- Come and Join Us in WessexProgramme DetailsIn Wessex we recognise that working in Paediatric Emergency Medicine requires bespoke high level training. We have monthly regional training days for our PEM trainees, bringing together our RCPCH and RCEM trainees as well as our trainee ACPS from across the region to train together and become experts in delivering Paediatric Emergency Care.
Our training days are hugely valuable and valued by all of our trainees. The cover clinical and non-clinical topics and every aspect of what it takes to excel in Paediatric Emergency Medicine. We focus on technical skills, emergency procedures, leadership and human factors training, mental health and adolescent care, inclusivity and diversity and explore how to develop teams, services, pathways and business cases.TestimonialsThe Paediatric Trauma fellowship in Southampton’s Children’s ED is a combined out-of-programme post with designated non-clinical fellowship time in normal working hours and out-of-hours clinical work in the Children’s ED. The clinical work is well-supported with consultant presence up to 10pm every day and often until midnight on weekdays. There is a well-established education programme, and the middle grades are drawn from both RCEM and RCPCH (subspecialty trainees and general paediatric trainees) so there are plenty of opportunities to learn safely!
In fellowship time, you are supported to lead on projects relating to improving trauma care in the department and in the wider hospital. The role is very flexible and can be tailored to your particular interest, but it is easy to increase your experience to audit, governance processes and guideline development. You will be supported to develop a project that will best serve your educational needs, and which will improve your portfolio across curriculum domains.
- EducationRegional Training Days
2023-2024 Dates- 21st September 2023
- 19th October 2023
- 16th November 2023
- 21th December 2023
- 18th January 2024
- 15th February 2024
- 21st March 2024
- 18th April 2024
- 16th May 2024
- 20th June 2024
- 18th July 2024
- 15th August 2024
Training Topics
Check out some of the topics covered in our monthly sessions below:Portfolio Top Tips- Use your e-portfolio to tell your training story
- Read through the RCPCH PEM subspeciality syllabus: paediatric_emergency_medicine_sub-specialty_syllabus.pdf
- Structure your PDP into headlines with specific SMART goals. Check out these handy placement PDP guides to help you write yours:
Suggested courses & conferences
Here are a selection of upcoming events to get in your diary. Please email the PREMIER team at [email protected] if you would like to get involved:
- November 3rd 2023 - Regional Children's Trauma Training Day
- December 1st 2023 - EM & PEM Debrief Course
- June 11th & 12th 2024 - PREMIER Conference
- InnovationWessex Trained ConsultantsIn Wessex we recognise that working in Paediatric Emergency Medicine requires bespoke high level training. We have monthly regional training days for our PEM trainees, bringing together our RCPCH and RCEM trainees as well as our trainee ACPS from across the region to train together and become experts in delivering Paediatric Emergency Care.
Our training days are hugely valuable and valued by all of our trainees. The cover clinical and non-clinical topics and every aspect of what it takes to excel in Paediatric Emergency Medicine. We focus on technical skills, emergency procedures, leadership and human factors training, mental health and adolescent care, inclusivity and diversity and explore how to develop teams, services, pathways and business cases.QI, Innovation and Project WorkHave a look at some of the fantastic projects our PEM trainees have completed during their time in training in Wessex! A brilliant array of topics that have been presented locally, nationally and regionally! Having dedicated time for personal development and innovation within your paid work time means you can get stuck in to exciting projects and start changing the world! - We are excited to announce that tickets are now available for the
PREMIER Conference 2025!
PREMIER is a dedicated Paediatric Emergency Medicine Conference for the whole team involved in delivering paediatric medical and trauma emergency care.
We look forward to welcoming you to another jam-packed two-day programme covering a huge range of
Paediatric Medical Emergencies and Major Trauma topics. We have gathered expert speakers from around the country to share updates, challenges and thought-provoking content on an array of issues within Paediatric Emergency Medicine.
Tickets are available on Eventbrite and the fantastic early bird discounts run until 28th March. Don’t delay!
