A message from outgoing FSRH President Dr Asha Kasliwal

On 22nd September, my six years as President of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) comes to an end. I have greatly enjoyed my Presidency and it has been a pleasure to work with such enthusiastic, committed, and talented colleagues.

Throughout my Presidency, I was proud to serve the needs of the community of sexual and reproductive healthcare professionals.

I was particularly delighted to lead FSRH’s Holistic Integrated Commissioning campaign, a joint policy position endorsed by Colleges and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC), which helped to focus national policy on integrated commissioning around the needs of women and girls. Through countless engagements with Health Secretaries, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Ministers, other senior policy makers and sector colleagues, I am also pleased to have ensured that SRH has been prioritised in a way that we have not seen before, leading to the Government’s progressive Women’s Health Strategy, appointment of a Women’s Health Ambassador and soon, a SRH Action Plan. During my time as President, media coverage has more than tripled, raising awareness of SRH and the profile of FSRH via broadcast and print media. I am pleased to have helped facilitate the reclassification of the progestogen-only pills to a pharmacy medicine, which has significantly enhanced access to oral contraception. Finally, the FSRH Hatfield Vision is providing a bedrock of high-quality sector-endorsed goals to help drive action and accountability in SRH.

During my Presidency, I was also glad to oversee the review of the CSRH Specialty Curriculum, successfully approved by the General Medical Council (GMC) in early 2021. A great achievement for FSRH and the Specialty, the new curriculum ensured that our programmes were up-to-date with developments in medical education and fully compliant with GMC guidelines. Another significant development on the educational front was the development of the redesigned Diploma, a nationally recognised qualification that equips professionals working in primary care, community and integrated services with the knowledge and competencies they need to pursue more flexible and rewarding careers in SRH. We continue to invest in new educational products for prospective and existing members, ensuring continued learning for SRH healthcare professionals – watch this space for an exciting new menopause care qualification launching soon for primary care providers and those who wish to progress to more advanced study.

My six years have not been without challenges, especially navigating the organisation through difficulties of the global pandemic and the associated turbulence it caused.

However, this demonstrated the strength of collaboration and how, through shared working, we can together achieve great results. We have also faced a prolonged period of uncertainty with several interim CEOs taking office, when it became necessary for me to provide greater organisational oversight to ensure the smooth running of the FSRH. Juggling these responsibilities with my passion for improving reproductive health for women and girls as well as my duties as a Consultant in Manchester has not been easy, but none of this would have been possible without the valued support of FSRH’s members, staff and partners.

I know that I am leaving the Faculty in very good hands.

The appointment of Gary Waltham as Chief Executive in 2021 has provided great stability and direction for the FSRH, with our work focused on providing maximum benefit for our members and a long-term plan to grow the organisation. I am pleased to welcome Dr Janet Barter as my successor as President and wish her all the very best for what I am sure will be a successful tenure. I very much look forward to watching FSRH go from strength to strength.