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 over the coming years.
Welcome to our Trainee Committee members:
James Brooks
Hello! I’m James, an ACCS anaesthetics 'CT4' in the South West. Inside work, I’m passionate about sustainability
and under-graduate education. Outside of the hospital, I’m a keen guitarist, amateur baker and swimmer. With
changes to the curriculum underway, it is enormously important that trainees are at the centre of both the rollout
and problem-solving issues that arise. I am currently at the forefront of this, starting the ‘CT4’ year this August
and I’ll be among the first trainees to apply for the new ST4 role. Being early on in my training I’m well placed
to advocate for trainees that will be most affected by this, and will endeavour to represent my colleagues to
prevent a ‘lost generation’ of anaesthetists unable to enter training. I’m looking forward to being on the Trainee
Committee and advocating for trainee wellbeing and education.
Ben Evans
I'm Ben, a core anaesthetics trainee in the North East of England. I’m excited to join the Trainee Committee
as I’m eager to try and make improvements to many aspects of anaesthetic trainees lives; there are many
challenges facing trainees today, not least issues with implementation of the new curriculum, and I am
hopeful that I can use my position to advocate for change. I hope to be able to represent core/ junior trainees
throughout the country. I have an interest in trainee wellbeing, fatigue and medical education. Outside medicine
I enjoy playing hockey, squash and tennis.
Luke Flower
Hello! I’m Luke, an anaesthetic ACCS trainee and clinical research fellow in London. Originally from the West
Country, I went to medical school in Bristol before moving to London for foundation training. I am very excited
to be joining the Trainee Committee and look forward to helping the Association drive our speciality forward.
Anaesthetic trainees have been at the forefront of the pandemic response and remain pivotal in the road to
recovery. All this has been accomplished despite curriculum changes, exam errors and recruitment issues. It has
never been more important that our voices are heard. My professional interests include critical care research,
point-of-care ultrasound, and LGBTQ+ healthcare. Outside of work I am an avid martial artist (former MMA
fighter and persistent Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner), dog lover and a self-proclaimed West Country cider
connoisseur.
Sarah Galea
Hello! I'm Sarah and I am currently an SpR in my third year of formal training here in Ireland. Having come
to Ireland from the UK after completing my FY1 and FY2 overseas, I have become increasingly interested
in the concept of integration and recognition of prior training. Working in three different health systems
has afforded me a unique insight into the issues that we face universally during our training, as well as
some potential solutions to these shared obstacles. As the Irish Trainee Representative on the Association
committee, I hope to be able to use this background to support anaesthetists in training in both Ireland
and Great Britain.
My ethos at work is to prioritise patient safety through the creation of a culture of wellbeing amongst
colleagues. I believe that the human factors which lead to mistakes are rooted in many of the disjointed
practices and working conditions that we see every day. What makes each of us happy will vary – some
value work-life balance, others wish for high-fidelity training or research time, while there will be those
who simply want to feel supported. It is not easy to make everybody happy, but it takes very little to give
each person the opportunities to follow their own path. This collaboration and diversity is why we all chose
healthcare, and the potential to forge our own futures is what keeps most of us going during the difficult
training years.
I hope that I can support and improve some aspects of the training pathway, whilst providing a voice to the
issues that affect trainees in Ireland, regardless of their background.
Leyla Turkoglu
Leyla Turkoglu is a core anaesthetic trainee in the East of England. Her professional interests include
paediatric and obstetric anaesthesia, trainee welfare and medical ethics. She lives in east London with her
partner, daughter and two cats.
Allan Xu
Hi, I’m Allan and I am currently an ACCS CT1 in North-East London. I am delighted to join the trainee
committee to continue the fantastic work that they’ve done for our specialty, ranging from education
and wellbeing initiatives to representing trainee views particularly during this difficult period. Whilst I
am incredibly junior in my anaesthetics career, I believe that one of the great strengths of the Trainee
Committee is that it has representation from anaesthetists at all levels of training, ensuring that everyone’s
voices can be heard.
