• Understand the national priorities driving elective recovery and how they translate into local surgical transformation

• Explore best practice examples of how NHS trusts are improving patient flow, productivity, and theatre efficiency

• Identify opportunities for collaboration between surgical teams, ICSs, and national programmes to accelerate recovery

• Explore how integrated perioperative care pathways can improve surgical outcomes, patient safety, and recovery times

• Understand the role of prehabilitation, early assessment, and optimisation of comorbidities in reducing cancellations and complications

• Discuss how multidisciplinary collaboration between surgical, anaesthetic, and primary care teams can drive consistent, high-quality perioperative practice across the NHS

Ricky Bhogal, Consultant Hepatobiliary Surgeon, The Royal Marsden NHS Trust

Ankur Mukherjee, Consultant Urological Surgeon (Robotics), Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 

Shantanu Rout, Consultant Colorectal and General Surgeon, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospital NHS Trust

This panel will bring together surgical innovators, clinicians, and technology leaders to explore how robotics, artificial intelligence, and digital tools are transforming surgical practice. Panellists will discuss how innovation can be scaled safely and equitably across the NHS, sharing real-world experiences of digital adoption, the challenges of workforce training, and the opportunities for improving patient outcomes through smarter surgery.

Raiyyan Aftab, President, Association of Surgeons in Training

Jennifer Maher, Education Lead, The Association for Perioperative Practice

Mark Henley, President, Confederation of British Surgery

This panel will bring together senior clinicians, educators, and policymakers to discuss how the NHS can build and sustain a skilled, resilient, and motivated surgical workforce. Panellists will explore training innovation, wellbeing support, and workforce planning for the future.

• Understand how surgical teams can contribute to the NHS Net Zero ambitions through greener clinical practice

• Explore sustainable innovations in surgical equipment, anaesthetics, and waste reduction

• Identify practical steps for embedding sustainability principles across perioperative pathways

Chris Perry, Consultant in Paediatric Anaesthesia, Great North Children’s Hospital

• Interpret theatre-flow visualisations to identify ground-level operational issues impacting productivity
• Recognise key barriers within the clinical workflow and explain how these barriers influence theatre efficiency
• Apply pragmatic, front-line perspectives to generate workable improvement ideas rooted in real clinical practice
• Leverage identified issues to advocate for and design meaningful productivity improvements