Information about a social in Winchester on the evening of 10th June will be coming soon.
Invitations for abstracts for Poster and Podium Presentations will be announced in due course.
Date - Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th June 2025
Venue - Hope Church, Winchester
Cancellation and Refund Policy
If a delegate wishes to cancel their event registration, a written cancellation must be received at least 21 days prior to the event in order to receive a full refund.
PREMIER reserves the right to cancel any event. If an event is cancelled or postponed, delegates will be informed in writing and will be issued a full refund. We regret we are unable to refund any charges incurred through booking travel, accommodation or expenses for the cancelled event. Please note, PREMIER is not responsible for any loss or damage as a result of a substitution, alteration or cancellation/postponement of an event. PREMIER shall assume no liability whatsoever if this event is cancelled, rescheduled or postponed due to a fortuitous event, Act of God, unforeseen occurrence or any other event that renders performance of this conference impracticable, illegal or impossible. For purposes of this clause, a fortuitous event shall include, but not be limited to: war, fire, labour strike, extreme weather, terrorist activity or other emergencies. - We are excited to announce the upcoming PREMIER Conference 2024, tailored exclusively for paediatric emergency medical professionals in the United Kingdom. Mark your calendars for 11th and 12th June 2024, as we bring together leading experts, practitioners, and researchers to delve into the latest advancements and best practices in paediatric emergency medicine.Date - Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 12th June 2024
Venue - Hope Church, WinchesterContact: [email protected]- sbngnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
Cancellation and Refund Policy
If a delegate wishes to cancel their event registration, a written cancellation must be received at least 21 days prior to the event in order to receive a full refund.
PREMIER reserves the right to cancel any event. If an event is cancelled or postponed, delegates will be informed in writing and will be issued a full refund. We regret we are unable to refund any charges incurred through booking travel, accommodation or expenses for the cancelled event. Please note, PREMIER is not responsible for any loss or damage as a result of a substitution, alteration or cancellation/postponement of an event. PREMIER shall assume no liability whatsoever if this event is cancelled, rescheduled or postponed due to a fortuitous event, Act of God, unforeseen occurrence or any other event that renders performance of this conference impracticable, illegal or impossible. For purposes of this clause, a fortuitous event shall include, but not be limited to: war, fire, labour strike, extreme weather, terrorist activity or other emergencies. - !!!ABSTRACTS OPEN!!!Abstract submissions are open until Friday 24th May 2024.All abstracts must be submitted in the following format:
- Title
- Authorship (provide names, initials and affiliation of all authors)
- Abstract: A maximum of 250 words. In the case of describing a Quality Improvement, Innovation, Education initiative or Research study please use the following headings: Aim, Methods, Results, and Conclusion. Alternatively use free text, or you can use the following headings: Background, Aim, Results and Implications on practice.
- References. All abstracts will be considered for poster or podium presentation. Please use Harvard style referencing.
If you are submitting an abstract, remember to book your place so that you don't miss out! Some Highlights for you to conside r:
Download our PREMIER Digital notebook - suitable for Goodnotes 6 and Notability.Speakers on Day 1 - Medical Emergencies
Ellie Sproson
Ellie Sproson is a paediatric ENT surgeon with an adult voice practice. She trained in the Wessex region and completed fellowship at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital. She currently works at Portsmouth University Hospitals Trust as the ENT paediatric surgery lead. She has a particular interest in paediatric emergency airway care having started the Make the Airway Safe Team (MAST) Initiative ten years ago. This started as a Wessex wide initiative to solve the common issues with the plan, the team and the kit in these scenarios and has become a national program that uses in situ simulation and team training to improve outcomes.
Lucia Santos
Completed medical school at University of Sao Paulo
Completed Paediatric Neurology training at Federal University of Sao Paulo
Master degree in Paediatric Neurology at Federal University of Sao Paulo
Dr Santos has worked as a paediatric neurologist fellow from 2015 to 2021. Since 2021, her role has changed to associate specialist in paediatric neurology with special interest in acute neurology and headaches.
