VSGBI NEWS - Vascular Society · Data Entry and the NVD The NVD has been running since 1997 and as...

VSGBI NEWSNovember 2010

President’s Message 2Quality Improvement Framework 3NHS AAA Screening 4Carotid Intervention Audit Update 4CCVSI 5Ali Bakran 5Remodelling London Vascular Services 6Lifetime Achievement Award 7

Vascular Allograft Bank Update 7New President, Honorary Members 8Educational Bursaries 8Vascular Services New Strategy 8AGM Brighton 24-26 November 9Circulation Foundation 10Contacts 12New Members 12

CONTENTS

Professor SirBruce Keogh toopen the AGM

Sir BruceKeogh isMedicalDirector ofthe NationalHealthService inEngland. Heis responsible

for clinical quality, policy andstrategy and postgraduateeducation of doctors, dentists,pharmacists and clinicalscientists. He oversees thework programme of the NationalInstitute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) andthe National Patient SafetyAgency (NPSA).

Sir Bruce was a British HeartFoundation Senior Lecturer andconsultant cardiothoracicsurgeon at the HammersmithHospital in London beforemoving to the Queen ElizabethHospital in Birmingham, wherehe became associate medicaldirector for clinical governanceand the cardiac surgical servicelead. In 2004 he was appointedProfessor of Cardiac Surgery atUniversity College London andDirector of Surgery at the HeartHospital. He has been Presidentof the Society for CardiothoracicSurgery in Great Britain andIreland. He has served as aCommissioner on theCommission for HealthImprovement (CHI) and theHealthcare Commission andwas knighted for services tomedicine in 2003.

Data Entry and the NVD

The NVD has been running since 1997 and as a web-based tool since 2005.This year has seen significant changes to the AAA section of the NVD withthe introduction of the NHS screening programme. In addition, the VascularSociety has agreed to host datasets for the VASGBI and BSIR allowing muchmore detailed data to be collected about each procedure, as well as adetailed dataset for EVAR. The membership can be proud of thedevelopment of national clinical datasets, allowing the Society to contributeto National Clinical Audits, particularly the carotid intervention audit.Unfortunately data entry rates have been, and remain low.

Recent examination of the NVD shows that contribution rates vary from about 30%in the amputation dataset, to around 50% for lower limb bypass and AAA surgery,when rates are compared to HES datasets. The carotid intervention audit, funded

by HQIP, only achieved 70% case entry in the lastround, despite significant funding from theDepartment of Health.

The Department of Health is focusing on NationalClinical Audits this year and is particularly keen tosupport audits that provide data on outcomerather than process. The Vascular Society is wellplaced to take advantage of any available funding,but we will need to show that we can capture themajority of procedures under our care. This is alsoimportant for reporting professional standards toour patients and to underpin the revalidation ofvascular specialists.

The AAA QIP has been reporting NVD entry ratescompared to HES from October 2009 for the fourcountries of the UK. From October 2010, we willbe setting standards for data entry. This will be inthe form of a simple traffic light system; reddenoting an unacceptably low data entry (as

compared to HES), amber when the contribution is low but close to acceptable,and green indicating that data entry exceeds the minimum acceptable. Thethreshold levels for data entry will be agreed by Council. It is anticipated that thethresholds will rise gradually after introduction.

continued on page 3

David Mitchell

As we move tospecialty statusand reorganise ourservice, we need tobe seen as aprofessional bodythat puts goodpatient outcomesat the core of ouractivity

This last year has been both exciting andchallenging for all those involved with VascularServices. After a long campaign to become aspecialty in its own right we have recently heardthat the Department of Health has approvedStage 1 (agreement to the need and principle) ofthe application for Vascular Surgery to become anew specialty. If the training syllabus is approvedwe hope to recruit our first trainees in October2012. A new specialty will allow future traineesmore time focused on gaining competencies inthe full range of vascular disease managementand therapy.

