Ballot voting now open for the Council Election 2025

Published: 20/11/2025

The ballot is now open for six Consultant positions and one Anaesthetist in Training position on RCoA Council. Voting closes on 10 December at noon.

Successful candidates will contribute to the College and the specialty and will represent our members at all stages of their working lives.


How do I vote?  

The ballot is being conducted electronically and all those eligible to vote should now have received a ballot email, which was sent by Civica Election Services on 19 November 2025 to the primary email address you have registered with the College. Look out for a message from rcoa@cesvotes.com. Your ballot email will take you to an election website where you can read the candidates’ statements and cast your vote. Members can contact support@cesvotes.com for technical assistance and to request a re-issue of voting instructions.

What should I do if I’ve not received my ballot email?   

If you have not received a ballot email and believe you should have, please:    

  1. Read the ‘Who can vote’ section below to double check the voting rights associated with your College membership category; 
  2. Check all your email addresses, if you have more than one and you’re not sure which have registered with the College as your primary address; and
  3. Check your junk mail.   

After those steps, if you still can’t find your ballot email, please get in touch by emailing governance@rcoa.ac.uk and include your college reference number. 

Who can vote?    

Those eligible to vote for the six Consultant member posts:    

  • Fellow by Examination
  • Fellow ad Eundem
  • Associate Fellow
  • Member
  • Associate Member
  • Senior Fellow and Member
  • Fellow in Training
  • Anaesthetist in Training 

Those eligible to vote for the Anaesthetist in Training post: 

  • Fellow in Training
  • Anaesthetist in Training 

 
The candidates for election are listed below in the order their applications were received. The terms of office for those elected will begin from March 2026. 

Consultant Vacancies (six to elect) 

Professor Tonny Veenith - Royal Wolverhampton Hospital / University of Wolverhampton 

Dr Samantha Black - Medway NHS Foundation Trust 

Dr Simon Thomson - Mid & South Essex University Hospitals NHSFT 

Dr Felicity Plaat - Queen Charlotte's & Hammersmith Hospitals, Imperial NHS Trust 

Dr Sri Gummaraju - Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, Oswestry 

Dr Umakanth Kempanna - Humber Health Partnership NHS Trust, Yorkshire 

Dr Giovanna Kossakowska - Royal Manchester Children's Hospital 

Dr Kumar Panikkar - Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHST 

Dr Carolyn Johnston - St Georges Hospital, London 

Dr Magesh Jayabalan - South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust 

Dr Roger Cordery - St Bartholomew's Hospital 

Dr Orla Lacey - Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 

Anaesthetist in Training Vacancy (one to elect) 

Dr Babak Barzi - Chelsea and Westminster Hospital 

Dr Emma Vallis-Booth - The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn 

Dr Alex Gerard - University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust 

Dr Rob Waterhouse - University College London Hospital 

Dr Jackie Wu - Luton and Dunstable University Hospital 

Dr Ramey Assaf - St Bartholomew's Hospital, London 

Dr Tom Hine-Thomas - Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust 

Dr Kumaran Selvarajah - University College London Hospital 

Dr Vikram Nagarajan - Royal Manchester Children's Hospital 

Dr Aaliya Gilbert - Whittington Hospital, North London 

Dr Aayushi Gupta - University College London Hospital 

More information on the election can be found here