The European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy (ESRA) is a Belgium based Society with representation from various National Regional Anaesthetic Societies. Dr Albert van Steenburge, Dr Bruce Scott and Dr Hans Nolte formed ESRA in 1982 and it is a charity registered under Belgium law.
It is primarily, a society that promotes regional anaesthesia, encouraging teaching and research. It organises a major scientific meeting every year (Oporto 2010/ Dresden 2011) and several other regular meetings/workshops across Europe. ESRA is involved in standards and guidelines setting for regional anaesthesia internationally. The ESRA Diploma is a two-part examination established and administered by the society.
ESRA needs funds to support the organisation of its Annual Meeting and to fund the promotion of education and training in the more economically challenged regions of Europe. ESRA also offers research grants and other financial support to its members to further its aims of education and research in regional anaesthesia and acute pain.
You will get a reduction in ESRA course fees, regular updates about educational meetings and access to all material on the website. In addition, you will receive the official journal for all four international societies of regional anaesthesia, ìRegional Anesthesia and Pain Medicineì (6 bimonthly issues per annum) and be eligible to sit the ESRA Diploma in regional anaesthesia. You are also able to vote at the AGM and elect your representative to the governing council.
ESRA is an international society and its inception pre-dates the creation of most national societies. Most national societies were subsequently formed using ESRA as the parent society. Dr Bruce Scott (Edinburgh) formed ESRA (GB&I) in 1984 and all UK ESRA members automatically became members of this society.
This was the name of our national society of regional anaesthesia for GB & Ireland for 25 years since its inception. This was a registered as a charity with the Scottish Charities commission with a constitution and a democratically elected board, with three officers. ESRA (GB&I) organised a national meeting every year, sponsored other meetings, ran a website, published a biannual newsletter and represented the speciality of regional anaesthesia at the national level.
ESRA (GB&I) was democratically run and all representatives on the council were formally elected by members. This was not the case for other European societies and for ESRA itself. ESRA members decided to become a democratic organisation in 2008 and new bye-laws (constitution) have had to be agreed. As a result all national societies now have to present their constitution or bye-laws to the parent society (ESRA). At the same time, Ireland decided to form its own society, forcing ESRA (GB&I) to change its name. At the Liverpool Annual Members Meeting (AMM) in 2009, the name Regional Anaesthesia UK (RAUK) was agreed.
Nothing - RAUK is still the same society as ESRA (GB&I), we still represent ALL UK ESRA members on the ESRA council of representatives and board. All ESRA members have voting rights through RAUK on all ESRA issues and all UK ESRA members are eligible for election to the RAUK board.
The society is a registered charity and is dependent on subscriptions and profits from meetings for its income. RAUK council increasingly represent members on national working groups and in discussions with ESRA, RCoA, AAGBI and the Government if necessay. RAUK has increased the educational content, quality and frequency of workshops and meetings nationally. With a generous donation from Abbott UK ltd, a national regional anaesthetic fellow has been funded for the past two years. RAUK promotes research and training with the granting of small research grants and an ëAmbassadorí programme. The RAUK website is also expanding rapidly and is a useful resource for members.
Support from industry is dwindling in the current climate and the profits from meetings are not guaranteed. In addition, administration has become more complex and costly, requiring the services of the AAGBI .To be an effective society, RAUK must have a stable financial basis. Therefore, it has become necessary to ask for a separate annual fee of £25 from all UK ESRA members to achieve stability, to enable RAUK to continue developing high quality regional anaesthetic education and to support RA research throughout the UK.
You will become a FULL member in YOUR national society RAUK, actively supporting national goals in education and research.
* As ESRA is a European society, collection of their fees by Direct Debit is not available and it requires annual payment by credit card. The AAGBI will collect both payments and then pay ESRA for you, relieving you of the inconvenience of having to re-register every year.
NOTHNG - NO CHANGE, you just go on paying your ESRA fees yourself annually, you are still an RAUK (ESRA) member and have voting rights on all ESRA matters as before. But you will not be a RAUK (FULL) member and as such not eligible for a reduction in fees for RAUK run courses or small grants applications - etc.
AAGBI Specialist societies administrator (Mrs Busola Adesanya-Yusuf) has sent you an application form, please fill this out (for our database) and return with the Direct Debit mandate to RAUK @AAGBI (address supplied). We will organise payment of your RAUK and ESRA fees for 2012, and annually thereafter until you inform us otherwise
We will also supply this service for you