SPEAKERS
Aoife Gleeson
Dr Aoife Gleeson, MD MSc FRCP is a Consultant in Palliative Medicine based in the Grange University Hospital, Gwent who also provides support to people receiving palliative care within the Torfaen borough of Gwent. She is the Clinical Director for Palliative Medicine in Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB), Visiting Professor at the University of South Wales, and is also an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Cardiff University. She is the Strategic lead for Future Care Planning in ABUHB, the All-Wales lead for Treatment Escalation Planning, and is Council representative for Wales on the Association for Palliative Medicine for Great Britain and Ireland.
Chris Hancock
Chris Hancock is a nurse with a background in critical care, practice development and clinical education who has worked at a national level in a variety of roles – patient safety programme lead, quality improvement specialist, clinical advisor, and network manager – in NHS Wales and Welsh Government for almost two decades. He led the Welsh Critical Care Improvement Programme (WCCIP) from 2006-2008, introducing and embedding care bundles into Welsh ICUs. He was an original member of the NHS Wales 1000 Lives Patient Safety Campaign core team and managed the award-winning Rapid Response to Acute Illness (RRAILS) Acute Deterioration programme. As part of this he managed the implementation of the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) as the standard in all acute Welsh hospitals by 2013. Since February 2025 he has been working as the manager of the APDI Network, tasked with supporting Welsh healthcare organisations to introduce a range of early warning scores and a form of patient and family-initiated escalation across all age groups.
Madhu Kannan
Madhu enjoys, in no particular order, knitting, running, paddle boarding, wine and the coast. Once graduating from the University of Wales College of Medicine in 2008, she never felt the need to leave Wales. She completed the ACCS programme in Wrexham and her registrar training across Wales. Her clinical interests include leadership, echocardiography, simulation-based training and unashamedly promoting AIM. Despite loving hospital medicine, she took time out of training from 2018-19 as a Clinical Leadership Fellow with Health Education and Improvement Wales, being hosted by the GMC in Cardiff. After completing training she worked in Aneurin Bevan and is now based in Princess of Wales Hospital in sunny Bridgend – taking a keen interest in education, escalation planning and how to make our lives at work as best as they can be.
Ifan Lewis
Ifan is a Critical Care Consultant with an interest in cardiogenic shock and respiratory failure.
Ifan has been developing a Cardiogenic Shock Pathway and Network, initially with a pathway in Cardiff with ambitions to develop it across Wales. This involves patients presenting with cardiogenic shock being assessed and triaged for ongoing medical needs in the cath lab. Early identification of patients at risk will allow timely intervention and escalation to appropriate therapies.
Ifan’s professional interests include:
- Implementing evidence based changes in a timely fashion
- Pursing evidence based not eminence based medicine
- Curating curiosity and challenging medical and systematic dogma
Trudy Logue
Trudy is a dedicated Heart Rhythm Nurse Specialist with a focus on the care and management of patients with high voltage cardiac devices, including Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs) and Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy Defibrillators (CRT-Ds). Her background is coronary care and she has an MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice. She provides clinical support throughout the patient journey—from pre-implant assessment and counselling to long-term follow-up, medication initiation and titration and device troubleshooting. Her role combines technical knowledge with compassionate care, ensuring patients and their families feel informed, supported, and empowered. She works closely with multidisciplinary teams to optimise outcomes and contribute to service development, quality improvement, and education within the field of cardiac rhythm management. She is dedicated to patient centred care and committed to delivering high standards of practice and advancing the role of nurses in high voltage cardiac devices. She also has a particular interest in ethical decision-making, 2 stage consent and end-of-life care related to device management, including ICD deactivation.
Chris Subbe
Chris Subbe is a consultant in Acute, Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at the Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at the School of Medical Sciences in Bangor University. Chris is a graduate from the University of Cologne, Germany, where he also completed postgraduate research in respiratory pathophysiology. He has trained in the UK and Germany and worked as a volunteer for “Médecins sans Frontières” in Angola. The focus of his research activity has been the safety of deteriorating patients on general wards. He has been a member of working parties at the RCP on Acute Medicine, the National Early Warning Score and safe levels of staffing.
