In her final President's blog, RCOG President Ranee Thakar reflects on three high-impact years for the College during her tenure, celebrating milestones that have shaped the future of women’s health and strengthened our global community.
Three years have flown by in the blink of an eye, and I can hardly believe this is my final blog. Leading this incredible College has been the greatest honour of my professional life, one I never imagined when I first travelled to the UK from India after completing my medical training. It truly has been an amazing journey meeting so many members and partners both in and outside the UK.
This role, of course, brought challenges with it, but also immense pride. Pride in our members, who work tirelessly to improve the health of women and girls, and pride in what we have achieved together. From global partnerships to UK advocacy, from education to equity, the breadth of progress is extraordinary.
This blog is longer than my usual membership message, but I make no apologies and hope you will read through to the end. Even at this length, it wasn’t possible to capture all the incredible achievements over the last three years, delivered with you, that reflect the ambition and dedication of our College community.
Tackling racism within the O&G workforce has been one of my Presidential priorities and the ‘RCOG Race Equity in the Workforce’ resources launched in October represent a culmination of three years of research and collaboration. I hope this legacy will support meaningful dialogue, learning, and action at every level of our healthcare system for years to come, fostering a profession where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive.
I am equally proud of my second Presidential programme: our work to support the profession in delivering more sustainable and equitable care. Climate change is happening now, and we cannot sit back and let it harm our health and that of future generations. A significant part of this was the Green Maternity Challenge, an inspiring display of collective action, and I hope clinicians reading our final report feel empowered to make changes.
My third priority programme was to transform surgical training in obstetrics and gynaecology. As a gynaecologist and trainer, I know first-hand that this requires urgent, decisive action. Our trainees are asking for this too. In the first two phases we defined the scale of the problem, identified critical gaps and developed practical, evidence-based solutions – which you can read about here. But the hardest and most crucial stage lies ahead. Implementation is where real change happens – and it cannot be achieved in isolation. I ask each of you to help turn this work into meaningful, lasting improvement for our workforce, our services, and ultimately, the women we care for.
Throughout my Presidency, the challenges facing maternity services have demanded constant attention and urgent action. The College has used every avenue at our disposal with Government, including our meetings with the Health Secretary, APPG Chairs, and MPs, as well as NHS England and DHSC colleagues, to emphasise that long-term underfunding has resulted in understaffed and under resourced maternity units, with too little time for training and lacking modern equipment and facilities for too long.
Our 2025 Workforce Census, published in November, shows the real impact of women’s health being under-prioritised for too long. Doctors are being driven out of the profession by the daily pressure of staff shortages, working beyond their hours and the reality of knowing that despite their best efforts, the quality of care women receive is being impacted.
At the core of our maternity work, the College’s exams, training and education, and guidelines continue to support obstetricians and maternity teams to offer high quality, compassionate care. To help maternity colleagues to both learn and support improvement, we created the RCOG maternity safety digital resource hub, brought maternal health leaders together to produce our Tackling Inequalities and Disadvantage during Pregnancy and Birth series, and co-hosted with RCM our ‘From Insight to Impact’ summit to support Trust, Board and ICB leaders to address the safety crisis facing maternity and neonatal care.
With partners, we delivered the third phase of the Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth (ABC) programme, now rolling out across the NHS to reduce avoidable harm by improving management of fetal deterioration and impacted fetal head during caesarean birth. We continued to co-lead the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit, providing vital data to drive improvements in safety and outcomes, and are also collaborating to produce a new Patient Reported Experience Measure for maternity and neonatal care services.
I offer my sincere thanks to all those who have worked on these Presidential priority workstreams over three years, including the amazing leadership provided by our Clinical Fellows – Madron de Vicq, Naomi Harvey, Hannah Pierce and Farah Siddiqui.
Looking to our global health work, our Gynaecological Health Matters programme is a particular highlight from my time as President, addressing neglected gynaecological conditions in low-resource settings. Through essential training, we have equipped frontline providers in countries such as Bangladesh and Nigeria to deliver high-quality care, advocate for systemic change, and reduce inequalities in women’s health.
Our Making Abortion Safe programme in Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Nigeria and Rwanda trained healthcare providers, advocated for policy and practice changes, and supported the development and updating of clinical guidance and educational resources. In partnership, we have empowered healthcare providers to advocate for increased access to quality abortion and post-abortion care services, while building capacity for long-term change.
Over the past three years, we have also championed vital work with partners to advocate for an end to female genital mutilation/cutting, supporting survivor-led movements, and strengthening training, research and professional guidance so that healthcare providers are empowered to reject and report this harmful practice. You can read more here.
Our global reach has never been stronger. Over the past three years, we have delivered outstanding annual World Congresses, each attracting thousands of delegates from across more than 100 countries. The 2025 Congress in London was our largest ever, showcasing cutting-edge science, fostering collaboration, and reaffirming our commitment to equity in women’s health.
Education remained at the heart of our mission. In 2024, we launched the new GMC-approved O&G Curriculum, equipping doctors with modern skills and a person-centred approach to care. We have modernised our events and training portfolio, ensuring that our educational offer meets the evolving needs of trainees, members and fellows worldwide, and continue to expand our world-class digital education platform.