I am originally from London, and completed both medical school and foundation training here as well, so
have not ventured particularly far unlike some of my colleagues! I pursued a career in anaesthesia because
of its broad nature and reputation for being a specialty that actively supports its trainees - something I hope
to ensure will continue during my time on the trainee committee. Within medicine my interests include
Medical Education, having recently completed a PGCert in Extreme Environment Medicine (with the hope
of one day climbing Mount Everest!), whilst my clinical interests include paediatric anaesthesia and prehospital
medicine. Outside work I am a keen swimmer (currently stereotypically working towards that first
triathlon…slowly), baking enthusiast and long-suffering Tottenham Hotspur fan. Obviously, I drink a lot of
coffee too.
And our new Board members:
Philip Barclay (Chelsea & Westminster)
My first experience of anaesthesia was as an undergraduate at Leeds University in 1986, where I was taught how
to maintain an airway with a black rubber facemask and Clausen’s harness and measure blood pressure with
a von Recklinghausen tonometer, with no electronic monitoring. My anaesthetic career started as an SHO in
Manchester, followed by a Specialist Registrar rotation in Liverpool. I was appointed as a Consultant and Research
lead at Liverpool Women’s Hospital in 1999, with research interests that have included neuraxial opiates, low flow
anaesthesia and major obstetric haemorrhage. In 2012, I hosted the OAA Annual Meeting and was elected on
its Executive Committee the following year. Many of the OAA committee members that I worked with have had
key roles in the Association of Anaesthetists, and I am grateful for their advice and support when deciding to put
myself forward for election to join the Board. I moved down to London in 2014, where I am Consultant Anaesthetist
and Clinical Director at the West Middlesex University Hospital site of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS
Foundation Trust. It has been useful to draw upon my provincial experiences especially when working with
colleagues who have barely ventured north of Watford! Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family and
our lock-down Labrador. My hobbies include hiking, travel and photography.
Craig Carroll (Salford Royal)
Having qualified in 1993 after medical school in Manchester, I spend time in Queensland, Australia doing
emergency medicine before returning to the northwest for anaesthesia training. Following the completion of
specialist training, I spent time working at the Walton Centre, Liverpool before taking up a substantive post in 2002
at Salford Royal with a special interest in neuroanaesthesia.
I have an interest in patient blood management, with particular emphasis in pre-operative anaemia management
and intra-operative cell salvage. I am a member of the UK Cell Salvage Group and Chair of the North West Regional
Transfusion Committee. I am the Honorary Treasurer of the Neuroanaesthesia and Critical Care Society.
Benjamin Fox (Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn)
After being a Trainee Committee member it’s a privilege to return to the Association as a Board Member.
In the intervening years I’ve served on the RAUK Board, led the regional anaesthesia MSc programme, raised over
£10,000 in memory of two friends who lost their lives to suicide, and produced two fox cubs.
My interests include innovation and human factors, and I’ve been appointed to the Education Committee, the
Guidelines and Working Parties Committee, and the Finance, Audit and Investment Committee, Membership
Services Committee within the Association.
Jonathan Harrison (Portsmouth)
My name is Jonathan Harrison and I was a consultant in Portsmouth for 22 years. I am now a part of that new and
ever-growing ‘lost tribe’ of retired-and-returned anaesthetists who, hopefully, still have something to offer but who
rarely get much mention in workforce planning or indeed in the anaesthesia press. Improving anything requires
hard work and dedication (I set up and ran a Primary FRCA course in 2000 (SCIP); along with three bright SHOs, we
have run this three times every year, over 60 courses, and never missed an exam sitting). It also requires integrity,
vision and leadership skills (I’ve also been on the GAT Committee, part of the Revalidation Support Team, Trust
Appraisal Lead, Clinical Director (twice!, including successfully leading my department through the pandemic).
I welcome the opportunity to reapply all that I've learned, working within the Association to help develop impactful
solutions that ultimately benefit all members: trainees, SAS doctors and consultants. The challenge that we all face
to deliver a vast amount of clinical work, with a workforce that is undersized, tired and somewhat demoralised,
should not be underestimated. I am unashamedly supportive of the contribution that Anesthesia Associates can
provide, both helping to deliver more clinical work but also supporting medical anaesthetists with the ever-growing
demands that we face. I am also passionate that we need to address rapidly the environmental consequences
of anaesthesia.