Concerns about poor outcome results for aortic surgeryin the UK reported by Vascunet were picked up by themedia and the Guardian ran a series of high profilearticles about this. A lot of work has been initiated toimprove these results and the development of theQuality Improvement Programme, led by David Mitchell

(Chair of the Audit and QualityCommittee) with the aim tohalve mortality for aortic surgeryby 2013 is well underway. Theimportance of high quality datawas vividly highlighted by themedia when it became apparentthat many UK units were notreporting their outcomes. Theimportance of the National Vascular Database inobtaining this information could not have been moreclearly demonstrated.

Maintaining a high profile for vascular services has beena priority. National press releases, lobbying in theHouses of Parliament and a BBC press release on thecarotid audit and vascular services audit have all madean impact. This seems to be having an effect and NICEhas commissioned a group to produce guidelines forPeripheral Arterial Disease and the Diabetic Foot.

2 • November 2010 VSGBI News

The demonstration that operative volume islinked closely with outcome, and concerns withthe provision of emergency services hasstimulated many Strategic Health Authoritiesto review their provision of vascular services,moving towards larger units or networks. Withthe likely reduction in numbers of trainees insurgical specialties, combined with a changingrole of consultants in delivering health, afuture working in larger consultant teams mustseem the most appealing. Coming at a time offinancial austerity this is obviously going to bea difficult, but it is probably the bestopportunity we will all have to ensure thatvascular services are fit for purpose over thenext decade.

In the year since the Research Committee wasestablished, chaired by Professor ShervanthiHomer-Vanniasinkam, the impact has beendramatic. Working with the CirculationFoundation, research grants of nearly£100,000 have been awarded and this year,for the first time, a President’s Early Careeraward has been established and will beawarded at the AGM to help a newly appointedconsultant establish a research programme.The winner of the award worth £100,000 over2 years, Mr Matt Bown, will be presenting hisproject at the SARS meeting on Wednesdaymorning.

I look forward to seeing you at the Society’sAGM in Brighton. I am particularly pleasedthat Professor Sir Bruce Keogh is attending toopen the meeting.

Professor Cliff Shearman

President’s Message

Data Entry and the NVD - continued from page 1

This information will be made available to units, anda national comparison will be published in the springof 2011 in the first annual report from the QIP. Togive Members time to improve data entry rates, theinitial report will be anonymised, although unit rates,by region, will be reported. It is anticipated that fromOctober 2011 units will have their outcomes anddata entry rates published and will be named inregional comparison reports. The annual report inspring 2012 will be published with unit contributionand mortality rates made available publicly for thefirst time.

In 2011 we will be adopting the Quality ImprovementFramework for amputation and we will be includingamputation data in our quarterly reports, in additionto the current AAA and carotid reports.

VSGBI News November 2010 • 3

The aim of the amputation QIF is to improve theearly survival of a group of patients thought by manyto be disadvantaged by suffering from a low prioritycondition which has a significant risk to their life.The original document was conceived by an invitedstakeholder group, and reviewed by Council.

The draft QIF was circulated recently to VSGBI Membersand over 140 of you responded to the questionnaire.Reading your comments has given a fascinating insight intothe problems faced in individual hospitals, and indeedsome of your elegant solutions. It is gratifying that mostrespondents were supportive of large parts of the QIF. A fulllist of the responses to the questionnaire is published onthe VSGBI website.

There were areas of controversy. Many of you liked theidea of a named person responsible for co-ordinating care(who could be a doctor, nurse or one of the rehabilitationteam). But several of you hated the term amputationchampion, so it has been removed from the QIF. Otherswere concerned about trying to maximise the proportion ofbelow knee amputations by comparing the AK to BK ratiobetween units. Many of you emphasised that the decisionon amputation level was an individual one. Yet nationallythere are big differences between units, and therehabilitation experts on our initial stakeholder groupthought some patients were disadvantaged by localpractice. The aim would be to use the National VascularDatabase to ensure that maximising the number of below

knee amputations did not result in an increasedrisk of re-amputation.

Finally, many of you will have had difficulty gettingappropriate operating theatre time to manageamputation in daylight hours. This, of course, isone of the main reasons for a QIF: to givesurgeons locally leverage to encourage managersto ensure facilities are appropriate to care forthese patients.

