The History of the British Association of Day Surgery (BADS)
In August 1988, day surgery enthusiasts, Dr Tom Ogg (consultant anaesthetist, Cambridge) and Professor Paul Jarrett (consultant general surgeon, Kingston) took the decision to form a multidisciplinary day surgery association. Subsequent discussion with other UK day surgery pioneers agreed plans for establishing an association to promote clinical excellence and the setting of standards to ensure any person requiring day case surgery receives the best possible care in the delivery of day surgery. It was agreed this newly established organisation would be named The British Association of Day Surgery (BADS).
BADS first annual conference, entitled "The Future of British Day Care Surgery, a Multidisciplinary Approach" was held at the Royal Society of Medicine, London on Friday, 1st June 1989 and the following year, the association’s journal, The Journal of One Day Surgery began publication. In 1995 BADS was one of the founder members of The International Association of Ambulatory Surgery (IAAS) and BADS gained charitable status in 1996.
Since its inception, BADS has continued to develop its role as the voice of British day surgery by courtesy of its growing charitable activities, which include an annual conference, regular educational meetings, publications, educational grants and dissemination of best practice via its collaborative roles with for example, The Royal College of Surgeons of England, The Royal College of Anaesthetists, The Department of Health, NHS Improvement, Getting it Right First Time and Caspe Healthcare Knowledge Systems.
Past Presidents of BADS
Paul Jarrett 1989-1992
Tom Ogg 1992-1994
Hugh Devlin 1994-1996
Sarah Penn 1996-1998
Peter Simpson 1998-2000
Paul Baskerville 2000-2002
David Ralphs 2002-2004
Jill Solly 2004-2006
Ian Jackson 2006-2008
Doug McWhinnie 2008-2010
Ian Smith 2010-2012
Mark Skues 2012-2014
Anna Lipp 2014-2016
Mary Stocker 2016-2019
Kim Russon 2019-2021
Jo Marsden 2021 - 2023