Dr Santos is part of the BPNA special interest group in Childhood headaches
Dr Santos had further experience and training in complex headaches and GONI at GOSH.
Harshil Dhutia
Dr. Harshil Dhutia is a consultant cardiologist and clinical lead for the inherited cardiac conditions and sports cardiology service at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester.
Dr. Dhutia is also the medical lead for the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust, a Leicestershire charity dedicated to raising awareness of sudden cardiac death in the young and driving cardiovascular safety in sport.
Steph Harper
Paediatric Respiratory/CF Nurse Specialist Southampton University Hospitals Trust
Having qualified in 2010, I spent 11 years on an acute paediatric medical ward in Portsmouth.
Alongside this I provided a respiratory link role between the CNS and staff for the majority of this.
3 years ago I was fortunate enough to secure my current CNS job in Southampton and have been
involved in implementing change in practice with both ‘as required Salbutamol’ and promotion of MART in practice. I am dedicated to improving asthma outcomes for children and young people and encouraging others understand the importance of doing so.
Helen Stewart
Helen Stewart is a Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. After graduating from The University of Edinburgh, Helen initially trained in the North West as a paediatrician before moving to South Yorkshire for her PEM GRID. It was during her GRID that she developed an interest in health inequalities and their impact on child health. She is now clinical lead for the violence reduction service, department lead for mental health and health promotion and is involved in the programme of work at Sheffield Children’s to reduce health inequalities.
She has been involved in the work of RCPCH for some time, initially on the Emergency Standards Committee and then the Health Improvement Committee which she now chairs as the Officer for Health Improvement. Through this role she contributes to the health promotion and health inequalities work of the health policy team, including the health inequalities toolkits, action to ban disposable vapes and work looking at access to immunisations.
Helen lives in Buxton in the Peak District with her family and is often found on the side of a cricket pitch cheering on her daughter.
Mikhail Vella Baldacchino
I am a ST7 Emergency Medicine trainee, with dual accreditation in Paediatric Emergency Medicine, in the West Midlands. I graduated from the University of Malta and have been working as a doctor in the U.K. for 10 years. I am passionate about Quality Improvement (QI) and am part of the RCEM QI Committee, currently working on the Adolescent Mental Health QI project. I CCT this August and have set a challenge of running my first ever marathon, in Eryri (Snowdonia) this July.
Nicola Trevelyan
Dr Nicola Trevelyan has been the Clinical Lead for the Paediatric Diabetes Service in Southampton for the last 20 years. During this time she has seen huge changes in the management of CYP with diabetes. She has been involved in several large multicentre trials for paediatric diabetes, helping to better our understanding of how best to use new technologies in diabetes management in children and move forward access to new treatment technologies. She was one of the founding committee members for the Assoc of Children's Diabetes Clinicians (ACDC) in 2006 and has been on working parties for BSPED helping evidence base and re-write the national DKA guidelines in 2020 and for the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit. For the last 4 years she has been on the Clinical Advisory Group for the RCPCH Quality Improvement programme for Paediatric Diabetes.
Tim Warlow
Dr Timothy Warlow is a consultant in Paediatric Palliative Medicine at University Hospitals Southampton & Naomi House & Jacksplace Hospices.
He is clinical lead for the Wessex Children’s & Young Adults’ Palliative Care Network and represents children and young adults at Hampshire Isle of Wight End of Life Board.
His research and clinical interest is complex symptom clusters in children with severe neurological impairment taking a leading role in the development of national guidance in this field. He is a keen mountain biker and guitarist.
Adam Fityan
Adam Fityan is a Consultant Dermatologist and clinical lead at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. He has been an Honorary Consultant Dermatologist at St John's Institute of Dermatology in Photodermatology for the past 12 years and is the current Dermatologist to the Falkland Islands. He is the President of the British Society for Medical Dermatology, and a committee member of the British Photodermatology Group. He is a SCE question writer and has recently been appointed to the Dermatology Specialty Certificate Examining Board.
