Global Partnership Trainee Committee

Committee Terms of Reference

Welcome to The British Society for Surgery of the Hand (BSSH) Global Partnership Trainee Committee. We are a group of UK-based trainees from either Orthopaedic or Plastic Surgery backgrounds with an interest in both Hand Surgery and Global Surgery. The Global Partnership Trainee Committee works closely with the consultant-led BSSH Global Partnership Committee. This committee is comprised of Consultant Hand Surgeons who have an interest in global surgery and work closely with Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).

The BSSH Overseas Trainee Committee members:

Parvathi Varma Global Partnership Trainee Committee Chair 2024-2026
Charlotte Hardman Committee Member 2024 - 2026
Alistair Reed Committee Member 2024 - 2026
Kajal Gohil Committee Member 2024 - 2026
Abdul Hassan Committee Member 2024 - 2026
Lauren Taylor Committee Member 2024 - 2026
Alexandra Griffiths Committee Member 2024 - 2026

Parvathi Varma Committee Chair

ST4 Plastic Surgery and Reconstructive Surgery

About Parvathi

I am currently a Plastic Surgery Registrar in the East Midlands Deanery with a passion for global surgery, having spent some time volunteering in hospitals in rural India. I believe that accessible hand surgery can have a significant impact on individuals’ lives. However, there are a multitude of barriers that can prevent this, including limited resources and infrastructure. Within the committee, I am excited to work with other members of the team to address these challenges, including identifying funding opportunities and implementing sustainable solutions that can create a lasting impact.

Kajal Gohil

ST4 Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Thames Valley & Wessex Deanery

About Kajal

Participating in the BSSH LION Project in 2023 ignited my passion for global surgery, via focus on supporting elective and trauma hand services in Malawi through collaborative partnerships with local clinicians. I am dedicated to fostering global partnerships and promoting sustainable professional bonds through education and training initiatives. I endeavour to demonstrate the power of international cooperation in advancing healthcare and empowering communities globally. As a committee member, my role is to support LION project fundraising as Trainee Lead as well as facilitating close collaboration with my BFIRST role.

Alistair Reed

ST6 Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

About Alistair

I am a plastic surgery registrar in the Thames Valley Deanery, currently working in Oxford. I have a keen interest in global surgery and have undertaken placements in South Africa, India and Zambia which provided some insight into the challenges surrounding global healthcare. I am also passionate about surgical education and human factors. I look forward to contributing to projects and working alongside like-minded individuals during my time on committee.

1. Committee Goals

Our aim, alongside the main BSSH Global Parnerships Committee is to support overseas work by acting as the coordinator of long-term sustainable BSSH overseas projects. This will include identification of projects, providing project leadership, liaison with the hosts and collaborating organisations and provision of pump priming funding.

As a team, we will support long-term sustainable projects. The focus will be on educating local surgeons and their wider surgical teams and supporting them to develop hand surgery services in their country. We will be doing this in a number of ways including, virtual teaching through webinars which is linked with LMIC’s, organisation of courses and once COVID-19 settles, travelling to LMIC’s and undertaking face to face projects.

2. How to get involved

We are keen to involve any trainees who share the same visions and values, and are interested in global surgery. There are lots of ways to get involved with the committee as a trainee, and often it is through participating with projects that will be accessible to medical students and junior doctors with an interest in hand surgery.

Click here to view our current projects that are ongoing