A small number of surgeons gave very negativeresponses to the whole QIF, suggesting thatamputation is a general surgery procedure thatcould and should be done by any trained generalsurgeon. The stakeholder group and the VSGBICouncil disagree. To have a ‘head in the sand’attitude to any surgical procedure with a mortalityrate as high as twenty percent (roughly a thousanddeaths in England and Wales every year) is notacceptable and I trust that the overwhelmingsupport for the QIF by most VSGBI Members willinspire and encourage the naysayers.

The QIF will be published at the time of the AGMand publicised to SHAs, PCTs and hospital Trusts.The published version will, of necessity, be quitebrief, but a longer version with explanatory noteswill be available on the website. The QIF will thenbe handed over to David Mitchell’s Audit andQuality Improvement team who will ensurecontinued monitoring of outcomes.

I would like to finish by giving grateful thanks to allcolleagues in the stakeholder group who are listedon the expanded version of the QIF on thewebsite, and to the Council for their support andadvice.

Jonothan Earnshaw

Honorary Secretary

Quality ImprovementFramework for majorleg amputation

As we move to speciality status and reorganise our service,we need to be seen as a professional body that puts goodpatient outcomes at the core of our activity. Please use thisinformation (we will be circulating this to NHS Trustgovernance leads) to ensure that you re-focus efforts fortimely and accurate data entry. Many vascular surgeonshave commented that the data comparisons have beenuseful to resolve coding issues, to obtain recognition foraudit activity and to secure some help towards improvinglocal as well as national audit. If we can achievesignificantly higher data entry rates, we will be able to moveto a quality assurance programme to demonstrate thereliability of the data entered. This will give us a strongprofessional voice and authority to speak to our patientsand public bodies about the standards of service. It willalso put our new speciality on a strong footing.


The number of cases has risen over the last fewmonths, but we are still short of our target of over 90%of carotid interventions performed between 1st October2009 and 30th September 2010.

The table below shows the differences between datasubmitted to HES versus the NVD for October 2009 –March 2010. All data are correct at 10am on 27thOctober 2010.

The far right column is the total number of casessubmitted. However for the cases to be analysed, weneed them to be locked to at least phase 1. At 27thOctober we only have total of 3570 (82%) cases thathave been locked to at least phase 1.

Please submit all your carotid interventions (procedurecodes L29.4, L29.5 and L31.4) to the UK CarotidInterventions Audit, and lock them to at least phase 1 by

15th December 2010. A two week data checking periodwill then take place, before the data analysis willcommence in January 2011.

If you have any queries then please email Sam Waton [email protected] or phone 0203 075 1518. TheUKCEA will have a stand at the Vascular Society AnnualGeneral Meeting in Brighton, and look forward to seeingyou there.

The NHS AAA Screening Programme has now adopted a more proactiveapproach to its implementation in order to ensure AAA screeningcovers the whole of England by 2013.

The Programme has been working with SHA Screening Leads to agree amapping document that identifies potential future local programmes,associated PCTs and proposed implementation dates.

The Programme is committed to working with local organisations toensure these implementation timescales are achieved. This approachwill ensure local programmes can benefit from central funding prior toany NHS reorganisation.

Phase 2 of the Programme’s national roll-out began in October 2010 andseveral new local programmes will ‘go live’ each month until the end ofMarch 2011. Phase 3 will then begin in October 2011 and the final localprogrammes will be rolled out during Phase 4 from October 2012.

This approach allows new programmes the maximum time possible toscreen their first full year’s cohort to the end of the next full financialyear. For example, a programme which ‘goes live’ in October 2011 willbegin screening men who will turn 65 during the following financial year(2012-13) and should finish screening this first cohort by the end ofMarch 2013.

