Registration for BASS 2022 has now opened with a variety of ticket types for you to attend. Not only are there standard and discounted rates for the main conference (23-25 March), there is also a Spinal Masterclass on 22 March and we are also hosting the National Backpain Pathway - Clinical Network Annual Meeting which will be of interest to many of our attendees.

We have also guaranteed no price increases from our previous meeting, along with subsidised rates for our members and some professions.

Early-Bird rates are also available on many ticket types until 9 February 2022 - so don't delay, register today!!

Visit our registration portal at: https://cvent.me/RRBvM0

We will be posting more about our programme, speakers and networking opportunities in the coming months by email to all members, and on our Twitter (@BASSspine) so please do follow us so you don't miss out on any announcements!

BASS 2022 is taking place at the ICC Belfast, Northern Ireland on 23-25 March 2022
and we are now accepting abstract submissions for presentation at the conference as either oral or poster presentations.

Deadline for submissions will be MIDDAY on Wednesday 5th January 2021

To submit your abstract(s), visit our dedicated submission portal: https://flame.firebird.systems/archer-yates/BASS2022/MySubmissions

After the deadline closes, abstracts will be reviewed by a panel of judges and we hope to notify all submitters within a month of the closure of submissions.

If you have any questions, queries or issues with submitting abstracts then please contact us by email at abstracts@spinesurgeons.ac.uk or our administrative support at ukssb@boa.ac.uk

For more information on the conference, visit https://spinesurgeons.ac.uk/BASS2022 and follow us on Twitter (@BASSspine) for further updates.

We look forward to receiving your submissions and welcoming you in Belfast in March 2022!

To Register for BASS Boot Camp – visit our registration page: https://bassbootcamp2021.eventbrite.co.uk

The British Association of Spine Surgeons (BASS) will be holding their annual Boot Camp, 10-11 September 2021. A fantastic opportunity to prepare Senior Trainees and Fellows for life as a Consultant Spinal Surgeon. 

Sessions include: 

• How to set up an NHS and Private practice and finding your niche
• Patient expectations – Consent in the post Montgomery era
• Effective clinical governance and setting up MDT for complex spine work
• Enhancing your CV for the Consultant Interview
• and many more interactive sessions…

Meet your fellow trainees (Ortho and Neuro) for networking and team building

Registration Fee - £100.00
Fee includes Accommodation and Meals (travel is not covered)

Organiser and Faculty Contact:
Mr Rajat Verma - BASS Education - education@spinesurgeons.ac.uk
Mr David Cumming - BASS President - president@spinesurgeons.ac.uk

We are delighted to present our first Great debate. This will take place every second month and will be a Consultant led and moderated debate on topics all around Spinal surgery.
This month we have a fantastic faculty that will be debating the use of Cervical Disc Replacements vs Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion. We will be using some cases to illustrate the pathology targeted but the debate will be focused on indications, pitfalls and results of the techniques.

This webinar is free for all members of UK spine societies - register now at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6Jhxo8oZRZWFpe-oux8Avg

Hosts:
Mr Rajat Verma (BSS / BASS Education Lead)
Mr Rohit Shetty (BASS)
Mr Alex Goubran (BASS Trainee Rep)

Speakers:
- Mr Aparjay Golash (BASS / Preston)
- Mr Irfan Siddique (BASS / Salford)

Moderator: Mr David Cumming (BASS President)

Whilst aimed at post-CCT fellows, consultants, registrars and doctors from other grades are welcome to join. A certificate of attendance will be provided on receipt of a completed feedback form.

The event is free to attend and open to non-members to join. Please share with your colleagues and trainees.

For those unable to attend, or wish to review the content again at a later stage, the webinar will be recorded and posted onto the BASS website, within the members section.

Details of how to become a BASS member can be found here: https://spinesurgeons.ac.uk/Member-Benefits

Applications close on 25th July 2021 2nd August 2021

The BASS executive trainee subcommittee are looking to appoint enthusiastic, engaged and forward thinking trainees of any level to our team. We will be looking on taking more of a role in education, research, quality improvement and most importantly improving the pathway for all future Spinal surgeons at a time when training has been so badly effected by the pandemic. We want to work as a close knit collaborative over the next 18 months to 2 years and in that time engage and close the community between Spinal surgery trainees and Consultants alike. We look forward to hearing from you and receiving your application.

Apply here: https://forms.gle/v4CSVAzZn2tJiQSP7

For further information on BASS and the work of the subcommittee, please visit www.spinesurgeons.ac.uk

Recording of a live webinar from evening of Thursday 10th June 2021: https://youtu.be/Hj9nH-wK53M

Diversity in Spine - An evening with David Sellu: Did he save lives?

David Sellu is a colorectal surgeon based in London, who was unfairly convicted of killing a patient in 2010, who died of complication of emergency bowel surgery. As a consequence, he spent almost 2 years in prison before he was released and able to launch an appeal that overturned his conviction. He has since written a book, describing his experiences and also his pathway into medicine, from very humble beginnings in Sierra Leone, Africa. His story is truly a fascinating one, and has a lesson as well as inspiration for all surgeons.

