The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh appoints six new members to Council

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh appoints six new members to Council

Published: 6 September 2024

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh has appointed five new members and one new Trainee Representative to the College Council. The Council help to guide strategy and steer our mission of advancing education and assessment, and the maintenance of professional standards to ensure patient safety everywhere.

Mr Zahid Raza is Vascular Surgeon based at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh.

Mr Siong Liau is the Clinical Lead and Consultant Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgeon based in the Cambridge Regional HPB Surgical Unit, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge. He was previously appointed to the role of Honorary Treasurer and has held this position for the past 22 months.

Professor Paul Brennan is Professor of Clinical and Experimental Neurosurgery at the University of Edinburgh and Honorary Consultant Neurosurgeon at NHS Lothian.

Professor Chelliah Selvasekar is a Consultant Colorectal Surgeon and Associate Medical Director at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester.

Mr Sai Krishna Vittal is a Consultant Endocrine Surgeon based in Chennai, India. He is an Adjunct Professor of the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University, Chennai and Honorary Associate Professor of RCSI & UCD Malaysia Campus.

Mr Michael Okocha will join as the Trainee Representative on Council. Michael is a General Surgery Trainee based in the South-West (Severn Deanery). He is past President of the ASGBI Moynihan Academy.

All six members will take up their positions after the AGM in November 2024.

Professor Rowan Parks, President of The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh says:

We are delighted with the six new members of Council. All of them have already contributed so much to the field of surgery and they all bring with them a unique set of skills which will help the College pursue its mission and ambitions for the advancement of surgical education and training. It is a huge commitment to take up a voluntary role like this with the College and I thank them for doing so. I look forward to working closely with them all throughout their term of office.

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  • RCSEd was first incorporated as the Barber Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1505 and is based in Edinburgh and Birmingham. 
  • It is one of the oldest surgical corporations in the world with a global membership of more than 32,000, including 15,000 members in the UK. 
  • The College also has a significant worldwide presence with members in over 100 countries. 
  • The College promotes the highest standards of surgical and dental practice through education, training and examinations, its liaison with external medical bodies and representation of the modern surgical and dental workforce. 
  • The College has six faculties: The Faculty of Dental Surgery, The Faculty of Surgical Trainers, The Faculty of Dental Trainers, The Faculty of Perioperative Care, The Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care and The Faculty of Remote, Rural and Humanitarian Healthcare.
  • It is also home to the UK’s only Faculty of Surgical Trainers, open to all those with an interest in surgical training regardless of College affiliation. 
  • Find RCSEd at www.rcsed.ac.uk, on X (formerly known as Twitter), on Facebook, and Instagram.

For further information, please contact comms@rcsed.ac.uk