NHS AAA Screening Programme

UK Carotid Interventions Audit Round 3 Update

SHA HES Difference NVD Percentage Total R3 Cases on Oct-Mar Oct-Mar Oct-Mar Oct-Mar 27/Oct/2010

East Midlands 175 -16 159 91% 343East of England 284 -69 215 76% 433London 290 -115 175 60% 312North East 116 -12 104 90% 217North West 508 -158 350 69% 645South Central 185 -28 157 85% 262South East Coast 167 -21 146 87% 258South West 296 -34 262 89% 483West Midlands 314 -150 164 52% 324Yorkshire and The Humber 251 -65 186 74% 402England Total 2586 -668 1918 74% 3679Scotland 235 -95 140 60% 317Wales 172 -77 97 56% 163Northern Ireland * N/A 159Private N/A 22UK TOTAL 4340


The concept of CCSVI burst on to the multiplesclerosis blogosphere in 2007, following reportswhich suggested that multiple sclerosis (MS) wascaused by blocked or stenosed veins in the neck.Comparison was made between the tissue changesseen in lower limbs with venous hypertension andthe changes seen in the brain in MS patients. Thiswas followed by a small prospective study ofpatients treated by balloon angioplasty of venousstenoses. Most experienced significantimprovement in their symptoms, especially thosewith the relapsing-remitting variety of MS.

The prospect of a radical new theory regarding the causeof MS, linked to a possible cure has been greeted withenormous enthusiasm by patient support groups.Multiple websites exist devoted to promulgatingresearch on CCSVI. T-shirts are available with theMS-CCSVI-UK banner, and a global CCSVIawareness day was held on 5th May 2010.Unfortunately in the UK, this clashed with ourGeneral Election. Treatment for CCSVI with balloonangioplasty and stenting of the venous stenoses,termed the “liberation” procedure, is only availablein a handful of centres, mostly abroad. MostBritish patients treated so far have travelled toPoland or Bulgaria.

The response of the scientific community has beenmixed. Several publications have refuted theexistence of the condition and failed to identify anyvenous anomalies in MS patients. There is nostandardisation of duplex or MRI imaging protocols

for assessing the intracranial and neck veins. There arereports of patients experiencing severe complications ofinterventional procedures for CCSVI. Many authoritieshave concluded that such interventions should bediscouraged until there is better evidence of their efficacy.The published literature is currently inconclusive andinsufficient to judge whether CCSVI causes or exacerbatesMS. It is unknown which patients might benefit fromtreatment and at what stage in their disease.

The VSGBI acknowledges the need for treatment ofpatients with MS but recognises that such patients arevulnerable and should be protected from unproventherapies. It is recommended that any interventionaltreatments for CCSVI should only be performed in thecontext of careful clinical trials with close collaborationbetween interventionist and neurologist.

Chronic Cerebrospinal VenousInsufficiency (CCSVI) Ian Franklin

Ali BakranAli Bakran died unexpectedly while on holiday onFriday, 27th August. Ali was well known and hadpassionate views about many aspects of vascularaccess surgery and renal transplantation. He wasappointed as Consultant Transplant and VascularSurgeon to the Royal Liverpool University Hospitalin 1989. Although an eminent transplant surgeonit was in the field of vascular access that heestablished his International reputation. Amongsthis many vascular access roles, he was FoundingPresident of the Vascular Access Society of GreatBritain and Ireland and President of the VascularAccess Society from 2001 to 2003. Ali’senthusiasm, dedication and commitment will belong remembered by his patients, colleagues andfriends.

6 • • November 2010 VSGBI News

Remodelling Vascular Services in London

Figure 1. Volumes of abdominal aortic aneurysmsurgery (represented by the size of the bubble) over thefive year interval 2003-2008 in London hospitals, plottedagainst in-hospital mortality and post-operative length ofstay. Data source: HES inpatient

Nick Cheshire & Matt Thompson

The vascular component of last year’s LondonCardiovascular Review focused on improving outcomesfor patients undergoing arterial intervention. A clinicalexpert panel of surgeons, radiologists and alliedprofessionals from around the capital met for the firsttime in October 2009 and publishedthe Case for Change in January2010. At the time the project began,over 20 hospitals around the citywere regularly treating arterialpatients, but 75% of the workloadwas occurring in the six largest units– meaning a lot of hospitals doingsmall numbers.

