A very warm welcome to our new Board and Trainee Committee members
The Association of Anaesthetists is delighted to welcome the newly-elected Board and Trainee
Committee members. Here, they introduce themselves and provide information about their practice
and personal interests. We look forward to their input in the coming years.
Welcome to our Trainee Committee members:
I’m Sarah, and I’m an ST3 anaesthetic trainee working in West Yorkshire. I’m a proud Lancastrian who
defected across the border but I manage to stay under the radar on that one. I’m delighted to have been
elected to the Trainee Committee at a time when representation and advocacy for anaesthetic trainees has
never been more important. I’m passionate about ensuring fair working conditions for trainees, as well as
transparency in recruitment processes and support as the 2021 anaesthetic curriculum is implemented.
I believe anaesthetics is an incredible specialty to be part of, and being part of the highest highs and
supporting through the lowest lows in a patient’s life is a unique privilege, and am looking forward to
helping widen access to anaesthetics as a career. Clinically, I have interests in obstetrics and peri-operative
medicine, and am currently working towards an MSc in peri-op, and when I’m not at work I can be found
fulfilling some of the anaesthetic stereotypes… swimming, biking and running around the Yorkshire dales,
often in search of a good coffee and training for another triathlon!
Sarah-Louise Marsden
Hello! I’m Kathryn and I am delighted to have been elected to the Trainee Committee. I look forward to
contributing to the fantastic work of the Association. I am a ST3 in North-West London having completed
my core training in South-East London. My clinical interests include obstetrics, management of the difficult
airway and I am passionate about wellbeing initiatives. Anaesthetic trainees have been confronted with
an array of obstacles over the last 18 months. Having personal experience of many of these challenges
encouraged me to apply for this position. The pandemic has only highlighted the importance of having a
supportive and inclusive professional group where trainees can turn to for sound advice. I hope to use my
position as a platform to advocate for, and remedy the concerns of, junior trainees. Outside work I enjoy
dabbling in cooking, gardening and running (where the dream of running the London marathon one day
lives on!)
Kathryn Singh
My name is Ugonna Chukwumaife and I am pleased to have just been elected to the Trainee Committee. I
am based in the North-West Region, currently an ST6 anaesthetic trainee and enjoying my advanced rotation
in regional anaesthesia. My interests range from Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) to tackling challenges
faced by international medical graduates in the NHS, providing culturally competent public health
enlightenment and education for different ethnic groups, and staff wellbeing. My family forms a great part of
my routine; I am either guiding my teenage sons or tending a toddler. I enjoy dancing, chatting up friends,
watching movies and creating skits. I have recently started talking football too!
Ugonna Chukwumaife
My name is Laura Griseto and I am SAT 6 (ST6) in Cork, Ireland. I am currently the co-opt for the Irish
Standing Committee as well as the RCoA Professional Standards Committee. I am passionate about
trainee development and welfare, and so I'm delighted to represent trainees on this wonderful committee.
My work interests include paediatrics, trauma, collegiality and sustainable practice. Outside work, I live on
a deer farm with my husband and two children.
Laura Griseto
Hi, I’m Ben Hockenhull, an ST7 in Stoke School of Anaesthesia. I am looking forward to working with
the Trainee Committee to continue the work they’ve done for our profession. Having originated in
Manchester, I began my medical career in Stoke-on-Trent, before finding my feet in anaesthesia in
north Wales. I returned to the West Midlands for my speciality training, with a short hiatus as a Speciality
Doctor whilst negotiating my FRCA. I was attracted to anaesthesia due to the broad and varied nature
of our speciality, and this has led me to develop interests in the most unselective areas of anaesthetics,
emergency and trauma anaesthesia, alongside paediatrics. To me, anaesthetics has always represented
one of the most visibly diverse and accepting specialities, and I believe the Association is a strong
advocate for that aspect of our profession. Outside work, I enjoy the requisite Lycra- and pedal-based
exercise regimen having just invested in a new road bike, and throwing myself down snow covered
mountains on two planks of wood (much to the chagrin of my rotator cuff).
