About the British Indian Orthopaedic Society

(w.e.f.06/10/2019) 

It contains 13 sections numbered as A to L

A. AIMS & OBJECTIVES 

1. To promote the interest of orthopaedic surgeons of Indian origin currently in training or practicing in the UK, as well as those who, at any time, have been trained in the UK but are settled outside UK.

2. To liaise with and to promote fraternal links between the Indian Orthopaedic Association (IOA) and British Orthopaedic Association (BOA).

3. To liaise with the state, region and specialist chapters in India as well as Specialist Societies in UK.

4. To promote sharing of knowledge and culture between Indian and British orthopaedic surgeons in India and UK by arranging educational meetings, courses and travelling fellowships.

5. To organize various meetings, courses, other educational and social events at local, regional and national level for its members and non-members and to act as forum for informal discussion amongst them on issues of mutual interest.

6. To organize a yearly flagship national scientific meeting in summer.

7. To establish BOA recognized sub-specialty training / long-term fellowship in Indian centres of excellence for British trainees.

8. To support the IOA in its endeavour to modernize orthopaedic training in India.

1. To support its members with trauma and orthopaedic training and education and professional development 

B. MEMBERSHIP 

1. Life Membership

The society does not have any provision of annual member ship and only grants life membership. Any Orthopaedic surgeon of Indian origin who lives / intends to live in UK can be a member of the society. The life membership is also open to those orthopaedic surgeons of Indian origin who have since returned to India or settled in other countries.

The fee for life membership is £ 100, paid once, along with application for membership. Once the membership is granted, the fee would not be refunded under any circumstances. The amount of fee is subject to change on the discretion of the society. Society reserves the right to charge any other fee from members from time to time as decided by the AGM.

Members would be eligible for reduced delegate fee to attend annual meeting, would receive the periodic newsletter and would be able to access the member’s page on the society’s website. They would be able to stand for election to executive committee/office bearers subject to fulfilling the eligibility criteria and participate and vote in the AGM.

2. Overseas Membership

Orthopaedic surgeons of Indian origin living outside the UK, not eligible for life membership as defined i paragraph B.1, are eligible to become overseas members of the society. The fee for overseas membership will be £100. Their application would be considered and decided upon by EC at its meeting. They would have all the rights and responsibilities of life members except right to vote and would not be eligible to become members of the EC. The amount of fee is subject to change at the discretion of the society. The Society reserves the right to charge any other fee from members from time to time as decided by the AGM.

3. Honorary membership

The society would grant honorary membership to eminent orthopaedic surgeons of any country who are leaders in their field of specialism who have a significant track record in the advancement of the art and science of Orthopaedics. The EC would   recommend the names of such surgeons and if approved by AGM, the membership would be granted. The selected members would receive a scroll of honour at the next annual meeting. They would be eligible to participate in annual meeting free of charge and would receive the society’s newsletter. They would not be able to participate and vote in the AGM and would not be able to hold any post in the society.

All categories of members would be expected to conduct themselves as dignified professionals and respected members of the society. The membership would be liable for termination in the event of unprofessional behaviour/criminal conduct. The General Medical Council would guide the society in this regard and the decision of the EC ratified by the AGM would be final.

C. THE COUNCIL

The council would incorporate the Executive Members and the Ed Com members and would be meeting twice a year and help in running of the society.

D. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (EC) 

The executive committee (EC) elected from amongst life members would be responsible for the running of the society. It would consist of 9 members elected for a term of 3 years in the AGM held during annual meeting in June. Any life member of more than 1 year standing would be eligible to become a member of the executive committee. There should be one proposer and one seconder supporting their candidature, for election at the AGM. There will be two orthopaedic non consultants in the EC (labelled as trainee representatives) one who has the National Training Number (NTN) and another one without the NTN to include members holding jobs as trust registrars, Junior and Senior Clinical Fellows which is not permanent in nature. The President Elect, the chairman of the advisory council (or its nominee) and the chairman of the organising committee of the annual meeting of the preceding and following years would be ex-offico members of the EC. The founder president and the founder secretary would be the life members of the EC. The EC members would be allocated various responsibilities as agreed by the committee and would be expected to give their time to fulfil them.