Literature review demonstrates a clearlink between improved outcome andhigher surgical volumes; real-timedata from hospitals not only provedthat point in London, but also showed

that bigger units use resources more efficiently (Fig1). Theclinical expert panel, supported by the project patientpanel, thought the present distribution of work was notconducive to best outcomes and stated as such in thecase for change - which can be found on the website,details below.

The London Commissioning Group received the Case forChange in December 2009 and felt that the evidencefor stopping low volume providers was so strong thatminimum volume and operational standards wereneeded in the 2010/11 contracting round. As a result,from April 2010 the distribution of arterial surgeryacross London has begun to change.

The full proposed Model of Care was published inAugust 2010 and suggests arterial surgery becentralised into five units with monitoring of outcomes,efficiency and new technology. In line with new guidanceon the need to demonstrate GP, patient, public and localauthority engagement, the model is currently beingpresented widely and, to date, has received supportfrom GP groups (such as Londonwide LMCs, LondonPEC Chairs) as well as LINK groups and local authorityOverview and Scrutiny Committees. Following theengagement period, the project will be handed over toLondon commissioners for full implementation next year.

See: www.csl.nhs.uk and click “cardiovascular and cancermodels of care” to see the full documentation andcomplete the online questionnaire.

Nick Cheshire - Vascular Unit, Imperial College, London W21NY [email protected]

Matt Thompson - St George’s Vascular Institute, BlackshawRd, London SW17 0QT [email protected]


Vascular Allograft Bank UpdateThe Vascular Allograft Bank in Liverpool now has a stock ofcryopreserved femoral arteries ready for immediate use.Unfortunately the level of interest from vascular and transplantsurgeons has been much lower than anticipated and a decisionhas been made to suspend further development of this project.

The Vascular Allograft Bank is a casualty of the cost-containment exercises that are playing out through the NHS:the low rate of issue of arterial grafts from the bank has meantthat further retrieval and processing of arterial allograftscannot be justified.

Consequently, development work on producing aortic allograftshas also been suspended at this time. It is unlikely that asimilar national project will be attempted in the UK in theforeseeable future.

For enquiries regarding cryopreserved femoral arterial allograftsplease contact the NHS Blood and Transplant National OrderLine on: 0845 607 6820 or follow the link www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/tissueservices/products/bloodvessels/Blood_Vessels/

Dominic Dodd

Consultant Vascular Surgeon, Sheffield

Lifetime Achievement Award

The Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award isto recognise vascularsurgeons who have made avaluable contribution to ourdiscipline but who may nothave been recognised inany other way. The awardwill be presented on theFriday at the AGM and thisyear’s recipient will beProfessor Brian Hopkinson.

Brian was a consultant vascular surgeon at Queen’sMedical Centre in Nottingham where he practisedfor thirty years. Brian was a smart diagnostician, anexcellent surgeon, and was blessed with a caringattitude towards his patients. Yet most surgeonsknow “Hoppy” for his enquiring mind andenthusiasm for innovation. In true Hunterian styleBrian has at various stages been at the forefront ofvascular research into venous insufficiency,thrombolysis for acute leg ischaemia and latterly,endovascular approaches for the treatment of aorticaneurysm. Together with a host of collaborators hehas built the department in Nottingham into a worldrenowned endovascular unit, which was creditedwith performing the first EVAR done in the UK. It isacknowledged that Brian has pushed back theboundaries of vascular treatment in many areas,including EVAR for ruptured aneurysm. Hisenormous contribution was recognised when hebecame a Professor of the University of Nottinghamin 1996, a reward for achievements in vasculartreatment and research. Even in retirement Brian isreluctant to relax and he has been associated withinnovative designs of new endovascular grafts. Heis, without doubt, an excellent and worthy recipientof a VSGBI Lifetime Achievement Award 2010.

