TopMedTalk

TopMedTalk

TopMedTalk for the latest medical news surrounding Anaesthesia, Perioperative Care and Enhanced Recovery. Live updates from conferences; Journal Club; Techno Talk and Hot-Topic podcasts. Continuing Medical Education (CME) on the go

  1. 3D AGO

    Perioperative Medicine Policy, Regions, and Integrated Care Boards: Localising a National Strategy

    At the Royal College of Anaesthetists' Centre for Perioperative Care (CPOC) Perioperative Leads Day in London, host Andy Cumpstey speaks with James White, a perioperative medicine clinician (and qualified general practitioner) working within the NHS in Cheshire and Merseyside, serving as Clinical Lead for Perioperative Medicine and contributing to national improvement work with the Centre for Perioperative Care, Simon Rang, consultant anaesthetist at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust who also contributes to national healthcare improvement work including with the Centre for Perioperative Care, and Denny Levett, Director of the Centre for Perioperative Care, and a Professor of Perioperative Medicine and Critical Care and Consultant at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Southampton. The conversation covers how UK perioperative medicine policy is implemented through evolving NHS structures. They explain the relationship between national policy (Department of Health, NHS England) and delivery via regions, integrated care boards (ICBs), and local trusts, emphasizing integrated pathways spanning primary and secondary care, particularly post-COVID. James outlines five core requirements: early perioperative screening, proactive optimization/prehabilitation, maintaining health while waiting, listing patients only when medically fit, and shared decision-making. The guests discuss how regional and ICB networks share solutions, address variation and barriers (including finances and culture), and use CPOC guidance and resources alongside initiatives like GIRFT to support consistent implementation. -- Join us at Evidence Based Perioperative Medicine (EBPOM) World Congress 2026 in London. Be part of a global conversation as clinicians from around the world gather between 7-9th July at the British Library in London. Three days of evidence-based perioperative medicine, global insights, and expert debate—featuring speakers including Michael Marmot and Ken Rockwood. Register here - https://ebpom.org/product/ebpom-world-congress-2026/

    19 min
  2. MAR 9

    Adrian Gelb on Neuroanesthesia, Global Patient Safety, and WFSA-WHO International Standards

    At the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2025 meeting in San Antonio, TopMedTalk hosts Andy Cumpstey and Kate Leslie interviewed Professor of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care at University of California, San Francisco, Adrian Gelb, this year's Ellison Pierce Lecturer. Dr Gelb recounts training in South Africa, work in England and Canada, and how he was steered into neuroanesthesia at a high-volume cerebral aneurysm center, becoming engaged by understanding surgical outcomes and encouraging trainees to learn the operative field. He describes developing global health interests, joining the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) through Alan Merry and others, and progressing from the patient safety committee to WFSA president. Gelb outlines updating WFSA standards with WHO involvement, emphasizing additive "minimum" requirements (e.g., oxygenation and pulse oximetry) and clarifying differences among policies, guidelines, and legally binding standards, urging implementation-focused sequencing. He also highlights AI's potential to advance decision-making, documentation, data, and feedback. -- Join us at Evidence Based Perioperative Medicine (EBPOM) World Congress 2026 in London. Be part of a global conversation as clinicians from around the world gather between 7-9th July at the British Library in London. Three days of evidence-based perioperative medicine, global insights, and expert debate—featuring speakers including Michael Marmot and Ken Rockwood. Register here - https://ebpom.org/product/ebpom-world-congress-2026/

    29 min
  3. MAR 5

    Postoperative Care, Communication, Failure to Rescue, AI Monitoring, and Robotics with ASGBI Leaders

