Council / Advisory / FINANCE

Council

The ultimate authority within the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland rests with Council of which all directly elected members and the officers are voting members. These individuals take on responsibilities as company directors of both the AAGBI and the AAGBI Research & Education Trust. Council has the discretion to delegate authority to sub-committees as it sees fit. There are 12 elected members of Council, each serving for a period of four years. Nominations from members of the Association are requested in March each year to fill the three vacancies which arise and a postal ballot is held. The successful candidates are announced at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in September.

Council meets every two months throughout the year and involves the officers, vice presidents, elected members and GAT Committee representatives (see below). Additional meetings may be convened if required.

Officers

Dr Richard Birks - President (Sheffield)
Dr Iain Wilson - President Elect (Exeter)
Dr Leslie Gemmell - Honorary Secretary (Wrexham)
Dr Andrew Hartle - Honorary Secretary Elect (London)
Dr Ian Johnston - Honorary Treasurer (Inverness)
Dr Ellen O'Sullivan - Honorary Membership Secretary (Dublin)
Dr Steve Yentis - Editor-in-Chief, Anaesthesia (London)

Vice Presidents

Dr William Harrop-Griffiths (London)
Dr David Bogod (Nottingham)
Prof Robert Sneyd (Plymouth)

Elected Members

Dr Valerie Bythell (Newcastle)
Dr Paul Clyburn (Cardiff)
Dr Richard Griffiths (Peterborough)
Dr Bernard Liban (London)
Dr Ranjit Verma (Derby)
Dr Isabeau Walker (London)
Dr Barry Nicholls (Taunton)
Dr Mansukh Popat (Oxford)
Dr Felicity Plaat (London)

GAT

Dr Felicity Howard - Chairman (Cardiff)
Dr Susan Williams - Honorary Secretary (Swansea)

Council Advisory

All those listed above are also members of Council Advisory and in adddition there are a smaller number of co-opted (non-voting) members:

Dr Venkata Ramana Alladi (Chairman, SAS Committee)
Dr Alistair McKenzie (Chairman, Museum and Archives Committee)
Prof Mike Wee (Chairman, Welfare Committee)
Group Captain Neil McGuire (Armed Forces Representative)
Dr Kathleen Ferguson (Convenor, Scottish Standing Committee)
Dr Rory Page (Convenor, Irish Standing Committee)
Dr Peter Nightingale (President, Royal College of Anaesthetists)
Dr Jeanne Moriarty (President, College of Anaesthetists of Ireland)
Dr Mike Nathanson (Editor, Anaesthesia Cases)
Mr Richard Young (Patient Liaison Group Representative)

One of the principal functions of Council Advisory is to consider strategy and the general direction of Association policy in a less formal manner than could be achieved at Council. Essentially Advisory acts as a "think tank" for the Association and its deliberations permit a much deeper discussion of a few selected topics which can then be brought back to Council.

Council Advisory meets on five occasions, usually on the morning of Council meetings. Additional meetings may be convened as necessary.

A Register of Interests for all Council Advisory members (2009-2010) can be downloaded here

Finance

Membership at present includes all officers, vice presidents, elected members of Council and the AAGBI's Business Advisor. The Finance Committee meets three times a year and considers all matters relating to the management of the Association's finances. It makes recommendations to Council regarding major items of expenditure, the draft annual financial statement and subscription levels.