The Council would meet at least twice a year, outside of the annual meeting in October and March at a mutually convenient time and place. The Hon secretary, in consultation with President, would prepare the agenda and conduct the meeting. The President (President elect or Hon secretary in absence of President) would normally chair the meeting. The Hon joint secretary would prepare and keep the minutes for the record. Members would be expected to attend at least one meeting in a year unless there are exceptional circumstances. Any member not attending 2 consecutive meeting of the Council or are not able to fulfil their allocated responsibilities may be requested to resign from the committee.

E OFFICE BEARERS (OB)

The day to day running of the society would be the responsibility of a team of office bearers consisting of a President, the Honorary Secretary, Honorary Joint secretary, The Education Secretary, The Joint Education Secretary and Honorary Treasurer. The Immediate Past President of the society would also be inducted into the Office Bearer and would guide the other OBs. Education/fellowship subcommittee would support them. Other subcommittees would be constituted as and when such need arises. The president and honorary secretary would nominate the members, secretary and chairman of subcommittees with agreement of EC, from amongst the life members. The eligibility criterion for subcommittee members would be the same as for EC members.

1. President (PR)

A President Elect would be elected one year before the completion of the term of the sitting president, in order to facilitate a smooth transition of office. The President Elect is expected to sit on the various committees as an ex officio member and would “shadow” the sitting president. At the end of the term, the President elect would automatically succeed as president to complete his/her term of 2 years. Any life member of the society who has served as an office bearer would be eligible to stand for election for President Elect. There should be at least one life member as proposer and another as seconder supporting the proposal; at least one of whom should be a current executive committee / subcommittee member. The President Elect could serve the role of one of the other office bearers in his / her tenure.

The President would supervise all the activities of the society in consultation and agreement with other OB and would be expected to devote considerable time to liaise with members and non-members & various organisations in making sure that the society’s aims are fulfilled. The President would chair the Council meetings, constitute various subcommittees and nominate their members and office bearers in agreement with honorary secretary and would be an ex-officio member of the various subcommittees and organising committee of the annual meeting. The president would be the official point of contact with British Orthopaedic Association. President would prepare the newsletter of the society normally once in six months, and make arrangements to distribute it to members.

The President would be the official point of contact with Indian Orthopaedic Association (IOA) and represent the BIOS in the executive committee of the IOA. The BIOS President would be provided with a bursary of £500 for attending the IOACON.

2. Honorary Secretary (HS)

The honorary secretary would hold the term for 3 years. Life members of the society who have served at least 2 years as EC or subcommittee member would be eligible to stand for election for the office of honorary secretary. There should be at least one life member as proposer and another as seconder supporting the proposal; at least one of whom should be a current executive committee / subcommittee member.

The Honorary Secretary would be responsible for the day to day running of the society. The Honorary Secretary will look after the correspondence of the society, would maintain the register of members and communicate with them. The honorary secretary would keep all the essential records of the society in electronic/hard copy format. The Honorary Secretary would be the ex-officio member of all the subcommittees of the BIOS and the organising committee of the annual meeting.

The Honorary Secretary would acknowledge the new members applications and respond to any queries in this regard.

The Honorary Secretary may appoint a part time secretarial assistant at a reasonable cost to assist with the secretarial work.

3. Honorary Joint Secretary (JS)

The Honorary Joint Secretary would hold the term for 3 years. Any member of the Council who has served at least 1 year would be eligible for the JS role.  If there are more than one council member then the council members may decide to vote to elect the JS. The election of honorary secretary and joint secretary would be staggered so that both these officers do not relinquish the office at the same time.

The HJS would keep the records of the society in digital format and compliant with GDPR guidelines. These would include the updated list of members, Life members, members of the Council, office bearers, fellows, application forms of membership, minutes of the Council meetings, decisions policies and procedures formulated from time to time, and of any other issues decided by the Council.

The joint secretary would assist the secretary to carry out the day to day running of the society. He would work as officiating honorary secretary in case of honorary secretary leaving the post before the end of tenure for any reason. Joint secretary would carry out all the responsibilities of honorary secretary in the short term/long term absence of honorary secretary.

4. Honorary Treasurer (HT)

The treasurer would hold the term for 3 years. Life members of the society who have served at least 2 years as Council or subcommittee member would be eligible to stand for election for the office of the honorary treasurer. There should be at least one life member as proposer and another as seconder supporting the proposal; at least one of whom should be a current Council / subcommittee member.

