Dr. Amrit Takhar - BSc (Hons) , MSc , MB ChB, DRCOG, DCH, MRCGP

Dr. Takhar is an experienced GP Principal at Wansford and Kings Cliffe practice (www.wansford.co.uk) near Peterborough, having qualified in 1987. He is currently a Member of Northamptonshire Local Medical Committee and the Strategic Management group of the East Midlands (EMSY) Primary Care Research Network.

He completed an MSc in Information Systems in 2004 and subsequently very active in clinical research being involved in trials on Osteoporosis, Diabetes, COPD , Tinnitus, Psoriasis. He has served on regional committees for Information, Management and Practice based commissioning and been a group facilitator on several conferences regarding Good Clinical Practice in Research, Communication skills and IT skills.

His practice has been involved in a wide range of innovations in diagnostics and were early adopters of near patient testing (NPT) in anticoagulation and have offered diagnostics such as echocardiograms, 24 hour ECGs and ultrasound scanning within the GP surgery setting. His interest in innovation and patient diagnostics led to joining the Intus medical advisory board in 2009 to help provide a GP view of the potential role of plasma biomarkers in early diagnosis.

Mr. Malcolm Padwick - MD FRCOG - Clinical lead for gynaecological cancer and colposcopy for West Hertfordshire.

Mr. Padwick first qualified in 1980 at King's College Hospital Medical School and completed Houseman and SHO posts at King's College Hospital 1983. He spent 3 years as a Research Fellow between King's College Hospital, Chelsea Hospital for Women and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund at Lincoln's Inn Field London. During this time, his research generated 12 papers covering hormonal therapies and endometrial response, new cytopathology techniques using monoclonal antibodies and a thesis on Endometrial protection for postmenopausal women administered oestrogen. Registrar and Senior Registrar posts were undertaken on rotation between Plymouth General, The Hammersmith and Southmead Bristol hospitals. He was appointed consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Watford General in 1995.

Mr Padwick is an accredited surgeon and preceptor for minimal access surgery with the Royal College of Gynaecologists. He has a particular interest in laser surgery for endometriosis and regularly performs laparoscopic surgery including hysterectomy and pelvic floor repair. He is a member of the Multidisciplinary Team for gynaecological cancer at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre and is the gynaecological cancer surgeon for West Hertfordshire. He performs in excess of 120 major cancer operations per year.

In fact, he was one of the earliest surgeons to introduce and develop minimal access ( keyhole ) surgery, performing the first laparoscopic hysterectomy in the South West Region of England in 1993. Since that time he performed more than 500 further cases. He performs Endometrial resection for heavy periods and was one of the contributors to the original RCOG MISLETOE study in 1991. He introduced laparoscopic CO2 LASER surgery to West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust in 1998, and has successfully treated more than 750 women suffering from endometriosis since that time. He has developed laparoscopic surgery techniques for the management of prolapse and reconstruction of the perineum after damage due to childbirth and has published papers on the surgical techniques for laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy for prolapse and ovarian cystectomy in the mid-trimester of pregnancy.

Current posts (NHS, University, Private) include:

• Gynaecology at Spire Healthcare's Bushey Hospital
• Consultant gynaecologist, West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust
• Senior Lecturer University College Hospital London
• Associate Professor St George's Medical School Grenada WI

Current memberships of professional, national and regional bodies include:

• Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
• Medical Protection Society
• British Society of Colposcopy and Cytopathology
• British Society of Gynaecological Oncology
• International Society of Gynaecological Endoscopy
• American Association of Gynaecological Laparoscopy

Fergus Macpherson - MB ChB MRCGP DRCOG DOccMed - National Head of Pathology Spire Healthcare Ltd

Fergus Macpherson was a principal in General Practice in Edinburgh from 1993 to 2004. During this time he was actively involved in undergraduate medical education as an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer in Community Health Sciences at the University of Edinburgh.

Following this he moved to Bupa Hospitals Ltd when he was appointed to a combined operational and clinical role in the Health Assessment Centre at the Spire Murrayfield Hospital in Edinburgh.

After obtaining his Occupational Medicine qualification in 2006 he split his time between Bupa Hospitals and Bupa Wellness and was the Occupational Physician for a number of Wellness’ major clients across central Scotland. Following the formation of Spire Healthcare in 2007 he was appointed as the Deputy Hospital Director of Spire Murrayfield Hospital in Edinburgh. He took up his current role as head of Spire Pathology Services, Spire Healthcare’s nationwide network of pathology laboratories, in January 2009.

Louise Bayne - CEO Ovacome - A UK Ovarian Cancer Charity

Louise is Chief Executive officer of Ovacome, the UK charity providing support and information for all those affected by ovarian cancer.

A volunteer with the charity since its beginnings in 1996, Louise accepted the post of Charity director in 2002. Her nursing and midwifery background has been invaluable in the busy and varied role, which sees her coordinating the charities activities in patient support, and as a key advocate on behalf of those affected by ovarian cancer in the UK. The charity, with over 5000 members takes a lead role in awareness, advocacy, support and information.

Louise holds positions in the National Cancer Research Network and sits on the trial steering committees for several of the UKs ovarian cancer clinical trials. As an expert witness she has represented those with ovarian cancer at N.I.C.E appraisals and in the UK Government’s cancer reform strategy. Louise has presented on the issues of facing ovarian cancer in a wide variety of forums, such as the British Gynaecological Cancer Society, The Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The Royal College of Physicians, The European School of Oncology Masterclasses and The European Society of Medical Oncology.

Ovacome are founding members of the Cancer Campaigning Group, European Cancer Patient Coalition and Cancer 52.

Prof. Sean Kehoe - MA MD DCH FRCOG FHEA - President British Gynaecological Cancer Society

Mr. Kehoe qualified in Trinity College Dublin and trained in obstetrics and gynaecology before moving to the UK. He worked in Birmingham where he undertook research into ovarian cancer and trained as a sub-specialist in Gynaecological Cancer.

Having been appointed as a Consultant in Birmingham he then moved to develop the Oxford Gynaecological Cancer Centre at the John Radcliffe Hospital where he is a surgeon and part of the Gynaecological Oncology Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) which is a well-established group of experts with a specialist role in the diagnosis, treatment and management of women with gynaecological cancers.

He has published widely on gynaecological cancers and regularly lectures at National and International meetings. He is the Medical Advisor to the ovarian cancer charity Ovacome and current President of the British Gynaecological Cancer Society.

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