HomeMembers Societies Links CommitteeMeetingsThe society has two meetings a year, one in the UK and one overseas.
by Dr Gordon Bush
THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE ASSOCIATION OF PAEDIATRIC ANAESTHETISTS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND
In the early summer of 1973, Drs Gordon France from the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow and Douglas Shannon from the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh circulated a letter to prominent children’s anaesthetists world wide proposing that a World Society of Paediatric Anaesthetists should be formed. At that time, the development of anaesthesia for children was confined to only a few specialised hospitals and considerable difficulties were foreseen in the organisation of such a large society. However their initiative was followed up in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In the late summer of 1973, a steering committee under the Chairmanship of Dr G. Jackson Rees drew up a proposed constitution suggesting the formation of the Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (APA). An invitation to attend an inaugural meeting to discuss this proposal was sent to recognised Consultants in anaesthesia in children’s hospitals in Great Britain and Ireland.
CONSTITUTION OF THE ASSOCIATION OF PAEDIATRIC ANAESTHETISTS GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND
The aims of the Association shall be to further the study of the science and practice of paediatric anaesthesia, and the proper teaching thereof. Towards this end the Association shall organise scientific meetings, promote research in paediatric anaesthesia, advise other professional bodies and interested parties on matters pertaining to paediatric anaesthesia, collect and disseminate information pertaining to paediatric anaesthesia.
The membership shall consist of Home, Overseas and Honorary Members.
Home Members shall be comprised of Consultant Anaesthetists living in Great Britain or Ireland who contribute to the aims of the Association.
Overseas Members shall be Consultant Anaesthetists outside the British Isles, who devote 50% of allocated hospital time to the practise of paediatric anaesthesia.
Honorary Members shall be Paediatric Anaesthetists or others who have made an outstanding contribution to paediatric anaesthesia.
Any member may propose the name of a candidate for membership by completing the nomination form and forwarding it to the Honorary Secretary. Applications for membership will be considered by the Committee and recommendations made to the next Annual General Meeting.
Because of the increase in secretarial and mailing costs, it was felt, in 1988, that an annual subscription for membership of the APA should be made by all ordinary and overseas members. The sum of £10 per year was agreed.
The Committee shall consist of President, President-elect, Past President (ex-officio), Secretary and Treasurer, four home members and one overseas member. Whilst the original term of office of the President was determined to be for 3 years, in 1985 it was agreed the this should be reduced to a 2 year term. The term of office of the Officers and Committee members shall be two years.
The Secretary, Treasurer and Committee Members will be eligible for re-election for a second period of two years.
An Annual Scientific and General Meeting shall be held in Great Britain or Ireland, normally in the Spring.
Additional meetings, either at home or overseas, shall be held from time to time, including joint meetings with other professional bodies.
Inauguration of the APA
The first Annual General Meeting of the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland took place in Bristol on 26th September 1973 and was attended by 21 anaesthetists with apologies for non-attendance from a further 12 interested persons. The proposed constitution was adopted. Dr R.W.Cope was unanimously elected as President, Dr G.Jackson Rees as Vice President, Dr G.H.Bush as Honorary Secretary and Drs France, Glover, Inkster, and Love as members of the Committee. It was agreed that the Anaesthetic department of the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, London should host the first Scientific meeting of the APA on Friday 15th March 1974.
The scientific session of this meeting was attended by 31 members and guests and took place on the afternoon of 15th March 1974. The programme consisted of a presentation of a symposium on "The management of infants with Congenital Heart Disease" followed by 4 original papers.
The second Annual General Meeting of the APA was held after the scientific session meeting. It was agreed that a new category of membership should be established and Dr Phillip Ayre (Newcastle) and Sir Ivan McGill (London) were elected as Honorary Members. The Honorary Treasurer, Dr GH Bush, reported that the present bank account stood at £330 (Entrance subscriptions £160 and subscriptions to the dinner £170) and following payment of expenses for the meeting, the surplus was expected to be under £100 for the year ending 30th September 1974.
Subsequently, an excellent dinner was held at the Oriental Club hosted by the President, Dr RW Cope.