Vascular Society/CookEndovascular Fellowships

Thanks to the generosity and support of CookMedical, the Society is again able to offerfinancial support for 3 endovascular fellowships.These posts will provide further opportunities fortrainees in the UK and Ireland to gain valuableendovascular experience in their trainingprogrammes. A number of centres have bid tohost the fellowships and a call for applicationsfrom trainees has been circulated. Funding of upto £60,000 will be available for each post startingafter November 2010.


Educational bursaries for vascular surgeons(trainees) funded by MaquetThe Royal College of Surgeons of Englandis awarding 10 educational bursaries of upto £500 each funded by Maquet. Thebursaries are available to trainees whowish to attend one of the following vascularsurgery courses held at the Royal Collegeof Surgeons of England.

Specialty skills in Vascular Surgery13 - 14 June 2011

Advanced Skills in Vascular Surgery15 - 17 June 2011

For further details, please visit the Maquetstand at Vascular Society AGM, 24th to26th November 2010 at the Hilton BrightonMetropole, Brighton.

RCS(Eng) Vascularcourses: 2011Amputations - 26 & 27th Jan 2011

EVAR planning - 02 & 03 March 2011

Specialist skills in Vascular Surgery -13 & 14th June 2011

Advanced skills in Vascular Surgery -15th & 17th June 2011

Vascular Access for Dialysis -20 & 21st Sept 2011 (provisional)

Modern Management of Varicose Veins- 18th October 2011 (provisional)

For further information, visitwww.rcseng.ac.uk/education/courses/specialty/vascular.html or [email protected]

President for2012-2013

Honorary Members

Dr David Campbell from Harvard, USA, and Professor Jim Reekersfrom the Netherlands will be awarded Honorary Membership of TheVascular Society at the AGM.

Professor Julian Scott waselected by Council asPresident for 2012-2013.He will assume the role ofVice-President Elect fromNovember 2010.


On-line registration is available onthe Society’s AGM websitehttp://annualmeeting.vascularsociety.org.uk - please register soon ifyou have not already done so. Thefinal programme is now available todownload from the website.

Annual DinnerThe Society Dinner will be held inthe Hilton Brighton Metropole onThursday 25th November. Thedinner will be informal, with a liveband, 8 lane scalextric and fun fairstalls. We will also be providing aphoto booth where fun or formalgroup photographs can be taken forpurchase at the meeting. We willalso be awarding the prizes for thebest papers at the Annual Dinner.

All Members are encouraged toattend and bring colleagues andguests. Tickets can be booked viathe meeting registration form. Notickets will be available for sale atthe venue – please book your ticketin advance.

There will be no formal table plan atthe Annual Dinner. Tables seat 10guests. Only tables of 10 can bereserved on receipt of full payment.If a table is not reserved, guestswill be required to arrange their ownseating at the dinner.

Welcome DrinksReceptionA reception will be held onWednesday 24th November from6.30-7.15pm in the ConferenceCentre.

Social ProgrammeNo trip to Brighton is completewithout a visit to the town'sfascinating Lanes or historic RoyalPavilion. A half day tour is availablewhich includes a walking tour of TheLanes - a labyrinth of narrow, brick-clad streets and twittens, with theirmany restaurants, pubs andindividual shops selling jewellery,antiques, and designer clothes -followed by a visit to the Royal

Pavilion, the magnificentpalace once home tothree British monarchs.This will take place onThursday 25th November.The cost is £20 andbookings should be made via the registration website.

HotelAccommodationHotel accommodation is stillavailable and details can be foundon the AGM websitehttp://annualmeeting.vascularsociety.org.uk

PostersAbstract posters will be displayed inthe Upper Gallery at the ConferenceCentre during the meeting, and willbe judged during the meeting onWednesday and Thursday. Prizeswill be awarded at the Society’sAnnual Dinner on Thursday 25thNovember.

Evening symposia,sponsored by EthiconEthicon Biosurgery has arranged asymposium on Wednesday 24thNovember from 6.30-7.15pm onThe management of bleeding andits impact on outcomes in vascularsurgery. Registration is free, butdelegates are asked to [email protected] ortelephone 07778 333500.Complimentary refreshments will beprovided.

