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  4. Widening Participation & the 10-Point Plan

The Royal College of Surgeons of England published an independent review on Inclusion and Diversity, conducted by Baroness Helena Kennedy, in May 2021.

We strongly urge you to read the full Kennedy report - click here to view the PDF version

This report provided the impetus for BAUS to seize the opportunity to broaden the engagement of colleagues, by welcoming and supporting the widest group of clinicians into our organisation.

Urologists in the future will share our values and commitment to excellent patient care; however, they will undoubtedly face a variety of different challenges in the workplace, and will network and seek professional support in different ways.

BAUS recognised that we must break down the barriers to involvement and engagement within the organisation, and we felt strongly that the time was right to accelerate change and demonstrate a commitment to widening participation.

Recommendations & Themes

There were 16 recommendations in Baroness Kennedy’s report. Some are less relevant to BAUS, some are already embedded within BAUS - its vision and ethos. Quite a few are just as relevant to BAUS as they are to the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Key themes are to understand the composition of our membership better, to educate each other, to increase empathy for the challenges we face, and to ensure that BAUS leadership both reflects its membership and is accessible to all our members.

Some subjects are difficult to tackle because they include sensitive conversations, opening our minds to insights that can be uncomfortable. Urologists are a very open-minded group, and we felt could do this successfully, ensuring that everyone has a voice and a sense of belonging within BAUS. For BAUS, "levelling the playing field" means improving opportunities for everyone, it is not about reducing support for any person or group.

The first steps we took were:

  1. to survey our members to help us truly understand the diversity within our BAUS community;
  2. to set up the Widening Participation Working Group and create our 10 point plan; and
  3. to focus on education – working to develop professional values and ensuring open discussions of challenges facing our colleagues are a keynote in our conferences.

This work began in July 2021, with a view to implementing these actions over a 10-year period to achieve sustainable change. Our aim is that these goals will become embedded in the organisation - no longer a project but "business as usual".

We started with a "10-Point Plan" - a progress report on this can be seen here

Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery (WPSMS)

BAUS fully supports the statement issued by the Federation of Surgical Specialty Associations regarding the Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery (WPSMS) report below:

 "Breaking the Silence: Addressing Sexual Misconduct in Healthcare". 

BAUS members are encouraged to read the report in full (click on the title to download it).

The BAUS Section of Trainees (BSoT) has also supported a similar statement by AsiT (The Association of Surgeons in Training).

Since 2021, the BAUS Widening Participation group has made considerable progress in improving inclusivity in our Association. The WPSMS report shows that further progress is needed, and we will continue to work with a diverse group of urologists to ensure that BAUS is a safe and welcoming environment for all. We will fully engage with recommendations to implement change.

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