The third meeting of the APA was held at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool on Friday 14th March 1975. The scientific session consisted of 7 original papers and was attended by 34 members. Since the previous meeting, 3 new members had been elected by postal ballot and a further 4 members were also elected, bringing the total number of ordinary members to 40. The Hon Treasurer reported that there was a surplus of £110.49p at the end of the financial year on 30th September 1974 and hoped to carry forward a surplus in excess of £250 to the next financial year.
The fourth meeting of the APA was held at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th March 1976. The Scientific sessions consisted of 9 original papers, including a presentation by Professor Graham Fisk from Sydney, Australia and were attended by 29 members. The dinner was attended by 44 members and guests. The business meeting agreed that a new category of membership entitled Overseas Members should be inaugurated and nomination would be by members of the APA and whilst these members would be ineligible to vote at the AGM, their interests would be represented by a representative on the Committee. The total number should be less than the number of UK members. Dr Cope completed his term of office as President at the end of September 1976 and Dr Jackson Rees was duly elected President.
Since the inauguration of the Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists in 1973, the number of home members has increased greatly rising from an original 33 to 48 in 1978, 98 in 1988 and 209 members in 1998.
Following the introduction of the category of Overseas Members in 1976 when 18 names were proposed and membership accepted, this number increased to 22 in 1978, 86 in 1988 and 141 members in 1998.
The number of Honorary Members at 1998 stands at 11 members.
PRESIDENTS OF THE APA
1973-76 Dr RW Cope (London)
1976-79 Dr G.Jackson Rees (Liverpool)
1979-82 Dr SHS Love (Belfast)
1982-85 Dr JS Inkster (Newcastle)
1985-87 Dr GW Black (Belfast)
1987-89 Dr GH Bush (Liverpool)
1989-91 Dr WJ Glover (London)
1991-93 Dr P Morris (Manchester)
1993-95 Professor DJ Hatch (London)
1995-97 Dr JW O'Higgins (Bristol)
1997-99 Dr SEF Jones (Birmingham)
1999-01 Dr DS Arthur (Glasgow)
In keeping with its aims, The Association has organised not only its Annual Scientific and General Meeting, which takes place usually in the second weekend in March but also in teaching seminars and joint meetings with other associations of paediatric anaesthesia throughout the world.
Role of APA in committees relating to paediatric practise
Since it's inception, the APA has been and still is involved and plays an important influential and active role with many other related medical bodies. These include the British Association of Paediatric Surgery and The Royal College of Paediatrics, which have sought the opinion of the APA on many matters relating to management of children in hospital.
APA travel fund
For many years the APA has benefited from a handsome grant from Portex Ltd to swell the Travel fund, which is used to assist overseas travel expenses incurred by APA members who have been invited to promote paediatric anaesthesia, usually overseas. Application for grants from this fund should be directed to the Honorary Secretary who will forward them for consideration by the Committee.
Subscription to Paediatric Anaesthesia
Members of the Association receive a privileged 25% discount from the annual cost of subscribing to the journal Paediatric Anaesthesia and can pay the subscription through the Association.
APA lecture
In 1981, it was agreed by the Annual General meeting that a special APA lecture should be inaugurated. A Guest lecturer, distinguished for outstanding service to Paediatric Anaesthesia in the broad field of welfare of children, should be invited every two or three years to address the Association at an Annual Scientific meeting. The first APA lecture was delivered by Dr Jackson Rees at the Annual General Meeting in 1983. Since then the APA lecture has been delivered by 7 distinguished guests presenting a wide variety of important and interesting subjects pertaining to the welfare of children.
Annual trainee prize
In 1955 it was agreed that a prize would be awarded for the best paper presented by an anaesthetist in training at the Annual General meeting. This prize would be awarded to the trainee presenting work of their own or as a first author in a paper. The inaugural prize was awarded at the Annual Scientific meeting at Bristol in 1996.
APA Year Book and publication of abstracts
In 1977 and in each subsequent year, due to the generosity of Abbott laboratories, an Annual Yearbook is currently circulated to all the members of the Association. This publication details reports from the President, joint meetings, abstracts from the Annual Scientific meeting, notice of forth coming meetings, names of members of the Committee, honorary members and a list of all other members together with their address. In order to reach a wider scientific readership, the abstracts of papers presented at the Annual Scientific meeting, including those entered for the trainee prize, will be published, in future, in an issue of Paediatric Anaesthesia.