He has an interest in Medical Dermatology and runs specialist clinics in Photodermatology, Paediatric Dermatology, Connective Tissue Disease, and Hidradenitis Suppurativa.
Becky Platt
Becky Platt is an Advanced Clinical Practitioner in Paediatric A&E at the Royal London, executive member of the Don’t Forget the Bubbles team and a senior lecturer on the PEM MSc at QMUL. She was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2021 for her overseas humanitarian work.
Becky is passionate about humanity in healthcare, putting patients first, and caring for staff. She has a particular interest in clinical incident debriefing and in creating time for the team to reflect together. She is a committed educator and loves teaching in a variety of ways including conference talks, blog posts, YouTube videos and podcasts.
Out of work, she is the mother of teenage twins who constantly keep her on her toes, as well as being a keen (but slow) runner, Marmite addict and motorbike lover.
Nikki Speed
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer SUDC UK – www.sudc.org.uk
Nikki has a PhD in biochemistry. Using her scientific background and experience as a bereaved parent, she co-founded SUDC UK, the national charity for Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood.
Nikki has 6 years of experience providing direct support to families affected by SUDC and training professionals, has performed the role of key worker and is an active member of CDOP panels. Nikki was a co-author of the NCMD thematic review on SUDIC and has led national events and international conference sessions to improve care and engage influencers in SUDC research.
Dan Magnus
Dan is a Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine in the Children’s Emergency Department at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children where he was Clinical Lead from 2019-2022, during the COVID19 pandemic. He is a Consultant Senior Lecturer in Global Health at the University of Bristol and is Programme Director for the iBSc in Global Health.
Dan is also a co-founder and Trustee of Child.org - a UK charity working on child, newborn and maternal health programmes in east Africa. Additional global health research interests have been with the Nepal Injury Research Centre (Bristol / Kathmandu) and the Paediatric Blast Injury Partnership (Imperial, London).
Speakers on Day 2 - Major Trauma
Tom Sharpe OBE
Tom Sharpe is a seasoned leader, communications consultant and defence commentator.
He learnt his leadership during a 25-year career in the Royal Navy, during which he commanded four warships, all on operations. He now presents and speaks on leadership from junior soldiers to overseas C-Suites, to master mariners and senior banking executives, and everything in between.
He co-owns a strategic communications consultancy called Special Project Partners, with offices in London and Riyadh. Clients include government departments, quasi-state entities and private sector companies of all sizes, both in the UK and abroad.
As a defence commentator, he writes twice weekly for The Telegraph and so far this year has made appearances on BBC Newsnight, TalkTV, LBC, LBCNews, a panel at RUSI and podcasts at Chatham House and The Telegraph.
Sharpe has a BA (Hons) in Defence Studies and a MA in International Relations from King’s College, London.
David Slessor
David Slessor is consultant in Intensive Care & Emergency Medicine at Queen Alexandra Hospital. He has an interest in critical care ultrasound and spent 18 months doing post-CCT fellowships in both critical care echo and critical care ultrasound. David runs the regional Cadaveric Airway Course which (he believes) is the only course of its type run in the UK currently.
Along with two colleagues David set up the website The Bottom Line, www.thebottomline.org.uk, on which trials relevant to critical care & emergency medicine are reviewed. To date this includes summaries of over 450 trials. The website has received international recognition.
David Connor
David is a Consultant in Emergency, Prehospital and Retrieval Medicine with a varied career and experience across the NHS and private medical sectors. Having trained in Wessex, David works for Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Scotland's well-established Emergency Medical Retrieval Service.
Additional to this, he is a Strategic Medical Advisor for South East Coast NHS Ambulance Service and Medical Director of Enhanced Care Services. His interests include medicines law, traumatic spinal pathology, governance and development of critical care systems.
