Date/Time: 20th October 2015

Faced with an enormous resource challenge the NHS is recognising that simply doing more of the same will not solve the problems. This lecture based on a surgical and personal perspective looks at four areas of change:

• the demographic of the medical workforce and the particular challenge for women in surgical careers
• the issues created by the change in patient demographic
• the challenge to professionals to address poor performance and be open and transparent
• the change required of the medical profession and its leadership in behaviours and attitudes to ensure safe, effective and compassionate care for patients

Speaker biography

Clare Marx has worked as an orthopaedic surgeon at Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust for over 20 years. She studied medicine at University College London Medical School qualifying in 1977.

After an inspiring surgical house job she pursued a surgical career with a series of training posts in the London area. In 1987 she completed an arthroplasty fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital and in 1990 was appointed a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at St. Mary's Hospital and St. Charles Hospital London with a particular interest in early surgical education.

Externally, she has been involved in a number of education committees including chairing the Specialty Appointment Committee for Orthopaedics for two years.

She was elected to the BOA Council and became President in 2008-9. In 2007 she received a CBE for services to medicine, and in 2008 she was made a Deputy Lieutenant of the county of Suffolk. She was elected to RCS Council in 2009 and reenergised the Patient Safety agenda before also taking on the Chair of the Invited Review Mechanism in 2011. Clare was elected President of College, taking up post in July 2014.