Dear BASS and BSS Members,

The 2022 BOA Future Leaders Programme (FLP) has launched and applications are now open.
Both the British Association of Spine Surgeons (BASS) and the British Scoliosis Society (BSS) will be sponsoring one fellow each for the 2022 FLP. These two places are only open to members of BASS and BSS. Applications will close on 6th September 2021.

To be eligible to take part in the programme, when the programme runs, you must be either:
•    A senior trainee (ST8 or above)
•    A newly appointed consultant (less than 3 years)
•    An SAS Surgeon (FRCS Tr & Orth)
•    A post-CCT Surgeon

The successful candidate must also be a BOA member when the programme runs to be eligible to take part.
BASS and BSS will have panels to select the successful candidate for these society-funded places. All applications will be anonymised by the BOA to reduce the potential for unconscious bias.

Please download the Main BOA Future Leaders Programme application form, provide your CV and complete the Equality and Diversity Monitoring form. Send your completed application to policy@boa.ac.uk

More information on the FLP and how to apply is on the BOA website at boa.ac.uk/flp

Are you completing a research project or data collection exercise you want to have a wider reach with your peers and colleagues?

BASS have some options available for survey distributions:

- Anyone can request a survey distribution to go BASS members by email via the UKSSB Newsletter. To access the request form and for more information, visit: https://www.ukssb.com/survey-distributions

This event has ended - to view the recording, please visit the BASS YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/Hj9nH-wK53M

We would like to invite you to attend this unique talk taking place on Thursday 10th June 2021 at 8pm. This webinar is hosted by BASS and arranged by Hui-Ling Kerr, Diversity Rep on the BASS Executive.

Registration is FREE and required at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_UUDpq0KDT6KSJ5y0k36UrA

David Sellu is a colorectal surgeon based in London, who was unfairly convicted of killing a patient in 2010, who died of complication of emergency bowel surgery. As a consequence, he spent almost 2 years in prison before he was released and able to launch an appeal that overturned his conviction. He has since written a book, describing his experiences and also his pathway into medicine, from very humble beginnings in Sierra Leone, Africa.
His story is truly a fascinating one, and has a lesson as well as inspiration for all surgeons.
 
David Sellu qualified in Medicine from Manchester and held his first post as Consultant Surgeon in Oman. There he helped shape the curriculum of the new medical school and also worked in a new tertiary hospital.
On return to the UK in 1993, Sellu was employed as an academic, as a Senior Lecturer in Surgery at the then Royal Postgraduate Medical School at Hammersmith Hospital, later incorporated into Imperial College. Afterwards, he transferred to the NHS as a Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon at Ealing Hospital. While at Ealing, he was granted practising privileges at the private Clementine Churchill Hospital in Harrow.
A patient died under his care at the Clementine in 2010, an event that was to change his life. He was unfairly convicted of the patient’s manslaughter and given a two-and-a-half year prison sentence; he served half of this in some of the toughest prisons in the country.
On his release his friends, family and he launched an appeal, which saw his conviction overturned in the Royal Courts of Justice. They uncovered evidence of racism and corporate greed, where the interest of the business prevailed over patient safety.
Sellu has written a riveting account of these events in a memoir entitled ‘Did He Save Lives? A Surgeon’s Story.’

PDF Statement: 210407 - BSS-BASS Statement.pdf

A recent publication of a paper in Bone and Joint Journal highlighted the “worse than death” quality of life scores for a number of patients in pain from arthritis of the hip and knee with lengthened wait times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.1

As spine surgeons managing patients in severe pain due to arthritic conditions as well as severe pain and despair from nerve root compression, we very much echo the concerns from our arthroplasty colleagues about our patient groups.

There are many patients now waiting many months for pain relieving interventions that have not been able to access elective lists due to the capacity issues related to the pandemic. These interventions usually come at the end of a conservative trial that has already failed, meaning that there is no other alternative for these patients whilst waiting. In addition, we have all seen patients progress to neurological compromise during the pandemic, requiring unplanned urgent or emergent surgery as a consequence. Unfortunately, on some occasions these can be irreversible changes. Children with spine deformity have also progressed in terms of their disease whilst waiting.

As organisations with clinician members concerned about the welfare of our patients, we urge that NHS bodies and Trusts work with us to find sustainable solutions to restart elective work in a safe way that allows equity of access to “COVID green” pathways, critical care facilities and MRSA screened facilities for spine surgery patients. We recognise that care needs to be focussed on clinical priorities, but welcome reassurance that the FSSA prioritisation categories are honoured regardless of underlying surgical condition. We also urge that resources are used to improve the well-being of all patients with awful pain that are awaiting surgery as soon as possible.

References:
1 https://online.boneandjoint.org.uk/doi/full/10.1302/0301-620X.103B.BJJ-2021-0104.R1