Leonike Vlaanderen
Dutch ED doc, living in the UK, lucky enough to work both as Emergency Medicine Consultant in Brighton and as HEMS doctor with Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex.
Medical advisor with RNLI Brighton.
Previously worked as part of the Search and Rescue team in the Dutch Royal Navy; now loves to swim in the Brighton sea with my black Labrador.
Safe to say there is a passion for water! And an awareness of its dangers....
Alec Wilding
Alec is an Advanced Paramedic Practitioner in Critical Care (APP-CC) for London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS) and has worked in and around central London since 2012. During this time he has attended major incidents, helped develop Paramedic practice within the service as well as being a pre-hospital clinical leader during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has recently finished his MSc in Advanced Practice (Critical Care) from St George's University and has made a personal promise to his partner to not take on any more higher education of any description.
His side hustles include twilighting as a Specialist Paramedic in Critical Care for Hampshire Isle of Wight Air Ambulance (HIOWAA) and leading on the Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response plans for the medical services at Glastonbury festival, as well as being a Dad to two feral boys.
Francesca Stedman
Francesca Stedman is a consultant paediatric surgeon at Southampton Children’s Hospital with a specialist interest in colorectal pathology as well as non technical skills and education. She enjoys her frequent surgical on call as every single day is different and she is well known for her midnight laparotomies.
Francesca runs the simulation based surgical skills training within the department, is the Wessex School of Surgery lead for Human Factors and is committed to looking after the wellbeing of the department mainly by providing baked goods for meetings.
In her free time Francesca enjoys cycling, running and baking as well as camping with her young family.
Matt Sawyer
Matt is paramedic by profession and is an ACP at Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA) and Portsmouth ED.
He has focus on critical care, including an interest in delivering haemostatic resuscitation in practice. He has also has an interest in point of care ultrasound and the role of early regional anaesthesia.
When he's not doing that he's probably running around after (or with) his young family or doing something outside.
Ankur Pandya
Wg Cdr Ankur Pandya is a Consultant Plastic Reconstructive & Hand Surgeon based in Hampshire and Sussex. He has been currently an NHS Consultant for over 23 years. This has included being the Director and Lead Clinician of The Mountbatten department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth for a nine year period.
His NHS practice consists of Hand surgery, Paediatric plastic surgery,,post burn reconstructions, reconstruction of the head and neck, perineal reconstruction, skin cancers and general plastic surgery. He was the Consultant Advisor in Plastic Surgery to the Head RAF Medical Services.l and is currently the clinical Director for the Hospital Staging Unit of the RAF and the Tactical Medical Wing.He has a wide spectrum of Academic interests and is a Visiting Prof of Plastic Surgery in Nepal and Romania, A Senior Clinical Lecturer, both, at the Southampton University School of Medicine as well as Portsmouth University, he is the Associate dean (S) for the defence Deanery. He is the National and European examiner for The Plastic Surgery fellowship exam as well as the Hand Diploma Exams. He is on the faculty of and an examiner for the Conflict and Catastrophe Course.
He was the national general secretary of the British Association of Plastic surgeons and the SAC lead for Wessex and Thames Valley. He is the current Training Programme Director in Plastic Surgery for Thames Valley and Wessex.
His voluntary activities include working with Operation Smile where he was a Regional Medical Officer (Europe/Africa/Middle East) from 2008-2010 and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer (2010-2015). He set up the Directorate of Quality Assurance for the organisation, which he led for five years. He has been on over 49 international humanitarian missions and five wartime deployments.
He has been awarded the Order of St John for his humanitarian work.
Jamie Vassallo
Jamie is a dual accredited Royal Navy Emergency Medicine and Prehospital consultant working for North Bristol NHS Trust and the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service Wales. Going through training, he undertook a PhD looking at Major Incident triage culminating in the development of the MPTT-24 triage algorithm which was subsequently incorporated into NHS England Guidelines and the new Major Incident Triage Tool (MITT). Working as the triage SME, he was also part of the NHS England team that led to the development and dissemination of the novel Ten Second Triage (TST) tool.
