The Craniofacial Society of Great Britain and Ireland (CFSGBI), commonly known as the Craniofacial Society, is a

professional organisation A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that profession, and th ...

and charity dedicated to the study of

cleft lip and palate A cleft lip contains an opening in the upper lip that may extend into the nose. The opening may be on one side, both sides, or in the middle. A cleft palate occurs when the palate (the roof of the mouth) contains an opening into the nose. The ...

and other craniofacial anomalies based at the

Royal College of Surgeons of England The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wales. T ...

in London in the United Kingdom. The Society first convened in 1970 and continued to meet on an ad hoc basis, leading to its formal constitutional establishment in 1985. The Society has since grown in terms of membership and stature and has developed to become the leading professional organisation for cleft health care professionals in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and Ireland.

History

The origins of the Society can be traced back to 1969 when British

orthodontists Orthodontics is a dentistry specialty that addresses the diagnosis, prevention, management, and correction of mal-positioned teeth and jaws, and misaligned bite patterns. It may also address the modification of facial growth, known as dentofacial ...

Arnold Huddart from

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The ...

, West Midlands and Denis Glass from East Grinstead, Sussex met at the first International Congress to be hosted by the American Cleft Palate–Craniofacial Association (ACPA) in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, Texas, US and discussed organising a similar meeting in the UK. The following year a conference concerned with

management was held at Wordsley Hospital in the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

. Following this, orthodontists and surgeons met annually and were later joined by speech and language therapists. Meetings continued in this manner and after an international meeting in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

in 1983, a meeting was held in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

in 1985 to consider the future of the Society. Following considerable discussion those present voted to name the organisation ''The Craniofacial Society of Great Britain – A Society for the Study of Cleft Lip and Palate and other Craniofacial Anomalies''. The Society became the ''Craniofacial Society of Great Britain and Ireland'' in 1999.

Logo and Motto

The Society logo depicts the tree of knowledge together with the Society motto ''Dies Diem Docet'', which is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "the day teaches the day", meaning that education is never complete.

Membership

Management of patients with cleft lip and palate or craniofacial anomalies require the expertise of a range of healthcare professionals and this is reflected in the membership of the Society. Healthcare professionals with appropriate professional qualifications and a special interest in the field can apply for membership. Today, members can include audiological physicians,

audiologists Audiology (from Latin , "to hear"; and from Greek , ''-logia'') is a branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders. Audiologists treat those with hearing loss and proactively prevent related damage. By employing various ...

anaesthetists Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, ...

, cleft network managers,

clinical nurse specialist A clinical nurse specialist (CNS) is an advanced practice nurse who can provide advice related to specific conditions or treatment pathways. According to the International Council of Nurses (ICN), an Advanced Practice Nurse is a registered nurse w ...

clinical psychologists Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...

dental technician A dental technologist (dental laboratory technician) is a member of the dental team who, upon prescription from a dental clinician, constructs custom-made restorative and dental appliances. There are four major disciplines within dental technol ...

dental therapist A dental therapist is a member of the dental team who provides preventive and restorative dental care for children and adults. The precise role varies and is dependent on the therapist's education and the various dental regulations and guidelines o ...

s, dentists,

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processes ...

, paediatric dentists, paediatricians,

radiologists Radiology ( ) is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiat ...

, restorative dentists, surgeons ( maxillofacial,

paediatric Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

and

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

) and speech and language therapists.

Functions and activities

The Society's main functions are to organise an annual scientific conference, sponsor research, comment on medico-political issues relating to cleft lip and palate service provision, provide an archive of conference material and provide a membership directory.

Annual scientific conference

The Society has held a scientific conference in March or April each year since the first conference in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

in April 1986. This was preceded by pre-constitutional meetings that were held between 1970 and 1983. The 30th conference will be held at the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

and will hosted by

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS foundation trust of the English National Health Service, one of the prestigious Shelford Group. It runs Guy's Hospital in London Bridge, St Thomas' Hospital in Waterloo, Evelina London Child ...

from 16 to 17 April 2015 with a pre-conference special interest group (SIG) meeting on 15 April 2015.