John Watts
John qualified from Cardiff University in 2017 and, after an F2 placement in Acute Medicine in Bridgend, has not looked beyond fulfilling a career in this specialty within his beloved Wales. He loves the challenge of a diagnostic conundrum and all things ‘auto-immuney’ and, with a personal interest in the microbiome (and food in general). He has just completed 3 months out of training working with the immunotherapy toxicities team at Velindre.
John Welch
John Welsh is Consultant Nurse, Critical Care & Critical Care Outreach, University College London Hospitals; Honorary Clinical Lecturer in advanced critical care practice, University College London; and Theme Co-Lead, NIHR Central London Patient Safety Research Collaborative. He was previously National Clinical Advisor in Acute Deterioration at NHS England (2022024), UK lead, European Union Horizon 2020 ‘Nightingale’ wireless monitoring programme (2016-21), and President of the International Society for Rapid Response Systems (2016-19).
Andrew Workman
Drew is currently based at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff completing his advanced training in Intensive Care Medicine. Outside of the hospital Drew is passionate about gardening, cars and enforcing these pastimes on his children. He spends most of his free time listening to true crime podcasts and being dragged on holiday by his family. Drew’s clinical interests are medical education and ultrasonography. He looks forward to channelling his enthusiasm for Acute Medicine by promoting the training programme in Wales as WAPS recruitment lead.
The Welsh Acute Physicians’ Society (WAPS) is pleased to announce that our next face-to-face symposium is in Cardiff this year – two years after our first one at this fabulous venue! As always, we have a range of both clinical and non-clinical sessions relating to Acute and General medicine – delivered by our MDT family in Wales and beyond!
Programme Highlights
- Acute deterioration session including Martha’s Rule, sepsis, local changes in Wales and escalation planning
- Our popular NICE guidance session – updating you with what’s new in the past year
- Cardiogenic Shock
- ‘Unnecessary Shocks’ – what to do with internal defibrillators at the end of life
Speakers include local colleagues Ifan Lewis (Critical Care) and Madhu Kannan (Acute Physician), as well as speakers from across the UK – John Welch (Past National Clinical Advisor, NHS England), Chris Hancock (NHS Wales Executive) and Chris Subbe (Acute Physician, Bangor)
Who is it for?
- Doctors of all grades and medical specialities
- PAs/AHPs/ACPs/ANPs in Acute and General Medicine
- We would especially welcome anyone interested in Acute Medicine as a career
What do you get?
- Lunch and refreshments throughout the day
- Certificate of attendance – will be emailed along with the RCP CPD code in due course
- Chance to chat to the Acute Medicine family in Wales – join us at Brewhouse & Kitchen opposite the venue for our post event gathering!
- 6 RCP CPD approval applied for
(We are not delivering a virtual option or recording talks on this occasion)
Event Details
- Venue address: Sophia Gardens Cricket Ground, Sophia Walk, Pontcanna, CF11 9XR
- Venue contact details: 02920 409 380
- Wi-fi access: connect to the Cloud (sky)
- Programme with speaker bios: accessible using the QR code on the back of your badge
- Please head to the Pyramid Suite Lounge on the ground floor for registration & refreshments
- Your phone is your ticket – please ensure you are ‘scanned in’ on arrival by one of the team
- The talks will be delivered in the Amber Lounge on the first floor
- Feedback: We would be grateful for your honest feedback so we can improve – a link to the online form will be emailed at the end of the day.
How to get there
- Cycle (The venue is conveniently close to the Taff trail and a nextbike stand)
- Train (Nearest stations are Cardiff Central and Cardiff Queen Street)
- Bus (Multiple stops nearby, especially on Cathedral road)
- Car (Free (very) limited parking is available on a first come first served basis at Gate 5 of the venue; paid parking available in Sophia Gardens car park near the National Express station or on Cathedral Road)
Delegate Fees
£50 Student
£65 Up to IMT3 doctor or equivalentPA/ACP/AHP/Nurses/Pharmacy
£80 ST4-8 doctor or equivalent
£120 Consultant/SAS
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This educational meeting is kindly supported by sponsors through the purchase of promotional exhibition stand space only. They have had no input into the agenda/speakers/content.
Places are limited so book early!
Please contact us if there are any queries: @AcuteMedWales acutemedwales.org.uk
Look forward to welcoming you on 29th April!