He holds an Honorary Senior Lecturer position within the military and outside of major incident triage, his research interests include trauma and was part of the team that led to the delivery of the Paediatric Traumatic Cardiac Arrest algorithm and associated work in 2018.
Francesca Woodcock
Francesca Woodcock is a BAFTA-credited animator and graphic designer working on establishing the online presence of the Paediatric Injury Prevention Network (PiPN). PiPN aims to bridge the gap between medical professionals and the public by raising awareness and education on common injuries seen in the nation’s accident and emergency departments, and strategies for risk reduction.
Francesca utilises data from audit organisations and insights directly from healthcare practitioners to create visually compelling content designed to spark conversations on social media. Through visual storytelling, she communicates facts, statistics, and information in aesthetically appealing and engaging formats. Her commitment to injury prevention is matched only by her passion for illustrating penguins.
David James
Dave has worked as a consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine at Southampton Children’s ED since 2018. He is the Emergency Care lead for Healthier Together and the Founder of the HEEADSSS app. He is Divisional Director of Medical Education and one of the Training Advisors for the PEMISAC. Outside of work he enjoys spending time with his family and trying to become a better cyclist, runner and swimmer when time allows.
Elizabeth Pink
Lizzy has worked in the NHS for over 20 years (and at UHS for over 10 years). She has extensive experience of working with adults and children in acute physical health settings and teaches on the doctoral course at the University of Southampton.
She is a Lead in the UHS Staff Psychology Service where she provides individual interventions for staff experiencing challenges at work as well as offering systemic consultation to management and teams across the hospital. Lizzy also manages and provides a clinical service to the Critical Care and Major Trauma units at UHS and has an interest in working with trauma, death and dying, complex physical health problems and medically unexplained symptoms.
She has developed expertise in providing psychological supervision to non-psychologists in an acute hospital setting and is interested in managing trauma in teams and as a medical professional. Lizzy's work is underpinned by attachment theory and an understanding of trauma, she works systemically, with the focus on relationships, situations and context rather than considering struggles to be located in any one individual and the stories people tell about themselves. She is fully trained in EMDR and Attachment Narrative Therapy.
Ahmed Osman
Ahmed is a paediatric intensive care consultant at UHS, having trained in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to caring for critically ill children on the PICU, he is part of the Southampton Oxford Retrieval Team (SORT), providing critical care transfers to patients across the Thames Valley and Wessex area, as well as the Channel Islands, using road ambulances, fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. He is also the lead for the PICU Outreach Service providing critical care training and education to all paediatric hospitals within the region.
Ahmed is active in the teaching schedules of the Paediatric Innovation Education and Research (PIER) Network and has created a number of educational videos that are hosted on the website. He is also a member of the Paediatric Critical Care Society’s wellbeing group, which aims to improve wellbeing across all PICU staff in the country through sharing good practice and conducting collaborative research projects.
Ahmed is a Patient Safety Education Specialist at UHS, and is interested in human factors and how they pertain to patient safety. As part of the trust simulation team, he is particularly interested in how simulation can be used to test systems and aid learning after patient safety incidents.
Marianne Jenkins
Marianne Jenkins is a Consultant Nurse Practitioner working in Emergency Medicine in Wales. Having dual registrations (Adult and child health nursing) combined with Advanced Clinical Practitioner and Independent Prescribing qualifications has led to a long, varied career.
Teaching interests are aligned with Cardiff University as an Honorary Lecturer contributing to both undergraduate and postgraduate education. She has completed doctoral research investigating the
advanced nurse practitioner role in a secondary care hospital using situational analysis as a methodology and method.
Her ongoing research interests are affiliated with PERUKI as the nurse representative on the Executive Committee. Outside of work Marianne is an enthusiastic runner and enjoys the company of her dogs (Flo, Nemo & Bruce), sometimes more than the company of her husband and family.