10 short questions and takes less than 2 minutes to complete – so please help us and have your say if you haven’t done so already! Access the Survey

Surgical Expert

The inaugural board meeting of Surgical Expert will take place on 1 April in Birmingham. The intended aims of surgical expert are to:

to provide a list of surgical experts from all specialities which would be made available to third parties upon request and on receipt of an appropriate search fee.
to help coordinate indemnity schemes from different specialities to facilitate economies of scale and a single voice in public debate.
to provide a forum for medicolegal opinion.
to provide independent professional advice to members subject to disciplinary procedures, litigation in the civil or criminal courts, or GMC enquiries.
to provide independent professional advice to members subject to criticism whilst working in the role of medical expert.

Feedback and proposed next steps agreed at this meeting will be communicated to CBS members in due course.

CBS Blogs

The Confederation of British Surgery sees blogging as an opportunity to use social media to amplify discussion and exchange ideas with our Surgical colleagues, on topics that matter to Surgeons.

While health matters have always been of public interest, CBS is keen to take a deeper look into the headlines with its new blog series, Surgery in the Media. With the objective of examining messaging about Surgeons and surgical treatment as they are conveyed to the British public, we will explore its impact; discuss its implications; and consider the opportunities we have to help safeguard and educate now, and in the future.

Read the most recent blog, Whistleblowers and what happens next? and have your say on social media platforms @UKsurgeons

With best wishes from the CBS Team

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