ASGBI website
The Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland was founded in 1920 by a group of leading surgeons of the day. The guiding spirit and inspiration behind the concept was Berkeley Moynihan, later Lord Moynihan of Leeds, who had been struck by the lack of cohesion among surgeons as early as 1909. He wrote that “surgeons in one town knew little or nothing of surgeons elsewhere.
A surgeon from Manchester had never visited an operating theatre in Leeds, nor had ever been asked in consultation. As a consequence, it was not infrequent to have to listen to disparagement of one surgeon by another; and jealousies, openly expressed, were too often heard.” The founding objectives of the Association were, therefore, twofold – the advancement of the science and art of surgery and the promotion of friendship amongst surgeons. These remain ASGBI’s objects today.
Miss GM Tierney
Gill Tierney is the President of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland (ASGBI). She is Head of School of Surgery in the East Midlands and a clinical advisor to Health Education England. She holds an honorary chair at Nottingham University. Her clinical interests are in colorectal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. Her research interests are in improving outcomes in emergency surgery, training and the extended surgical team. She examines the intercollegiate FRCS, is a member of the general surgery SAC and has strong links with ACPGBI, NELA and GIRFT.