July 2025 Newsletter

Dear PRASIS Member

Welcome to the first PRASIS newsletter of 2025, and thank you for your ongoing loyalty to PRASIS.

RECENT NEWS FOR PRASIS MEMBERS

PRASIS has worked with our Brokers at MIC to indemnify our first independent Plastic Surgery clinic. This is something MIC has a great deal of experience with but is a significant new direction for PRASIS. We feel it represents the direction of travel for aesthetic work in the UK and is an area PRASIS wishes to grow into and support.
PRASIS has been working behind the scenes with our Underwriters at CFC to streamline the policy renewal process as much as possible. We expect auto-renewals to come online shortly, which should make the annual renewal task for surgeons much easier.
On 11^th June, Hiroshi Nishikawa presented a superb webinar documenting the journey he has been on while growing the Westbourne Centre in Birmingham over the last 15 years, in collaboration with Ballard’s LLP, the CBS and PRASIS. It was certainly instructive for many people considering setting up their own clinic, and can be viewed via: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/37d5e405-2b4d-44ca-97e0-6dff85b620a9@37ed2e54-6882-4ae5-a4b7-6cef1573c2bc?vod&attendeeId=3afed89b-db8f-4461-86b6-98f53e6b04d2

CONTINUE TO ACCESS THE MEDICOLEGAL ADVICE LINE FOR HELP IN DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES

Emily Borhan, Medicolegal advisor:

No query is too small, if you are in doubt, please pick up the phone and talk to Emily. Emily can assist with a wide variety of situations from complaints, refunding fees, dealing with tricky patients, receiving legal correspondence, disputes with colleagues, and even guidance on when not to treat a patient. She can help you through the process and assist with drafting correspondence when needed.

Emily will also liaise with your Insurer and make sure calls are notified accordingly. Insurers do not penalise you for the number of calls you have made, in fact, they see notifications as good practice management which is key to preventing disputes.

Contact Emily on 03332408979 or email emily.borhan@m-i-c.co.uk to see how you can benefit.

CHANGES TO THE CLINICAL BOARD

Rob Winterton has succeeded Ruth Waters as Chair of PRASIS. We are very grateful for Ruth’s steady hand while PRASIS recovered from the financial challenges that followed Covid, and encouraging us to branch into other areas to support the Plastic Surgical community more widely.

Ben Baker (Manchester) has joined the Clinical Board, serving from March 2025 for a three-year period and James Henderson (Bristol) has joined the Clinical Board, serving from June 2025 for a three-year period.

Ben Baker

James Henderson

PRASIS SPONSORSHIP

PRASIS continues to support our members and our Specialty through selected sponsorships, including:

BAPRAS: Annual Scientific Meeting, Wales, December 2024
BAAPS: Annual Scientific Meeting, London, September 2024
PLASTA Annual Meeting, at the BAPRAS Winter meeting 2024, and Newsletter entries.
PRASSA – the plastic surgery medical student association 2024
BAM (British Aesthetic Medicine) – Annual meeting, May 2025

PRASIS will continue these sponsorships annually.

THE CONFEDERATION FOR BRITISH SURGERY (CBS)

Many of you may already know about the Confederation of British Surgery (CBS) but for those who are not yet acquainted; The Confederation for British Surgery is an official trade union, which is able to provide members of the surgical community with support and resources that the specialty associations, colleges and indemnity schemes, such as PRASIS are unable to offer.

CBS continues to work closely with PRASIS. Persons must sign up individually due to the rules regarding trade union membership. If you are interested in learning more, please visit the CBS website at

https://www.cbsgb.co.uk/membership_application.aspx

What does CBS stand for?

At CBS, the mission is to foster collaboration and address the unique challenges present in the surgical realm. They are dedicated to advocating for surgeons and your teams, safeguarding your professional and employment interests. In the dynamic and demanding landscape of surgery, CBS stands as a representative voice for the surgical community.

Understanding the Landscape

It's important to recognize the context in which surgery operates. While there are over 200,000 licensed doctors in the UK, there are only 10,000 Consultant Surgeons and 6,800 Consultant Anaesthetists (Source: GMC Digital October 2020). As surgical professionals you constitute a relatively small portion of the medical workforce. CBS was established to protect the interests of this vital segment of healthcare professionals.

Beliefs and Vision

CBS firmly believes that by providing surgeons and their teams with a safe, well-resourced, and well-managed environment, we can improve outcomes for patients. CBS is committed to creating this conducive environment for the benefit of both patients and surgical professionals alike.

Benefits of Joining CBS?

As a member of CBS, you gain access to a range of benefits designed to support you:

Surgical Advice Service: if you need advice or support, our team is here to assist you
Membership Partner Discounts: enjoy exclusive discounts and services through our network of partners
Flexible Membership Options: we offer a range of membership options to suit every stage of your career
Advice on Indemnity Cover: Specialised coverage tailored for clinicians
By Surgeons, For Surgeons: CBS was established by surgeons for the surgical team, ensuring that your needs are understood and addressed
Advocacy and Campaigning: we actively campaign for change and advocate for the needs of the surgical profession
Embracing the Future: as the field of surgery evolves, CBS is committed to looking ahead and embracing change alongside you
Your Voice Matters: CBS provides you with a platform to voice your concerns and contribute to positive change within the surgical community

CBS application form: https://www.cbsgb.co.uk/membership_application.aspx

To find out more about the Confederation of British Surgery or to join please visit our website www.cbsgb.co.uk or email admin@cbsbg.co.uk

SUMMARY BENEFITS OF PRASIS

Stability and security should be the overriding considerations which drive a choice of indemnifier, and we believe that our current Underwriters and Broker provide these.

The Insurance market remains challenging with ongoing reduced capacity affecting the ability of those left to take on risks, leading to large increases in premiums for some professional groups and great difficulties in securing any cover at all for others.

PRASIS creates and provides a community for plastic surgeons who have shared core values based on their training and working practices, and for this reason PRASIS members are viewed as a safer group, and therefore an attractive risk for insurance companies.

PRASIS is also unique in having a Clinical Board, all of whom are senior plastic surgeons, and who provide their insights and influence to the wider Broking and Underwriting team.

Members of the Clinical Board are always pleased to provide clinical advice to PRASIS members, and when appropriate to act as advocates for them in their dealings with the Brokers and Underwriters of PRASIS. To do this requires the member’s written consent for disclosure to the Clinical Board Member(s) of the full background information relating to the issue in question - be it a clinical matter, or a matter relating to the member’s policy (e.g. their premium).

We are here to help members with any enquiries. The quickest way to get through to a Board member is to contact the PRASIS Board Secretary, Helen Roberts:

helen.roberts@prasis.org or 07930509646

Helen will ensure your query is forwarded to the correct member of the team.

In addition to this and as outlined above PRASIS supports educational activities and opportunities for its members for their benefit, and more widely to benefit the Plastic Surgery community as a whole.

PRASIS is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Medical Insurance Consultants Ltd which is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is entered on the Financial Services Register under reference 309026.

The PRASIS Board

Chair:

Rob Winterton

Clinical Board:

Ben Baker

James Haeney

James Henderson

Mark Henley

Hiroshi Nishikawa

Legal Advisor and Board Member:

Nicky Collins

PRASIS Board Secretary: