Welcome to Rendezvous with our hosts - Ankur Mukherjee and John Hayes - in a series of BAUS podcasts bringing you conversations with leading urologists!

Join us as we dive into the world of urology, bringing you exclusive interviews with the UK’s most eminent and enlightened urologists.

From groundbreaking research to the latest in surgical innovations, we explore the challenges, advancements, and personal insights shaping the field.

We also explore their individual and fascinating journeys and find out what motivates and inspires them.

Whether you're a budding urologist, healthcare professional, a medical student, or simply curious about urological health, this podcast offers expert perspectives, fascinating discussions, and valuable knowledge from those at the forefront of urology.

We hope to inspire, motivate and engage you in this unique rendezvous!

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Our sixth guest of the series is Professor Nikhil Vasdev, an internationally recognised expert in robotic urological surgery and oncology, known for combining clinical excellence with innovation and academic leadership.

He serves as Chair of Robotic Surgery at the University of Hertfordshire and is a Consultant Urological and Robotic Surgeon, as well as Cancer Lead, at the Lister Hospital in the UK.

With experience spanning more than 1,800 major robotic cancer procedures, Professor Vasdev specialises in advanced techniques such as robotic prostatectomy and cystectomy. Beyond the operating room, he is a global mentor and proctor, helping to establish robotic urology programmes around the world.

A prolific academic, he has authored over 270 peer-reviewed publications and leads research in areas including artificial intelligence in prostate cancer, novel robotic platforms, and surgical innovation. His work continues to shape the future of cancer care and medical education worldwide.

In this episode of the BAUS sustainability series, we explore how the urology community can play a meaningful role in reducing clinical waste, while improving global access to care.

We’re joined by Joanna Cooper from Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, who shares her first-hand experience of working with the Medi Tech Trust to collect, organise and redistribute unused – and often expired – medical equipment to healthcare providers in low-resource settings.

Joanna discusses the practical challenges of coordinating donations across her specific Trust, from identifying surplus stock to ensuring safe and appropriate distribution overseas. She also highlights the significant environmental and ethical benefits of diverting usable equipment from landfill and giving it a second life where it’s urgently needed.

Looking ahead, Joanna makes a compelling case for wider participation across the NHS, encouraging more Trusts to embed sustainable donation pathways into their operations. With the right coordination, she explains, small local efforts can translate into a substantial global impact.

This episode offers valuable insight for clinicians, managers and sustainability leads interested in reducing waste, supporting global health equity, and driving change through simple, scalable initiatives.

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Get involved with the Medi Tech Trust

They accept donations by post, courier and personal delivery.

Members of the public contact them from locations all over the UK mainly with urological and ENT items [catheters, urine bags, stoma bags, bandages, dressings, nebulisers, CPAP machines].

www.meditechtrust.org

From Consensus to Clinic: Applying the BAUS Guidance for the Management of Ketamine Uropathy is a three-part podcast series designed to support UK urologists in translating the latest BAUS consensus guidance into everyday clinical practice.

As the prevalence of ketamine misuse continues to rise in the UK, urologists are increasingly encountering patients with complex urinary tract complications linked to recreational drug use. This series brings together leading experts in urology and addiction psychiatry to explore the pharmacology of ketamine, patterns of misuse, assessment strategies, and evidence-based management approaches.

In this episode, Suzanne Biers (Chair), Hashim Hashim, Magda Kujawa, and Nadir Osman discuss management of ketamine uropathy.

The series aims to move clinicians from awareness to confident application of guidance in routine practice.

From Consensus to Clinic: Applying the BAUS Guidance for the Management of Ketamine Uropathy is a three-part podcast series designed to support UK urologists in translating the latest BAUS consensus guidance into everyday clinical practice.

As the prevalence of ketamine misuse continues to rise in the UK, urologists are increasingly encountering patients with complex urinary tract complications linked to recreational drug use. This series brings together leading experts in urology and addiction psychiatry to explore the pharmacology of ketamine, patterns of misuse, assessment strategies, and evidence-based management approaches.

In this episode, Mohammed Belal (Chair), Alison Downey, and Ased Ali discuss the assessment of ketamine users with urinary symptoms.

The series aims to move clinicians from awareness to confident application of guidance in routine practice.

From Consensus to Clinic: Applying the BAUS Guidance for the Management of Ketamine Uropathy is a three-part podcast series designed to support UK urologists in translating the latest BAUS consensus guidance into everyday clinical practice.

As the prevalence of ketamine misuse continues to rise in the UK, urologists are increasingly encountering patients with complex urinary tract complications linked to recreational drug use. This series brings together leading experts in urology and addiction psychiatry to explore the pharmacology of ketamine, patterns of misuse, assessment strategies, and evidence-based management approaches.

In this episode, Arun Sahai (co-chair), Ruth Doherty (co-chair), Owen Bowden-Jones, Carl Hammond, Marita Isaac discuss the background of ketamine in relation to pharmacology, clinical and recreational use and harms.

The series aims to move clinicians from awareness to confident application of guidance in routine practice.

Welcome to Rendezvous with our hosts - Ankur Mukherjee and John Hayes - in a series of BAUS podcasts bringing you conversations with leading urologists!

Join us as we dive into the world of urology, bringing you exclusive interviews with the UK’s most eminent and enlightened urologists.

From groundbreaking research to the latest in surgical innovations, we explore the challenges, advancements, and personal insights shaping the field.

We also explore their individual and fascinating journeys and find out what motivates and inspires them.

Whether you're a budding urologist, healthcare professional, a medical student, or simply curious about urological health, this podcast offers expert perspectives, fascinating discussions, and valuable knowledge from those at the forefront of urology.

We hope to inspire, motivate and engage you in this unique rendezvous!

***

Our fifth guest is….Miss Mary Garthwaite; a former Consultant Urological Surgeon and now Chair of The Urology Foundation (TUF).

Having initially trained in London, she moved North to advance her surgical career; undertaking higher surgical training in Urology in Leeds and West Yorkshire.

She gained a PhD in Molecular Biology, looking at the molecular basis of urothelial function in health and disease, and subsequently developed a career long interest and specialist expertise in the management of benign, chronic disorders of the bladder, including male and female incontinence, bladder pain syndrome and urinary tract infection.

As a trainee Mary was active in the national urological community through her role as Chair of SURG (the Senior Urological Registrars Group), which was the then independent trainee organisation that has been superseded by BSoT.

As a consultant she served on the committee of the British Association of Urological Surgeons Section of Female, Functional, Neurological and Urodynamic Urology until stepping back from clinical urology in 2019.

She became a Trustee of The Urology Foundation in 2021 and was appointed Chair of the Board of Trustees in 2022.

The first episode in our mini-series explores whether a national screening programme is viable, contrasting clinical and public-health perspectives and weighing benefits, harms, and evidence gaps.

Includes key takeaways from international models and BAUS 2025 screening debates.