AoSCP Website Designers
Creator & Developer
Ian Bestwick trained in Portsmouth as an ODP in 1993. He began scrubbing in Orthopaedics in 2000 and led a busy four theatre Orthopaedic team before training as a SCP.
Since qualifying in 2017, he his developing an interest in hand and feet surgery as well as continuing to practice in Hip & Knee Revision Arthroplasty.
He created this website in order Surgical Care Practitioners and their role would be properly represented.
Assistant Developer
Anna Eastman trained as a nurse in Cardiff in 2011. She spent the next four years scrubbing and assisting in a variety of specialities including General Surgery, Orthopaedics, Plastics and Gynaecology. In 2015 Anna attended Plymouth University and completed her SCP qualification in General Surgery. She spends her time in practice between Colorectal ward cover, two-week wait clinics, assisting for colorectal surgeries and developing her independent operating practice.
AoSCP Committee
Nicholas Fletcher - Chair
Urology Surgical Care Practitioner Salford Royal Hospital. A career based around Theatres and Urology. Qualified as a Registered Nurse since 2001, I worked as Scrub Practitioner, becoming the Urology lead. A switched to Clinical Nurse Specialist role in Urology followed next giving further insight to the different urological disease processes. Following on from the CNS role I returned to theatre working in the National Organ retrieval Team (NORS) at Manchester Royal and also becoming a SFA, In 2016 I was fortunate to be offered the role to Urology SCP at Salford Royal and began my MSc at Edge Hill later that year.
Anna Eastman - Secretary
Anna Eastman trained as a nurse in Cardiff in 2011. She spent the next four years scrubbing and assisting in a variety of specialities including General Surgery, Orthopaedics, Plastics and Gynaecology. In 2015 Anna attended Plymouth University and completed her SCP qualification in General Surgery. She spends her time in practice between Colorectal ward cover, two-week wait clinics, assisting for colorectal surgeries and developing her independent operating practice.
Gwen Smith- Treasurer
Gwen Smith has been a nurse for 27 years. Having completed her Surgical Care Practitioner (T&O) in 2018, her main role now is with Foot and Ankle surgery. She has her own foot and ankle intrarticular injection list as well as implementing telephone follow up clinics. In addition she runs two follow up clinics for foot and ankle patients along with assisting in theatre. Gwen also works with a knee surgeon who specialising in soft tissue injuries where I assist and prepare grafts
Sally Stuart
Sally qualified as a nurse from Sheffield and North Trent College of Nursing and Midwifery in Jan 1993. Having developed a keen interest in perioperative care during her pre-registration training and she spent the early part of her career working with all phases of surgical care, experiencing many specialties and leadership styles. Following this her career has developed around advanced perioperative practice and in 2003 was appointed as a Surgical Care Practitioner in General Surgery at Salford Royal. Her main interest was developing laparoscopic colorectal surgery in the mid noughties. Following the launch of the 2014 SCP curriculum she successfully completed the MSc in Surgical Care Practice at Edge Hill University. Sally’s experience in developing SCPs in practice led her permanently into education in 2019 and she became the lead for the Edge Hill University SCP program in May 2021. From this position she supported the development of the new curriculum for SCP training, a document that is due to be released imminently. Her research interested surround the use of technology to support learning and improving student experience. When Sally is not working you will find her on a hockey field either playing or coaching. Qualified as an General Surgery SCP with a background in perioperative nursing.
Ruth Matchett
Qualified as an SCP in 2017 at Plymouth University with a background in theatre nursing. Ruth spends most of her time in cardiac theatres assisting the surgeons as either a first or second assistant. She is depended upon to harvest the saphenous vein and sometimes radial artery. In September 2018 Ruth trained to harvest the vein endoscopically.
Emma Tindall
Emma qualified at Teeside University as an SCP in 2012, coming form an ODP background. She specialises in Upper Limb covering theatre, elective and fracture clinics. She has also setup and run a new shoulder instability service. She is a member of Association for perioperative practitioners (AfPP) and British elbow and shoulder society (BESS). Currently she is involved with developing an Upper limb unit to provide trauma and elective services to the Teesside area collaborating with our neighbouring Trusts.
Gerard Mawhinney
Gerard is a Spinal Surgical Care Practitioner Trainee at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He is a registered adult nurse and has worked in spinal surgery both clinically and commercially for over 15 years. He is a member of the British Association of Spinal Surgeons and AO Spine. Gerard also holds a clinical research post at the University of Oxford, research interests include informed consent, digital health and patient experience in perioperative care.
Jon Broughton
Urology Surgical Care Practitioner James Cook University Hospital South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Qualified as RN in 2005, Jon spent 3 years in A&E before he started training as a Cardiothoracic SCP (BSc Teesside University). During the next 6 he then obtained his MSc in Advanced Practice as well as independent prescribing qualification. He then moved into management roles as part of organisational turnaround team, then as a clinical matron before starting a new team and training as a Urology SCP (Edge Hill University). He now jointly leads newly established team of 6 SCPs and 4 ACPs in General Surgery and Urology.