Ben Hockenhull
I’m Louise and I am a trainee currently in the beautiful North-East of England after starting my anaesthetics
career ‘down south’ in the West Midlands. I am so happy to be elected to the trainee committee and can’t
wait to get involved with the excellent work of the Association. As a dual trainee who added ICM on late in
my training, and now working LTFT, I have been a trainee for many years and appreciate the importance
of anything that can help trainees balance the demands of training with home life. My interests include
medical education and simulation, mentoring and working towards more environmentally friendly
practices within our specialty. Clinically, in addition to intensive care I enjoy transfer medicine and quite
rarely for intensivists, obstetrics! Outside work I love to ski when given the chance, and closer to home
love gentle runs and playing on the local beach with my family. One day I may find time to start cycling
and embrace the anaesthetic stereotype!
Louise Swann
Hi, I’m Kat, I’m an ST7 LTFT trainee at Barts and the London School (North-East London) and I am delighted
to have been elected to the Trainee Committee – thank you. I am originally from Northern Ireland and
moved to London in 2010, so I now consider myself a proud Northern Irish Londoner! My main interest
is paediatric anaesthesia and one day I very much hope to get a consultant post in a tertiary paediatric
centre. I was fortunate to spend a year as an anaesthetic education fellow during my higher training, and
this is my main non-clinical interest. I have always admired the high quality educational material that the
Association produces and very much hope to contribute to this over the next two years. I am passionate
about trainee issues and I am a local LTFT trainee representative for my school. Since becoming LTFT, I
have realised the importance and many benefits of this option for training and am absolutely committed
to promoting it and working on the barriers and issues that remain for LTFT trainees. Outside work I am
kept busy by my two children (currently aged 3 and almost 2), but I do find time to enjoy a bit of exercise
on occasion, and more frequently a glass of wine and some good food! Upsetting for many anaesthetic
colleagues though, I do not own a bike (unless you count a spin one) and I do not like coffee (sorry)!
Katherine Brooks
Welcome to our new Board members:
I am delighted and honoured to have been elected as the second SAS member of the Board. I work
as an Associate Specialist at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic and District Hospital in
Gobowen, Shropshire where I have been employed for the last 14 years. This is an elective orthopaedic
hospital where I have been able to develop my specialist interest in regional anaesthesia. I have been
chair of our LNC for the past four years, which has enabled me to advocate for all doctors in an attempt
to make our working environment as optimum as possible, and gives me a sound working knowledge
of all our contract terms and conditions. I was appointed to the SAS Committee of the Association in
October 2019 which I have really enjoyed, and this has already given me an insight into the support and
education that the Association can offer SAS anaesthetists. Outside work, I am fortunate to be married to
another anaesthetist and have three children. I generally escape in my spare time to walk in the beautiful
Shropshire hills.
Emma Wain
I have been a Consultant Anaesthetist at the University Hospital of Coventry and Warwickshire since April
2000 and am honoured to be elected to the Board. I specialise in airway management and have been
actively involved in teaching and training for 20 years; in 2013 I was appointed Honorary Secretary of
the Difficult Airway Society. I am a course director for ATLS and have served as ATLS faculty at the Royal
College of Surgeons London and other UK regions. I was a member of the Association of Anaesthetists
Infection in anaesthesia working group and Co-Chair of the Association Ergonomics in anaesthesia
Working Party. My other interests include cricket and writing and reciting poetry.
Krish Radhakrishna
I am a proud Scot now living in England. A graduate of the Universities of St Andrews and Manchester, I
am now a Consultant in ICM and Anaesthesia in Manchester Foundation Trust having spent 16 years in
training in the North West. Previously an elected member of the Trainee Committee, I was then elected
to Trainee Network Lead, Intensive Care Society Co-opt and Vice Chair Roles. Much of this work centred
around member wellbeing and I have been involved in various projects including less-than-full-time
working, return to work, the fight fatigue campaign, #Coffee&aGas, suicide and burnout. I am delighted
and excited to be resuming work with the Association as an Elected Council member. Work interests
include my Wellbeing role within MFT, and I am a trained Mentor and Mental Health First Aider. Hobbies
include fitness, whole-food plant-based cooking and attempting to tame my feral children.
Victoria McCormack