Ranee Thakar discusses the College’s focus on supporting our global O&G workforce to deliver the highest standards of care, reflects on the results of the recent membership survey, and shares details of exciting plans for the RCOG 2025 World Congress, in London, in June.
Welcome to my March message. It has been a whirlwind start to the year, and my feet have barely touched the ground, with many fantastic opportunities to meet colleagues across our global O&G community. This is certainly one of the most rewarding aspects of my role, recognising that the College can best serve you when we are hearing first-hand about what matters most to you. So, in this update, I wish to focus on the ways the College is working to listen to, support and celebrate our members, and how you can shape and be involved in our work.
Preparations are well underway for our flagship World Congress, which will take place from 23 to 25 June 2025 in London. The theme of our flagship event this year is ‘Equity in care, innovation in action’, and we have an inspiring programme of speakers, workshops and sessions lined up. The packed three-days will cover trending topics and the latest innovations in O&G, including AI and digital health, lifestyle medicine and sustainability and climate change. There is an important stream focused on supporting the O&G workforce, with sessions including civility, racial equality and work-related PTS prevention. I look forward to seeing you there. You can take advantage of the early booking savings before Monday 28 April, here.
Our wonderful annual World Congress highlights the very best of our speciality and the diverse and fulfilling opportunities we have to support women throughout their lives. However, our speciality also faces significant challenges. Globally, we are seeing growing threats to women’s health rights and cuts to international development funding. In the UK, we are entering a critical period of change, with the NHS returning to direct government control during an already challenging time, with high demand for services, funding constraints, and aneed to transform care delivery. Supporting our members has never been so important, as your professional home, the RCOG will continue to adapt and innovate to provide the support you need throughout your careers.
The College’s maternity safety programme remains an absolute priority in 2025. While the UK remains one of the safest places in the world to give birth, thanks to the commitment of NHS staff, the College recognises that every tragic outcome has a devastating impact on the affected families as well as the staff striving to provide the best possible care against a tide of challenges.
Recognising that the complex issues affecting maternity services can only be tackled through partnership in action, the College established our Maternity Safety Independent Advisory Group in 2024. At our most recent meeting last month, we had a rich discussion on racialised incivility in maternity services and solutions to shift the dial on racism, from supporting individual maternity teams to effective national policy levers. We all agreed there is a real need to more closely connect crucial work taking place to improve culture and activity focused on improving safety. While there is much work to do, I could not help but leave the meeting feeling inspired.
Another rapidly changing area in the O&G landscape is the use of technology. I was delighted to speak at the Royal Society of Medicine’s Femtech meeting recently and our Innovations in Women's Health Summit just this week. As I reflect on the future of women's health, it is clear that while we must embrace innovation, we should never lose sight of the 3 Cs: Compassion, Communication and Care.
I was recently reminded of this when I noticed one of my postoperative patients had been given water, but it was placed so far from her that, in pain, she could barely reach it. It made me think — who will be looking after this patient when she goes home? In the hustle and bustle of a busy work environment, it is easy to overlook small acts of kindness. Still, these can make all the difference in how a patient feels, both physically and emotionally. Next time you are at work, take a moment to notice the little things that can improve your patients' experience. Alongside adopting ground-breaking innovations, we must continue to offer the compassionate, thoughtful care that every patient deserves.
I often find myself reflecting on such meetings and my conversations with colleagues from across the world. Where are we succeeding for women? What are the critical issues affecting our members? How can we learn from and support each other? The College speaks on your behalf, and we want to keep hearing from you about what you need, what is working and not working on the frontline.
Our 2024 membership survey was an invaluable opportunity to gather feedback from our global membership community, and ensure our work continues to be shaped by you. It was fantastic to see the positive responses received on how you view your College, your intentions to renew membership and that you would recommend membership of the RCOG to others. Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete this survey.
On Monday, 24 March, we also launched our new workforce census, which is open to all obstetricians and gynaecologists working in the UK. This census will give us insight into the current make-up of the O&G workforce and provide you with the opportunity to share your views and opinions on career development opportunities, the current work environment, and wellbeing in the workplace. During this period of significant NHS transition, this is vital in helping us build a truly comprehensive picture to inform the focus of College action and our influential advocacy work. We are keen to hear from as many O&G doctors working in the UK as possible, so please do take 15 minutes to complete it and share it with your networks, by Friday 18 April.
Working in the NHS, I know first-hand that our UK doctors are facing significant difficulty meeting their surgical training competencies against the backdrop of a changing O&G landscape, evolving clinical practices, technological advances and shifting workforce demands. One of my priorities as President is to tackle this issue head on, launching a three-year project to future-proof O&G surgery in the UK. We published a report summarising the activity and achievements from the first year of this work in February, which highlights the need for sustained investment and prioritisation in O&G surgical training in the UK and identifies areas for improvement to take forward as part of this project. Thank you to all those who contributed to this important work and report, which you can find the report here.
The College works to elevate women’s health by promoting excellence and supporting research. A highpoint in our calendar is the annual awards presentation, where we celebrate individuals that have contributed exceptional, original work to the O&G field and women’s health more broadly. It was great that so many 2024 winners, were able to attend the RCOG Annual Academic meeting, where their achievements were recognised. You can find information on all our 2024 winners on our Celebrating Success hub, with some fantastic guest blogs from recent winners.
The 2025 awards cycle is currently open for applications, with awards and prizes available to members and non-members. This includes our honorary fellowship nominations, and a whole range of different academic awards for doctors at different career stages, from case histories, guest lectures and prizes to support elective visits and research. If you are part of the College’s membership network, you could be eligible for funding to support your research and training. If you know someone with a passion for O&G, or have a flair for clinical excellence, please consider applying by Thursday 15 May, here.
Our specialty is unlike any other and, despite the challenges, I remain constantly inspired by the innovation, resilience and sheer dedication I witness daily from our members. I have always been so proud of the O&G community, throughout my career and now as RCOG President. I remain fully focused on what my Officers and I can achieve for you.
However, the College also now turns its attention to electing our next President. The role is an incredible privilege, leading the RCOG’s work to advance the specialty, champion and support our global membership and shape the future of women’s healthcare. Nominees for the future RCOG President will be confirmed on 9 April. You can find detailed information on the election process and how you can participate here.
This simply leaves me to offer my sincere thanks to you all for everything you do to support your College and improve the health of women and girls around the world.
With very best wishes,
Ranee