Equity Diversity & Inclusion

Kat Whitehouse

SBNS EDI Chair and Elected Council Member - 2021 - 2026 September

Hospital and region: University Hospital Wales, Cardiff, Wales

Subspecialty/ies: Neuro-oncology surgery

Role in SBNS council: Elected member, Consultant in First Five Years

Other roles: Chair of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Neurosurgery Group; Ex FRCS rep for BNTA; SAC Neurosurgery member (workforce planning); Neurosurgery Training Programme Director, Health Education and Improvement Wales; Course organiser for National Neurosurgery Finishing School

Demographic information: Female, Welsh, Working class origins.

What was your journey that lead you to SBNS council? I was never really interested in politics or management, but after passing FRCS(neurosurgery) I applied for, and was voted into, the FRCS representative role in the BNTA. As part of the BNTA committee, and in response to concerns about the lack of consultant jobs at the end of training, I investigated the number of trainees, consultants, and new posts over the preceding five years. The information from this translated into the annual neurosurgery census and informing ongoing workforce planning. Due to additional interests in education, and seeing the gap between training and consultant practice, I was also part of the team that developed the National Neurosurgery Finishing School. These national advisory roles meant I was well-placed to apply for the novel "Consultant in the First Five Years" council role, and I was lucky enough to be successful

What are your aims/contributions to SBNS council?
I have an ongoing workforce planning work and educational role, which forms a good bridge with the SAC role. Apart from these, I see my role as reminding the more "established" neurourgeons of the issues that face their younger colleagues in modern times including changes in finances, societal expectations, family roles and demands compared to previous generations. I have a passion for equity of access to opportunities, and therefore work with the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Group to help us all better understand who we are as a community, and to help people feel welcome within neurosurgery. Sustainability is another area of interest that I aim to support and encourage within the SBNS council.

SBNS Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Statement

The pandemic period was a difficult time for us all, with Covid-19 laying bare many of the inequalities that already existed in society, including the increased mortality rate of patients and healthcare workers from ethnic minorities; the disproportionate burden of extra childcare placed upon parents, women especially; and increasing the socioeconomic divide.

With this in the background, sportsmen and women are trying to expose and combat the racism they are subjected to; women are raising awareness about the ongoing differences in the way that they are treated and have to act in their everyday lives; and popular television programmes such as Channel 4’s “It’s a Sin” showed us some of the difficulties faced by the LGBTQ+ community.

Neurosurgery is not immune from these issues. A culture of bullying, exclusion and victimisation has been both whispered in corridors and reported explicitly in our specialty. We welcome the review of the Royal College of Surgeons of England’s diversity by Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, much of which will apply to our own Society too.

Therefore, we state that we are proud, within the Society of British Neurological Surgeons and the overall discipline of neurosurgery in the UK and Ireland, to be a diverse group of individuals passionate about their craft and working hard to improve the lives of our patients and the wider society we live in. We strongly believe that our variety of people from different backgrounds is vital to enabling different perspectives and experience to help our Society, and neurosurgery itself, move forward.

The Society of British Neurological Surgeons wants to guide and support progress within our society, units, and for individuals. We want to cultivate an open and encouraging culture, where people feel valued and comfortable to be themselves and be heard in their place of work and within the Society. We set out an ambition as a society to be anti-discriminatory.

We will:

1. Review the diversity across our professional leadership

We are all too aware that the make-up of the leadership roles in our society does not reflect the diversity of our community. As a first step we ask that all those who may have previously considered engaging in SBNS activities or committees but didn’t perhaps due to intimidation, or a feeling that they weren’t good enough, or that they don’t “fit the mould”; to please help us break that mould.

2. Establish an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee

To help examine our Society, undertake policy work and provide a point of contact for communication. We welcome diverse contribution to this forum.

