24 February 2025

The 2025 Charter Meeting saw almost 600 Fellows and Members, surgical trainees and other healthcare professionals gather at RCSI from Tuesday 4 to Saturday 8, February.

At the time of writing my last letter, Charter Meeting 2025 was already underway, and I provided a short report on both the NOCA conference, which took place on Tuesday, 4 February as well as the Health Service Improvement and Innovation Conference that was held on Wednesday, 5 February. A huge amount of time and effort went into the organisation of these events, which were very well-received by those present and I’d like to extend my congratulations to all those involved.  

Furthermore, as part of my most recent update, I shared a copy of the Guide to Good Practice for Robotic Surgery Governance in Ireland, which was launched by the National Robotic Surgery Leads Group on Wednesday, 5 February. The guide provides a blueprint for training, credentialing, and governance to help hospitals implement robotic surgery safely and effectively. It is an important safeguard for surgeons and patients at a time of rapid technological change and I encourage you all to take the time to read it. 

Picking up where my last letter finished, in this edition I am pleased to provide short reports from the rest of Charter Meeting 2025. Under the banner of ‘Next Generation Surgery’, the symposia, presentations and keynote lectures on Thursday and Friday explored how technology is changing our surgical practice and focused on the people that are pioneering these innovations.

It was a busy programme with many moving parts – quite literally in the case of the Robotic Village – and the feedback from those who attended has been very positive. I want to take the opportunity to thank everyone who was involved in planning and delivery of the Charter Meeting – speakers, my colleagues on RCSI Council and event organisers - a lot of people worked to ensure it was a hugely impactful and informative few days.

Professor Deborah McNamara

President, RCSI