Warm welcomes and sad farewells

14 May 2024

The month of May is a bittersweet time for the OAA. It is the time when our community comes together at our Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM), to celebrate our work to improve care in obstetric anaesthesia and maternity services. It is a time when friends and colleagues can renew acquaintances and share experiences, and where new acquaintances and networks can be made. It is also the time when there is a changing of the guard in the Executive Committee.
 
We have just had a very successful 55th ASM in Birmingham with over 500 delegates in attendance and 181 abstracts presented. We are already looking forward to our 56th ASM in 2025 in Belfast.
 
The ASM is usually when the OAA holds its Annual General Meeting (AGM). In recent years since the Covid pandemic, the AGM has been a standalone virtual meeting but in 2024 the OAA reverted to the tradition of holding the AGM at the ASM. The AGM is when the results of the OAA elections are announced, and the Executive Committee membership is refreshed and replenished.

The OAA is delighted to welcome onto the Executive Committee Dr Noha Tageldin and Dr Caroline Phillips as our new in-training member representatives. In a very close election, Dr Tageldin and Dr Phillips unusually polled the same number of votes. On behalf of the Executive Committee, OAA President Dr Nuala Lucas announced at the AGM that both candidates would be elected. The other elected members were Dr Natasha Kennedy, Professor Rachel Kearns and Professor Sarah Devroe. Professor Devroe lives and works in Belgium and will bring an international perspective to our work.
 
At the same time, the OAA bids farewell to our Executive Committee members who have completed their term of office. Dr Rachel Collis, Dr Sarah Griffiths, and Dr Damien Hughes have made huge contributions to the recent successes of the OAA for which we are very thankful. They will be greatly missed by their colleagues on the Executive Committee. The OAA hopes that Rachel, Sarah and Damien will continue to contribute to the OAA and its work in the future.