The HT will maintain and present the accounts of the Society at the Annual General Meeting. The HT would receive all the receipts of the society and deposit them in the society’s account. The HT would make payments for expenses to various eligible people and organisations as and when required after approval by OB/EC. The HT is expected to find the ways and means to increase the income of the society.

5. Education Secretary (ES)

The Education Secretary would hold the term for 3 years. The Ed Com secretary is selected by the Office Bearers. Life members who have served at least 2 years as EC or subcommittee member would be eligible to be nominated as the ES. The education secretary (ES) would have the overall responsibility to manage the programmes such as the junior and the Senior Indo-British Exchange Traveling Fellowships.

6. Joint Education Secretary (JES)

The Joint Education Secretary would hold the term for 3 years. The JES would be selected from the council members who have served at least one year. The JES would be responsible for state fellowships in conjunction with the ES and the President.

1. ELECTION OF OFFICE BEARERS & EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 

The President would nominate one senior member of the society as the returning officer (RO) to conduct the election process for the office bearer / EC before their term of existing OB/ EC is to expire.  The RO would decide and advertise the detailed procedure of the election in consultation with president of the society.

The ‘year’ of the society would run from one annual meeting to next meeting.

1. TENURE OF OFFCE BEARERS & EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 

Normally office bearers and EC members would not continue after one term but If there are no suitable / interested candidates forthcoming, the current office bearer can continue for up to one more term if accepted by the executive committee.

If for any reason the President resigns in the middle of the term then the honorary secretary will act as both President and Secretary for the remaining term. The honorary secretary and joint secretary would take over each other’s responsibilities if either of them resigns in the middle of the term. If the honorary treasurer resigns for any reason then the honorary secretary will take over this office for the remaining term. If all 4 office bearers resign for any reason, then 3 members of the Executive Committee will be inducted by the Executive Committee to act as President/Secretary/Treasurer until the next Annual Meeting of BIOS U.K.

1. REGIONAL CO-ORDINATORS

The EC may appoint/terminate regional coordinators for different regions of the UK or abroad to further the aims and objectives of the society in the respective local /regional areas. The coordinators would work under the overall supervision of the EC by organizing various activities such as educational or social meetings, courses, conferences, seminars or visits by distinguished surgeons.

1. BIOS ADVISORY COUNCIL 

This is an advisory body for maintaining checks and balances and generally providing advice where needed. In the unlikely event of any disputes arising at any level, the council will convene and endeavour to resolve the issues. It would work solely in an advisory capacity, akin to a wise men’s or Patron’s council, to guide, advise, warn and support the OB in running the affairs of the society in an effective and transparent manner and will only meet as required. Most of the work would be done informally. Only in the exceptional circumstances, when the society is dissolved, the council would take over the function of EC. Its membership would include:

Founder president and secretary

Three immediate past presidents and secretaries

The chairman of the advisory council would be selected from amongst its members by consensus and would be an ex-offico member of the EC. The chairman may invite more past presidents or secretaries to join if need be. It would be a perpetual body, always in existence.

Any major change in the policy, direction or functioning of the society, proposed by OB or The Council would require ratification by the advisory council. The advisory council would not have any other office bearers or any executive powers.

1. ACTIVITIES             

1. Fellowships/Educational

(a) The Education sub-committee would be in charge of the various fellowship programmes run by the society. The education secretary (ES) would have the overall responsibility to manage the programmes such as the junior and the Senior Indo-British Exchange Traveling Fellowships. The funding for these programmes is expected to come from external sources/bodies and should not be drawn from the corpus of the society. The ES in agreement with the President and the honorary secretary would set up and be responsible for the process of selection of candidates and liaise with them. The ES will have the responsibility of collating all the information provided by the applicants and will draw upon assistance from the members of the education committee in this process. The selection of candidates would be purely on the basis of objective scoring, agreed prior to the application process. All the applicants are scored by each of the members of the education committee and the ES would collate the results.

(b) The society would also encourage established senior UK surgeons to visit India from time to time. Ideally such visits would be planned around the time of annual meeting of the Indian Orthopaedic Association. The education committee would select distinguished surgeons from UK and organise their visits to centres of excellence in India, preferably accompanied by a senior BIOS member. The funding for this and similar activities would need to come from external sources and under no circumstances the society’s funds would be used for these activities.