Over the last three years, we have grown our membership by 9% to reach 18,198 members across 125 countries, a truly global community. We have also championed the diversity of roles within our profession, including SAS and LED doctors, recognising their vital contribution to patient care. I am equally proud of the work the College has delivered to support international medical graduates (IMGs), helping doctors settle into UK practice, including the creation of our IMG Hub.
Our exam delivery has expanded dramatically and we have opened new centres worldwide, reducing travel for candidates and supporting sustainability goals. Global partnerships have flourished, with new accreditation agreements in India, Dubai, and Malaysia, strengthening standards and fostering collaboration. These initiatives ensure that wherever our members practise, they have access to high-quality education and assessment to improve the health of women around the world.
The College has remained committed to supporting evidence-based practice and continuous improvement, enabling clinicians to deliver the safest, highest-quality care, and continued to set the gold standard in guidance and audit. Across 2022-25, we published 12 Green-top Guidelines, 4 Good Practice Papers, 19 Scientific Impact Papers and 27 patient resources, spanning important topics such as maternity triage, managing events surrounding maternal deaths, outpatient hysteroscopy pain relief, and post-traumatic stress in the workforce.
Our recent Women’s Health Research Project highlighted gaps in evidence and will enable us to continue to advocate for investment in research that matters most to women. Looking ahead, the College is developing a Women’s Health Innovation Hub, to drive research and technology innovation and improve outcomes. From maternity safety to gynaecological conditions, we are committed to ensuring that research translates into real-world improvements.
Advocacy remains a vital part of the College’s work. During my tenure, we have successfully campaigned for safe access zones for abortion services and continue to press for the decriminalisation of abortion across England, Wales, and Scotland. Our Waiting for a Way Forward report shone a spotlight on unacceptable delays in gynaecology care, influencing national debate and policy. We championed the introduction of Women’s Health Hubs, which are improving access to vital community services, and just last month, we welcomed the UK Government’s commitment to refresh the Women’s Health Strategy, which the College has been calling for as a vital step towards addressing women’s health inequalities and improving outcomes.
However, although I have focused my final message on our collective achievements, it is important that I also acknowledge the acute challenges facing our profession. Every doctor working in our specialty deserves to feel valued and supported throughout their career, but our members are telling us loud and clear that the current pressures are unsustainable. We must see governments, policy makers and commissioners investing in plans that increase workforce numbers and prioritise flexibility, training, career development and wellbeing, or we will continue to lose skilled clinicians from the profession and find it increasingly difficult to attract the next generation. Women and girls will pay the price.
But do these challenges mean I am pessimistic about the future? I am often asked that, and my answer is always no - because despite these challenges, I have been endlessly struck by the commitment, innovation and passion that defines our membership and our speciality. This is evidenced in the incredible progress I’ve covered in my final blog, which reflects just a fraction of the work we have delivered together over the past three years.
None of this would have been possible without the unwavering commitment, energy and belief of those around me. To my extraordinary team of Vice Presidents – Hassan Shehata, Asma Khalil, Geeta Kumar, Ian Scudamore and Laura Hipple – and to my fellow Board of Trustees and RCOG Council members: your dedication has carried this work forward every single day. And of course, to the brilliant staff across the College – their enthusiasm, skill, and constant commitment contribute to the success of this organisation. To the presidents who served before me: thank you for the foundations you built, the standards you set, and the legacy that has inspired our work.
To our members, volunteers, staff and partners across the world: Your willingness to give your time, your expertise and your passion is what makes progress not only possible, but powerful. Thank you - truly - for everything.
It has been one of the greatest privileges of my career to meet so many of you as I have travelled the world over the past three years - listening to your experiences, witnessing your determination, and championing the extraordinary work you deliver every single day. If I can leave you with one last message it is this. I’ve learned that leading this College is not about policies and papers. It’s about people. People like you - our members, trainees, colleagues and patients. People I’ve met across the UK and abroad - in lecture halls, WhatsApp groups, and in thousands of selfies.
As my officers and I pass the baton to our new President, Alison Wright, and the incoming Vice Presidents – Sherif Abdel-Fattah, Jenny Barber, Sujeewa Fernando, Andrew Leather and Melanie Tipples – I do so with absolute confidence and immense pride.
A huge thank you from my officers and me to all of you. Thank you for challenging us, trusting us, and walking alongside us on this extraordinary journey.
On a final note, I was deeply saddened to hear about the recent passing of Professor Tim Draycott, MD, BSc, MBBS, FRCOG, immediate past Vice President of the College and a highly respected Consultant at Southmead Hospital and the University of Bristol. Professor Draycott was a true icon of our speciality, and his pioneering work and unwavering dedication will shape our field for generations to come.
I invite all those who knew Tim, worked alongside him, or were impacted by his care to share their memories, condolences, and reflections on this page. Your messages will form a collective tribute to a remarkable clinician, educator, and advocate whose influence will continue to shape our community for years to come and will be shared with his family.
With very best wishes,
Ranee