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Stronger, smarter, more inclusive: The future of our Association

HomeNews & opinionNews Stronger, smarter, more inclusive: The future of our Association

Stronger, smarter, more inclusive: The future of our Association

With our specialty under increasing pressure and capacity stretched more than ever, it is more important than ever before to have a strong, resilient Association working for the benefit of our members and anaesthesia as a whole.

In late 2023, we began a governance review to assess whether our company structure is still fit for purpose. We appointed the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) to lead this review. Their recommendations, based on the updated Charity Governance Code, aim to streamline our operations to make the most of our people and resources.

 

Find out more and have your say

"It's never been more important to have a strong Association advocating for real anaesthetists out there. These governance changes will only strengthen our position and I hope that members will see our outputs improve and better reflect what they want us to do." Dr Tim Meek, President

Our current structure

Right now, the Association operates as two separate entities:

  • Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (AAGBI) – a company limited by guarantee with an elected board of directors.
  • AAGBI Foundation – a registered charity. The AAGBI is its sole member and appoints its board of trustees.

This dual structure causes inefficiencies and adds complexity to our work.

 

What’s changing

We are proposing to move to a single charitable company structure.

  • The AAGBI company will merge into the charity.
  •  A wholly owned trading subsidiary will handle any commercial activity, with profits going to the charity. 
  • The charity will be renamed Association of Anaesthetists (Great Britain & Ireland) to reflect our heritage.


What this means for our members

For most members, these changes will be seamless, but they'll make a big difference behind the scenes.

  • Your membership will continue uninterrupted 
  • You will keep the same rights, benefits, and ability to vote 
  • Subscriptions will be paid directly to the charity 
  • There will be more opportunities to join or chair committees 
  • Committee structures will evolve to increase diversity, representation, and accessibility


What happens next

To complete the merger, voting members will need to approve key changes at a general meeting of Company Members (full and resident members) to be held at 21 Portland Place London W1B 1PY on Friday 20 June at 10:30. The agenda for this meeting can be downloaded here.

Voting members will receive official paperwork from Civica during w/c 26 May 2025 with full details of the meeting and arrangements for voting either in person at the meeting or online via proxy vote ahead of the meeting. Proxy voting will close 48 hours before the meeting at 10:30 on Wednesday 18 June 2025.

If you wish to attend the meeting in person, please register here. Members will be able to join the meeting online but will not be able to vote online during the meeting.

Members will be asked to vote on two special resolutions:

  1. THAT the name of the Association be changed to 'AAGBI' with effect from the date AAGBI Foundation adopts new articles of association.
    Explanation: To retain the heritage of the Association, we propose to change the name of the merged charitable company from AAGBI Foundation to Association of Anaesthetists (Great Britain & Ireland). To enable that to happen we need to free up the name from the existing company so that it can be transferred across. We will adopt the abbreviation AAGBI for the company name in the transition period.
  2. THAT, subject to AAGBI Foundation adopting new articles of association and admitting as its members all the current members of the Association, the articles of association in the form of the document attached to the notice of the meeting be approved and adopted as the articles of association of the Association in substitution for and to the exclusion of the existing articles
    Explanation: The Association Board can make the decision to adopt new articles for the merged charitable company, but the AAGBI company needs a governing document for the transition period. These are the model articles of association presented to the General Meeting for approval.