Sheffield – the 70th BAPS Congress

We had the review of the recent BAPS Congress this week – the “washing up” session – based on return of the delegate feedback forms. Here are some highlights of Sean Marven’s 12-year quest to turn Sheffield into a successful BAPS Congress venue.

• The unusual four-day format was well-received by most delegates. There was always something going on to fill the space. Whether it be the dedicated science sessions, the parallel Special Interest Groups, the Abdominal Wall symposium or the Ethics and Innovation sessions.  It was a one-off prompted by the needs to squeeze in a History session and other events to commemorate the anniversary.
• Looking back was a theme and getting the past-Presidents on the same dais worked well although attempts to get the virtual Prof. Lewis Spitz to join failed miserably.

• The Celebration Dinner appeared early in the week and was a joyous occasion – the Cutler’s Hall was a suitably grand setting with a masterful oration by the Master Cutler and a chance for the gamblers to bet their fortune on the casino tables afterwards.

• There were really insightful prize sessions and lots of kudos goes to Natalie Durkin (GOSH) for the never before achieved double of a PPR prize at BAPS and one at EUPSA last month. Is the long-held dream of an artificial oesophagus now within reach?

• The Invited Lecturers were really well-received but a big shout-out must go particularly to Thomas Blanc (Paris) and Oliver Muensterer (Munich). These are medical superstars, at the top of their game and conveyed all of their excitement of what is possible at the cutting edge of our specialty.

• Sheffield City Hall was a great venue – engaging, friendly hosts with an appropriately sized auditorium. Some people might remember the mismatched auditoria in Liverpool and Birmingham.

• The AV wasn’t the slickest, perhaps surprisingly given it was in the hall itself. Turnarounds were a bit clunky and there were lots of issues with the MedAll app. It didn’t work well and the questions posed via the app never meshed with the chairs and disappeared into the aether. A single microphone didn’t help either. Next year will be different.

• The other organised social event – the Cambridge Street Collective – was very well appreciated – food what you wanted, when you wanted it and tons of lubricated “networking” opportunities on the floor above. Even a bit of poetry by Shabnam Parkar for those of a more refined sensibility. Perhaps it will be ballroom dancing next year?

Some photos, supplied by Alex Lee Inc. (Oxford)

Curated by Prof Mark Davenport DB

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