Report on 50^th Anniversary Annual Scientific Meeting of Neuroanaesthesia Society of Great Britain and Ireland (NASGBI) held at Manchester, UK

The 50^th Anniversary Annual Scientific Meeting of Neuroanaesthesia Society of Great Britain and Ireland (NASGBI) was held on 7^th and 8^th May, 2015 at Manchester, United Kingdom (UK). The venue was (Hilton Hotel) located in the Deansgate area, offering a scenic view of the city by virtue of being the tallest building located in the heart of Manchester. Approximately 150–200 delegates participated in this conference. The meeting started with an introductory speech by Dr. Craig Carroll, the Organiser of ASM 2015. NASGBI Secretary, Dr. John Andrzejowski, Sheffield, welcomed the delegates and mentioned about the participation of a big group of neuroanaesthesiologists from India for the first time in an NASGBI meeting. The first session, titled “Safety First,” commenced sharp at 09:30 AM and Dr. David Whitaker, ex-President AAGBI was the chairperson. He introduced the first speaker Dr. David Dalton, Salford Royal Foundation Trust, who delivered a lecture on “The Safe Hospital Environment.” It was followed by lectures on “Making Flying Safe” by Mr. Alan McEwen from UK Air Traffic Control and “A Long Day in Neurotheatres” by Dr. Kathleen Ferguson. The session was followed by a highly interactive question–answer session. This was followed by tea and the beginning of the trade exhibition. The second session commenced at 11:30 AM with the critical care debate on “This house believes that Specialist Neuro-Intensive Care Units are the Way Forward,” chaired by Dr. Jane Eddleston, Chair of NHS England Adult Critical Care Clinical Reference Group.

The proposing speaker was Dr. H. Patel and the opposing speaker was Dr. Angus Vincent, Newcastle. This was followed by the Annual General Meeting of the NASGBI, where apart from other issues, a decision on renaming of NASGBI to NACCSGBI (Neuro Anaesthesia and Critical Care Society of Great Britain and Ireland) was finalised. Simultaneously, breakout sessions were organised in adjoining halls from 12:15 to 01:30 PM, which covered topics like “Probono Legal Advice, Cerebral Blood flow, Neuroradiology” and Simulation on Adult/Obstetric/Paediatric neurosurgical anaesthesia.” This was followed by a sumptuous lunch. Session III commenced shortly after lunch and was themed on “Neurovascular Disease.” It was chaired by Dr. H. Patel, Consultant Neurovascular Surgeon, Salford Royal Hospital. In this session, Prof. Gabriel Rinkel of University of Utrecht spoke on “Delayed Neurological Deficit – Known Knowns, Known Unknowns….” This talk was followed by a lecture on “Manipulating Coagulation – Starting and Stopping the Clot” by Dr. Akbar Vohra of Central Manchester. The Simulations on Adult/Obstetric/Paediatric Neurosurgical Anaesthesia along with the breakout sessions on “Probono Legal Advice, Optimising Cerebral Blood Flow in Aneurysmal SAH, Neuroradiology for the Specialist Neuroanaesthetist/Neurointensivist” continued from 03:00 to 04:20 PM in different halls. Session IV was chaired by Dr. Carl Gwinnutt, Vice President Resuscitation Council, UK with the theme “Big Hitters in the Neuroanaesthesia/Neurocritical Care.” The first talk was about the “National Audit Project (NAP)-5 – What relevance is there to neuroanaesthesia,” which was discussed by Dr. James Palmer. It was followed by “Patient Blood Management, a Dripping Tap, a Gusher and the Critical Care Head” by Dr. Gemma Simons and “Tracheostomy – big fuss, small hole” by Dr. Brendan McGrath, University Hospital of South Manchester.

The President’s Reception was held at Cloud 23, located on the 23^rd floor of the Hilton hotel, Deansgate, Manchester, which offered an interesting opportunity for photography with unparalleled views of the city of Manchester. This was followed by the gala dinner at the Deansgate Suite, Hilton Hotel, Manchester, where the history of NASGBI was presented by Dr. Peter Farling, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast.

The scientific programme of the second and final day began at 09:00 AM with session V titled “Neurosurgeons, Research and Travel,” under the chairmanship of Dr. Ian Tweedie, President NASGBI. He invited the first speaker Dr. Conor Mallucci, Alderhey to deliver the talk on “The Paediatric Neuroanaesthesia Network Session: Paediatric Tumour Surgery.” This was followed by the lecture on “Neurocritical Care Research: Rescuing the Injured Brain” by Prof. Peter Hutchinson, University of Cambridge and Research Grant presentation by Prof. Martin Smith. Dr. Rebecca Campbell shared her experience in utilisation of the travelling grant, which was followed by tea. The free paper presentation was chaired by Dr. Matt Wiles, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals University of Nottingham. Simultaneously, the breakout sessions titled “EEG; Brain waves in Theatre and ICU,” “Temperature Management and the Trauma team,” “Airway Control: the Challenge of the Injured Neck,” and “Safe Tracheostomy Care” were conducted from 09:30 to 11:30 AM.

Session VI began with the McDowell Lecture: Memorial introduced by Dr Ian Tweedie, President NASGBI and was chaired by Prof. A. T. King, University of Manchester. The lecture was delivered by Dame Professor Nancy Rothwell, Vice Chancellor, University of Manchester on “Inflammation and Brain Injury – Discovery and Treatment.” The final session concluded with the lecture by Prof. Steve Peters, which was an extremely interesting talk on “Dealing with Chimps Caring for Critically Ill Patients.”

A total of 38 scientific posters were put up, out of which 8 posters qualified within the award category and were moderated and evaluated by a panel of judges. The papers were a conglomeration of clinical/laboratory research and interesting case studies. Two papers from India were selected in the award category and Dr. Bhavna Hooda, New Delhi shared the 1^st prize in the poster category. All the lectures were of great scientific interest which generated lot of questions from the floor. At the end, the prize distribution ceremony was conducted by Dr. Matt Wiles, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield and the awards were handed over by the President NASGBI. This brought to a close the proceedings of the conference and brought the curtains down on 2 days of renewed learning and meeting with new and old friends and colleagues.

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