(c) The society has the vision of collaborating with centres of excellence in India, to provide training to British Trainees in various subspecialties of Trauma & Orthopaedics and would organize such activities to the best of its abilities subject to circumstances, the available facilities and the manpower. The education committee, supported by the President and the Honorary Secretary, will take a leading role in this process.

2. Other educational activities 

The Society may organise various other educational or social activities to benefit its members or non-members such as training courses, seminars, visits by eminent people or organizations, mentorship programmes, social gatherings or any such activity as it deems appropriate. All these activities would be self-funded and the Society would not underwrite any such expenses on these or similar activities. 

3. Annual General Meeting                                                       

Annual General Meeting (AGM) would be held once every year, at the time of the annual conference of the Society. It would be open to all members of the society. The honorary secretary will circulate the agenda, prepared in consultation with the President.  The honorary secretary would conduct the meeting and the President would chair it. Honorary treasurer would present the accounts for the year at the meeting. Elections to the various offices conducted either during the AGM or earlier would be announced in the meeting. The majority of members present would ratify decisions in the AGM.

The President in discussion with the OBs could call for an extra ordinary AGM if matters require urgent attention that could not wait for the formal AGM. This could be done using electronic media and decisions made. The decisions made would be implemented and a formal ratification if required would be done at the AGM.

4. Annual scientific conference 

Society would hold its annual scientific conference on an annual basis. Its venue, time and structure would be decided by EC. EC would delegate the responsibility of holding the conference to one of its members or any outside agency as far in advance as possible. The president, president elect and honorary secretary would be the ex-officio members of the organising committee of the conference. The education secretary would be the ex-officio member of the scientific committee of the conference. The organising committee and organising secretary would work under overall supervision and direction of the Council.

1. FINANCES

The honorary treasurer would manage society’s financial affairs under overall supervision of EC. Its funds would be kept in an account in a bank operated under the name of the society.  The honorary treasurer and president (or another office bearer as a nominee of the president) would be joint signatories of the account. The honorary Treasurer would present the accounts for the previous year for approval in the AGM of the society, held during annual conference of the society, every year.

The society is unlikely to have any other source of income except the membership fee and savings from conferences etc. The Hon Treasurer would make every effort to find ways to increase the income of the society and to make sure that only genuine and necessary expenses are paid from society’s account. Expenses can only be paid from society’s account after submission of receipt/other documentary proof of the expenses, which would be kept by the honorary treasurer and can be inspected by any member of the EC on demand.

It is understood and expected that everyone who works for society in any capacity, do so out of his or her love, affection and commitment to the aims and objective of the society. Therefore, no expense of any kind would be paid by society on account of travel, food, accommodation or any other incidental expenses to any member or non-member for carrying out any work on behalf of the society.

The reserve funds of the society (£. at the end of year 20) kept in a savings account cannot be used unless in exceptional circumstances, and only with agreement of advisory council and with prior unanimous approval of the EC.

The society does not feel the need for regular annual audit of its account due to its limited income. The EC and the AGM would review it from time to time and make changes as necessary. 

1. DISSOLVING THE SOCIETY

It is possible although extremely unlikely that society would stop functioning in an effective way and in accordance with the provision of its constitution. If such a situation arises, the president/ honorary secretary or EC can start consultation with membership about the future of the society. If it is felt by majority of the membership that society cannot function anymore in the way it was constituted, it can be dissolved by a three fourth majority of membership and all assets, liabilities, rights, responsibilities, functions and funds would be transferred to the advisory council who would decide the future course of action according to the aims and objective of the society.

1. THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, WITH APPROVAL OF THE AGM CAN ALTER, ADD, DELETE OR CHANGE ANY PART OR WHOLE OF THIS DOCUMENT AFTER DUE CONSULTATION PROCESS WITH MEMBERS AND ADVISORY COUNCIL

(Constitution Committee: Mr. Murti Gollapudi (Lead), Mr. Bisal Muddu, Mr. Anand Arya, Prof. Venu Kavarthapu, Prof. Bijay Singh, Mr. Sunil Garg)