    Andy Cumpstey is joined by Christian Macutkiewicz Consultant General, HPB and Hernia Surgeon at Manchester Royal Infirmary, Director of The Gallstone Clinic and Manchester Hernia at Spire Manchester Hospital and the incoming President of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland, and Dimitris Damaskos Consultant General Surgeon within the Department of Surgery at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (NHS Lothian), Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. They discuss the postoperative period as a critical part of the perioperative journey, emphasizing the importance of clear postoperative communication, reassurance even after "successful" operations, and explaining complications and expected recovery timelines. They highlight challenges in recognizing deterioration, including reduced reliance on clinical examination skills among junior doctors and the systems-based concept of "failure to rescue," arguing that consistent ward-based recognition systems and high-volume units help detect complications earlier. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) pathways are cited, including using day-3 CRP thresholds to trigger CT imaging for early detection of anastomotic leak. They note post-COVID pressures to clear surgical backlogs have increased situations where patients are operated on by surgeons who did not initially see them, potentially weakening trust and continuity when complications occur, and they discuss flattening hierarchy so trainees can do ward rounds with consultant support. The conversation covers future technology, including AI for risk stratification and imaging interpretation, and remote continuous vital-sign monitoring, while acknowledging data governance challenges and potential deskilling. The episode closes with a discussion of robotic surgery: improved optics and precision and usefulness for more complex cases (including abdominal wall reconstruction), but with concerns about cost, rollout, training implications, and differing adoption between the UK, US, and New Zealand. -- Join us at Evidence Based Perioperative Medicine (EBPOM) World Congress 2026 in London. Be part of a global conversation as clinicians from around the world gather between 7-9th July at the British Library in London. Three days of evidence-based perioperative medicine, global insights, and expert debate—featuring speakers including Michael Marmot and Ken Rockwood. Register here - https://ebpom.org/product/ebpom-world-congress-2026/

    29 min
  4. MAR 2

    Addressing Drug Allergy Labels: Insights and Implications

    In this episode of TopMedTalk, hosted by Andy Cumpstey at the anaesthesia research meeting in Birmingham, we dive into drug allergy and its mislabeling with Louise Savic, consultant anaesthetist and NIHR doctoral researcher at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, UK, who specialises in drug allergy and peri-operative anaphylaxis, and Tom Abbott, clinical senior lecturer in anaesthesia and peri-operative medicine at Queen Mary University of London, UK, and a consultant anaesthetist whose research uses clinical epidemiology and trials to improve surgical outcomes and reduce peri-operative complications. The discussion highlights the vast disparity between true drug allergies and mislabeling, emphasizing that around 90-95% of penicillin allergy labels are incorrect. Dr. Savic shares her journey in drug allergy research, focusing on the perioperative setting, while Dr. Abbott discusses the linkage between antimicrobial prescribing and resistance. The talk covers results from the Sapphire Project, revealing the high incidence of mislabeled drug allergies and their associated increased postoperative risks. The episode also explores potential strategies for 'de-labeling' patients, the role of multidisciplinary collaboration, and the next steps in research and practice change. -- Join us at Evidence Based Perioperative Medicine (EBPOM) World Congress 2026 in London. Be part of a global conversation as clinicians from around the world gather between 7-9th July at the British Library in London. Three days of evidence-based perioperative medicine, global insights, and expert debate—featuring speakers including Michael Marmot and Ken Rockwood. Register here - https://ebpom.org/product/ebpom-world-congress-2026/

    23 min
  5. FEB 23

    Perioperative Profiles: Professor Michelle Chew on seizing opportunities in Anaesthesia, research, editing, and guideline work

    Michelle Chew is a Professor of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, and editor for the British Journal of Anaesthesia. Hear her sharing her Perioperative Profile on TopMedTalk with Andy Cumpstey. After initial anaesthesia training in Denmark, she moved to Lund University, Sweden, combining clinical work and research, later establishing her own experimental haemodynamics group studying septic and haemorrhagic shock and myocardial changes. She balances academic and family life by prioritizing rather than seeking "life balance," noting challenges for women in academia despite Scandinavian support. She explains journal editing—from rapid assessment, literature checks, peer review coordination, to feedback synthesis—and entered the field via the European Journal of Anaesthesiology, later serving at BJA and other journals. She also describes developing clinical guidelines, emphasizing expert panels, systematic reviews, consensus, and local adaptation, with involvement in Scandinavian and European anesthesia societies. Throughout, she highlights lessons from mentors and family, especially her grandmother, stresses taking opportunities and putting in the work, and emphasizes that science and clinical medicine ultimately serve patients. -- Join us at Evidence Based Perioperative Medicine (EBPOM) World Congress 2026 in London. Be part of a global conversation as clinicians from around the world gather between 7-9th July at the British Library in London. Three days of evidence-based perioperative medicine, global insights, and expert debate—featuring speakers including Michael Marmot and Ken Rockwood. Register here - https://ebpom.org/product/ebpom-world-congress-2026/

    32 min

Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
35 Ratings

About

TopMedTalk for the latest medical news surrounding Anaesthesia, Perioperative Care and Enhanced Recovery. Live updates from conferences; Journal Club; Techno Talk and Hot-Topic podcasts. Continuing Medical Education (CME) on the go

You Might Also Like