3. To engage and consult with neurosurgeons to better understand our community

We will be inviting all neurosurgeons – consultants and trainees, members and non-members - to complete a survey asking questions regarding aspects of their life that we often avoid, including ethnicity, religion, sexuality, bullying and mental health issues. This survey will be anonymous and non-judgemental, and respondents will be welcome to not respond to aspects that they feel uncomfortable completing. However, we do ask that everyone tries to fill in as much as they feel able to. As a Society we want to represent and support everyone, and the more we know about our members and the issues they face, the better we can do that.

4. Establish a mentoring programme

We will consider the establishment of a mentoring programme to improve the support and visibility of neurosurgeons from minority groups so that those at all levels of training, from primary school to consultancy, can feel that a career in neurosurgery is achievable.

5. Continue to review our progress on a regular basis

Over the coming years, there will be many challenges, and we invite everyone to examine and reflect on the behaviours of the SBNS, within their own units, and their own unconscious biases; and challenge those behaviours where they see them.
We know we are nowhere near perfect in achieving equity and diversity, but together, we can improve so please contact us with your ideas or for support.

We know we are nowhere near perfect in achieving equity and diversity, but together, we can improve so please contact us with your ideas or for support.

SBNS Sexual Misconduct & Harassment In Surgery Statement

The Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery (WPSMS) has recently published its report on sexual misconduct in healthcare Breaking the Silence. It is recommended that all members of the neurosurgical community read the report.

The SBNS firmly believes that sexual abuse, harassment, and intimidation must not be tolerated and has no place in our society or community. Sexual assault is an illegal and criminal act. As highlighted by the findings of WPSMS it is often under reported and the SBNS recognises that females and trainees are particularly, although not exclusively, subjected to this form of abuse and misconduct.

Sexual harassment often has the effect of making the recipient feel ashamed, humiliated, undermined, and frightened and can have a lasting impact on mental health and careers. This behaviour, along with intimidation, bullying and undermining, constitute an erosion of standards and professionalism and is profoundly destructive to individuals, creates dysfunctional and ineffective teams, and ultimately compromises the care that surgeons and the wider medical profession are expected to deliver.

The SBNS is committed to creating and sustaining a working environment which is safe, inclusive, supportive and a positive experience for everyone and facilitates team working that optimises patient care.

If you experience or witness sexual harassment or assault in the workplace, if you feel able, please report it through your hospital procedures. We recommend that all neurosurgeons with managerial or training roles familiarise themselves with their local harassment reporting processes so that they can support and advise colleagues appropriately.

The SBNS will continue to work with the FSSA and Royal Colleges to address these issues. In terms of support, the SBNS has a Support Line and Mentoring Services available for our members via our website.

SBNS EDI Survey Report 2022

The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group of the Society of British Neurological Surgeons carried out a survey of SBNS members in the early part of 2022 entitled
"Equity, Diversity and Bullying in Neurosurgery".

The results have been published in the RCS England's Bulletin - it even made the front page!

EDI Final Report Dec 2022.pdf

SBNS Code of Conduct

In April 2024 the SBNS Launched its Code of Conduct for SBNS Meetings - The Three Principles of Prevention - ST.O.P

1. STay Professional

Don’t use your status to influence/implicitly coerce the vulnerable or more junior

Do not use conferences/educational events as opportunities to seek sexual gratification

Consider your conduct around/after SBNS events, remembering that you represent our society and its values, for example wearing societal identification in public venues

Consider how it may be interpreted if you are photographed/witnessed when you are on study/professional leave

Remember, alcohol is the most common date rape drug – be safe; don’t misuse it

2. Open Your Eyes

Are you blind to your own inappropriate actions?

Are you ignoring poor behaviour in others?

3. Protect Each Other

“Check in” - If you see inappropriate e.g. creepy/sleazy behaviour, and you feel able to do so, ask the “recipient” if they are OK
“Call it out” - If you see inappropriate e.g. creepy/sleazy behaviour, and you feel able to do so, inform the “perpetrator” they are being
e.g. creepy/sleazy, e.g. if it is a friend of yours or someone you know