Breakfast SymposiaA breakfast symposium will be heldon Thursday 25th November at7am-8am, on Current MedicalTreatment for PAD. You do not needto register separately for thissymposium as it is included in themeeting registration fee. However,if you are interested in attending, itwould be helpful if you could pleaseindicate this on your registration.

Annual Business MeetingThe Business Meeting is scheduledto take place on Thursday 25thNovember at 4.30-5.30pm. Anagenda and the minutes of lastyear’s meeting are available on theSociety’s website. Further copieswill be available at the meeting. AllOrdinary Members are encouragedto attend.

Reports from the Society’s Officerscan be found in the Society’sYearbook, which is available on thewebsite.

The meeting will commence withmatters of Any Other Business.Members are encouraged to advisethe Office prior to the AGM if theywould like to discuss any particularmatters.

YearbookThe Society has again produced aYearbook for Members, which willbe available for all delegates at theAGM. This includes the programmeof the meeting and details ofabstracts to be presented. TheYearbook is now available on theSociety website and Members areencouraged to look at this beforethe meeting.

This year, the Yearbook will not besent to Members who do not attendthe AGM but will be available on theSociety’s website for downloading.If Members do require a hard copy,please contact the Society office.The Society would like toacknowledge the work of NikkiBramhill from tfm Publishing Ltdwho has laboured long and hard toproduce the Yearbook.

AGM, Brighton: 24-26 November 2010

The Circulation Foundation


Rudding Park Golf Day 2010The Circulation Foundation held its Charity Golf Day onFriday 25th June 2010 at Rudding Park in Harrogate,Yorkshire. 12 teams of golfers headed out into thesunshine and made their way around the award winningcourse.

There was strong competition; however the winningmen’s team of Peter Grant, David Berridge, StephenGilbey and Mark Elliott romped home with arespectable score of 93, followed closely by VinceSmyth, Nick Shaper, Nick Chant and Isaac Nyamekyewho scored 90 points.

The winning ladies team of Jane Gilbey, Barbara Dall,Kay Berridge and Dympna Ryan scored a commendable84 points, with Sara Baker, Debbie Phillips, JulieRomaines and Deborah Rackusen hotly on their heelswith 82 points.

A drinks reception and fundraising dinner was held inthe evening, which generated over £10,000 for the

Foundation. We would like to thank Mr David Berridge,Professor Michael Gough, Professor Julian Scott, MrsMoira Gough, Mrs Anne Johnson, Mrs Nikki Dewhirstand Mrs Sally Bucktrout for organising this wonderfulevent.

And finally thank you to everyone who came to theevent and who donated or won any of our auction andraffle prizes.

Over the last year the Foundation has overhauled itsgrant application procedure. The new ResearchCommittee, chaired by Professor Homer Vanniasinkam,has significantly increased the standard of applicationsfor the awards. We are pleased to announce thefollowing awards for 2010:

Circulation Foundation ClinicalResearch Fellowship - £20,000To support research in any area of arterial or venousdisease either in basic science or in clinical medicine orsurgery

Hemanshu Patel: UCL, Royal Free for hisresearch into Toll-like receptors: a search for reducingmuscle damage caused by poor circulation to the legs.

The Mary Davies Research Fellowship -£25,000Funded by Mr George Davies in memory of his mother,to support research activity in either clinical or basicscience research in any area of arterial vasculardisease:

Ankur Thapar: Imperial College London for hisresearch into contrast ultrasound to predict the chanceof strokes.

The Owen Shaw Award - £3,000This annual award has been made possible by the kinddonations of the late Mr Owen Shaw and is awarded fora study related to the rehabilitation of amputees.

Cleveland Barnett: Nottingham TrentUniversity, for his research into using the NintendoWii™ to improve balance in lower limb amputees. Thisproject aims to see if using a games console designedto train balance, improves balance and posture inamputees. Also, the project will use motion capturetechnology to see how balance changes following theuse of the games console.

SVN Award - £7,500The SVN research grant is awarded to a member of theSVN specifically to enable them to undertake researchin their chosen area of vascular disease.