Research and audit

Members of different specialities meet in subcommittees to work on audit and research projects. The Society's audit group established a minimum data set for cleft audit and has funded audit and research workshops. In 1989, the Craniofacial Society Anomalies Register (CARE) was developed to record the births of children with craniofacial anomalies. The Society funded a multi disciplinary committee to oversee CARE, which became the Craniofacial Anomalies Network (CRANE) and is located in the Clinical Effectiveness Unit at the

. The Society has provided research grants and provided funding to assist members in attending its conferences and international meetings. The CFSGBI has also funded training initiatives for speech and language therapists and cleft nurse specialists. In 1996 the Society was asked to provide written evidence to the Clinical Standards Advisory Group (CSAG). The submission highlighted the interdisciplinary nature of the Society and its role in acting as the forum for the presentation and evaluation of research and audit in the field. The Society is now represented in various

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

bodies and is consulted for advice by the government and the media. In 1999, the society became a founder member of the Healing Foundation with representation on its board of trustees and research council. This has ultimately led to the Cleft Collective, the world's largest cleft lip and palate research programme as well as other initiatives.

Special Interest Groups

The speech and language therapy special interest group (SIG) was established in 1987 and held a meeting each year immediately preceding the annual conference. In 1990, the Society began to offer some financial assistance for these meetings and began to provide facilities for speech and language therapy meetings in 1995. Other speciality groups then developed special interest groups and these meetings now make up an additional day alongside the annual conference with eight special interest groups meeting for the conference in

in 2013. The Society also assists in securing guest speakers for these meetings.

Structure and governance

The Society is governed by its Council, which is chaired by the Society's president; the members of council and the president are elected from and by its membership.

Council

Christine Couhig is Secretary and Joyce Russell is treasurer. Peter Hodgkinson and Helen Extence are co-opted councillors. A rotation of posts exists to ensure council representation from the main specialities. The Society was initially established with four main categories of membership: orthodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, plastic surgery and speech and language therapy as well as some members from other specialities. Since 1990 other speciality groups could stand for office and “other” became incorporated into council rotations. Nurses were first part of the “other” group but increasing numbers led to a specific group for nurses in 2003. The centralisation of cleft lip and palate care has meant that the number of surgeons within the membership has declined and from 2015/2016 the categories of maxillofacial surgeon and plastic surgeon will be combined to form the single category of cleft surgeon for council rotations.

President

The president is elected annually. Kate le Maréchal and Jacqueline Smallridge are current presidents and Karine Latter is vice-president elect. The following table is a list of presidents of the Craniofacial Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

Headquarters and Secretariat

Kathleen Randle,

Personal assistant A personal assistant, also referred to as personal aide (PA) or personal secretary (PS), is a job title describing a person who assists a specific person with their daily business or personal task,. it is a sub-specialty of secretarial duties ...

to Arnold Huddart, played a vital role in the development and administration of the Society from its inception. She became membership secretary when the society was formally established in 1985 and remained in the role until her retirement in 2002. In 2006 an office and secretariat was established at the

Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in develo ...

, London.

Honours

Arnold Huddart Medal

The Arnold Huddart Medal was established in 1990 to encourage original and promising research papers at the annual scientific conference. Submissions are judged by a panel consisting of one member from each of the Society's five membership categories and chaired by the vice-president. Submissions are judged by the quality of the presentation, content and handling of the paper's post-presentation discussion. Papers should be of general interest and should aim to be understood by all members of the Society. The medal is usually awarded to a presenter who is aged 40 or younger at the time of presentation and priority is given to sole authors over multi-authored papers.

The presidents Prize

The presidents Prize was introduced in 2011 and consists of a medal and a £100 cash prize. This award is eligible to members of the Society for a verbal presentation at the annual scientific conference that is considered to have made a significant clinical contribution to cleft lip and palate care.

Cleft Lip and Palate Association

The society has maintained a close relationship with the Cleft Lip and Palate Association (CLAPA) and since 1995 the national secretary of CLAPA has been able to be co-opted as a member of the Society and given financial assistance to attend meetings, at the discretion of the president.

References

External links

Official websiteCraniofacial Society of Great Britain and Ireland Annual Scientific Conference 2015Craniofacial Anomalies Network (CRANE)Cleft Lip and Palate Association (CLAPA)The Cleft CollectiveEuropean Collaboration on Craniofacial Anomalies (EUROCRAN)The Healing Foundation
{{authority control 1970 establishments in England 1985 establishments in England Allied health professions-related professional associations Dental organisations based in the United Kingdom Surgical organisations based in the United Kingdom International medical associations of Europe Health charities in the United Kingdom Health in the City of Westminster Organisations based in the City of Westminster Plastic surgery organizations