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2024/25 Programme

2024/25 Winter Dinner Series

The Society invites members and guests to a monthly dinner with guest speaker at the Imperial Hotel between September and April.

Dinners cost £24* per person and will commence at 7:30pm. Drinks will be available in the bar beforehand.

Details of after dinner talks are as follows:
*Quiz Night will include buffet at £5 per person

Thursday 26th September 2024

Title of Talk to be Announced

Dr Rosie Isaac

Thursday 24th October 2024

RSS Antarctica

Dr Jenna Plank

Details of talk to follow

Thursday 28th November 2024

Virtual Reality in Healthcare

Nick Peres

Nick Peres is the Programme Director of Innovation and Transformation at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust.
He is an innovator and researcher in the digital healthcare field, with experience in both broadcast media and the NHS for the last 12 years.
He has created cutting-edge projects for virtual reality (VR) healthcare solutions and pursued a PhD focusing on compassionate behaviour in medical education.
Nick is the founder of PatientVR - designed to educate healthcare workers on non-technical skills through immersive patient perspective scenarios.
He currently co-leads the Digital Futures programme at Torbay, which is nominated for a parliamentary award.
In his talk, Nick Peres will share his experience creating perspective-filmed content for virtual reality (VR), which harnesses the power of immersive storytelling to connect clinicians with the patient's journey.
Nick's work leverages emerging technologies, like VR, in a way that augments, rather than replaces, the human touch.
Nick will share the initiatives at Torbay in establishing the Digital Futures programme, which aims to bring new digital skills into the NHS workforce.
This pioneering programme has been recognised for its innovative approach, becoming blueprinted for NHS England.
Join us to hear how Nick believes we can chart a course towards a healthcare system that is both technologically advanced and profoundly human-centred.

Thursday 23rd January 2025

Unsound Convictions

Rebecca Helm

"More than 300 people. More than 600 years in custody..."
Professor Rebecca Helm is Director of the Evidence-Based Justice Lab at the University of Exeter Law School, and a UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellow.
She is an expert in the field of psychology and law, in using quantitative methodology to examine the legal system, and in developing new methodologies to enhance the reliability of the evidence-base underlying law and policy.
Rebecca is well-known for establishing the UK’s Miscarriages of Justice Registry, an interactive online database of known wrongful convictions.
Cases in the database are categorised in various ways in order to provide insight into systematic malfunctions in the criminal justice system.
In this talk, Rebecca will draw on the Miscarriages of Justice Registry, her research on legal decision-making, and her recent work on the Post-Office Horizon Scandal.
Join us to hear her insights into how legal procedure and infrastructure surrounding the justice system leave individuals vulnerable to wrongful conviction.

Thursday 27th February 2025

Torre Abbey

800 Years of History and New Beginnings

Lucinda Heron

Lucinda Heron started her second career, working with historic buildings, in 2004, having secured an honours degree in Heritage Management and Museum Studies from Plymouth University.
This followed almost 20 years raising four children whilst also working in the family hospitality business.
She was part of the team at Torre Abbey during the Phase 1 works before moving to the National Trust, taking management roles at properties including Greenway and Castle Drogo.
Lucinda was unable to resist the opportiunity to return to Torre Abbey as Manager in 2019 in which role she will oversee the next major restoration project.
This talk will provide a whistle-stop tour of the Abbey - Torbay's most historic building, with its 800 years of history.
Torre Abbey's recent major restoration project has uncovered exciting, new and rare archaeological finds which will provide ample opportunity to tell new stories.
Join us to hear the new plans for Torre Abbey which will secure its future for the next 800 years...

Thursday 27th March 2025

Title of Talk to be Announced

Dr Michael Dixon
LVO, OBE, FRCGP, FRCP

Michael is an NHS GP at the Culm Valley Integrated Centre for Health in Cullompton, Devon.
He is Chair of the College of Medicine and Head of the Royal Medical Household.
He was previously a leader in the GP Commissioning movement as Chair of NHS Alliance (1998-2016) and President of NHS Clinical Commissioners (2012-2014).
He was co-founder of the National Social Prescribing Network in 2016 and became the first NHS England National Social Prescribing Clinical Champion the following year.
Michael is Visiting Professor at Westminster University.
His recent book “A Time to Heal – Tales of a Country Doctor” describes his views on General Practice - past and present.

Thursday 24th April 2025

TDMS Quiz Night

We will end the TDMS Season with our regular Quiz Night!
Entry will be £5 per person including a buffet, which will be available from 7:30pm, prior to an 8pm start.
The quiz will be a General Knowledge quiz - not a test of your medical knowledge - although there may be questions related to past talks given to the Society...!
Members are invited to form teams of up to 6 people to participate in the quiz.
If you do not have a team, or would like to top up with additonal team members, please let us know - or turn up on the night and we will make sure you are accommodated.
Please book your places in advance to help us manage the food requirements.