Louise Allen: Vascular Publication PortfolioResearch-based articles on topics relating to vasculardisease and the vascular nurse specialist:

1. Risk factor management of patients with vasculardisease

2. Nurse-led varicose vein clinic

3. The dimensions of a vascular nurse specialist

Research Grants Programme 2010


Following on from the success of our first everawareness week "Are your legs killing you" in Marchthis year, the Circulation Foundation will be holding itsannual awareness next year from the 7th to the 13thMarch 2011.

The week, entitled ‘Best Foot Forward’ will raiseawareness of the dangers of vascular disease amongmembers of the general public, especially those withdiabetes.

The Spring Meeting, held in conjunction with theVascular Society, is one of the week's flagship eventsand will take place on Thursday March 10th at theKing’s Fund, London. Health professionals will shareand explore their various disciplines, includingdiagnosis and treatment of Diabetic Foot, preventionof re-ulceration, and rehabilitation of patientsfollowing amputation.

The meeting will be followed by a fundraising dinnerat the King’s Fund.

Icicle BicycleMr David Mitchell and Professor JonathanBeard are getting on their bikes and ridingfrom London to Brighton for the VascularSociety AGM!

They are undertaking this gruelling 54 mileride, to raise funds and awareness of theCirculation Foundation’s “Are your legs killingyou” campaign to reduce lower limb diseasein the UK. This is a brilliant example ofMembers of the Society helping raise fundsand awareness of the Circulation Foundation.You can sponsor them here atwww.justgiving.com/Jonathan-Beard

They will be setting off from the Houses ofParliament on Monday 22nd November ataround 12 noon. If you would like to jointhem on this bike ride, please contact the CFoffice.

London Marathon 2011We have 2 places left for the LondonMarathon 2011. Dennis Harkin representedthe Society in this year’ event and raisedover £4000! Running in this iconic race isan excellent way to raise both funds andawareness for the Foundation. Pleasecontact the CF office for more information,first come first served!

Vascular Disease Awareness Week 2011

The Circulation Foundation 35-43 Lincoln's Inn Fields London WC2A 3PE T: 020 7304 4779 F: 020 7430 9235 E: [email protected] www.circulationfoundation.org.uk


OFFICERSPresident: Professor Cliff Shearman

President Elect: Mr Peter Lamont

Vice-President Elect: Professor Ross Naylor

Honorary Secretary: Mr Jonothan Earnshaw

Honorary Secretary Elect: Mr Michael Wyatt

Honorary Treasurer: Mr Simon Parvin

Chairman Training & Education Committee:Professor Jonathan Beard

Chairman, Audit and Quality Improvement:Mr David Mitchell

Chairman, Research Committee:Professor Shervanthi Homer-Vanniasinkam

Chairman, Professional Standards Committee:Professor Michael Gough

Chief Executive:Ms Jeanette Robey

SOCIETY MAJOR SPONSORSCONTACTSThe Vascular Society of Great Britain and IrelandAt The Royal College of Surgeons35-43 Lincoln’s Inn FieldsLondon WC2A 3PE

Tel: 020 7973 0306Fax: 020 7430 9235E-mail: [email protected]: www.vascularsociety.org.uk

Registered in England, limited by guarantee

Registered Company No 5060866Registered Charity No 1102769

The Vascular Society of Great Britain and Ireland

OrdinaryDavid W Birchley Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital

Matthew J Bown Leicester Royal Infirmary

Kevin Conway Royal Glamorgan Hospital

Zahid Khan Walsall Manor Hospital

Ganesh Kuhan Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham

Reza Mofidi James Cook University Hospital

David Murray Manchester Royal Infirmary

William D Neary Southmead Hospital

David A Russell Leeds Vascular Institute

Mahmoud M Salman Sherwood Forest Hospital

AffiliateMark D Kay Heartlands Hospital Birmingham

Tim Stansfield Western General Hospital, Edinburgh

Peng F Wong Freeman Hospital

Welcome to the following newmembers of the Vascular Society

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