My journey with APPNE began in 2016 when I became a member of the steering group which laid the groundwork and launched APPNE in March 2018. We followed this up with organising an inaugural event in November 2018 in Walsall which was attended by a very large number of doctors from UK and Ireland. The delegates were informed in detail about the reasons for APPNE’s inception and future plans. The first election for the Founding Executive committee and Office Bearers was also announced.
Following the first elections in December 2019, I had the honour to be the Founding President of APPNE from February 2019 to March 2021. Under my leadership the organisation grew from having two hundred plus members to more than 850 members across Europe. It is a pleasure to see our organisation grow and which currently comprises of more than two thousand members including doctors, medical students and members of allied healthcare professions.
Following the first elections in December 2019, I had the honour to be the Founding President of APPNE from February 2019 to March 2021. Under my leadership the organisation grew from having two hundred plus members to more than 850 members across Europe. It is a pleasure to see our organisation grow and which currently comprises of more than two thousand members including doctors, medical students and members of allied healthcare professions.
As the first President of APPNE, one of my roles was to network and reach out to institutions both in Pakistan and Europe, set up collaborations and develop ways of synergistic working with medical associations and Pakistani medical alumni organisation in Europe and Pakistan. During my tenure, APPNE signed MOUs with APPNA merit USA, The Australian Association of Pakistani Professionals (AAPP), Indus Hospital and Health Network, Rawalpindi Medical University, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Islamabad, Dow University of Health Sciences DUHS (formally known as Dow Medical College), Jinnah Sindh Medical University and Baqai Medical University based in Karachi. We signed a Charter of understanding with the Irish Pakistani Professionals Association (IPPA), Ireland. We also visited the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, King Edward Medical University , Lahore and The General Medical Council, UK to discuss matters of mutual interest and opportunities to work in future.
To further our footprint and develop working relationships with national and international organisations, I and members of the executive team travelled across England , visited Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Pakistan. I also attended APPNA USA in 2019 representing APPNE where I met the President of APPNA and other office bearers.
I have played a crucial role in the promotion of studying medicine to school students within the British Asian community. We organised the first ever career fair at the Pakistan High Commission in London (July 2019) which was widely attended and during the pandemic we conducted online seminars where students were provided with useful resources and information regarding applying to medical universities.
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, APPNE worked tirelessly on issues such as supporting international medical graduates and raising concerns in relation to personal protection equipment (PPE) with the Health Secretary and wider political leadership in United Kingdom. I formed taskforces to deal with issues in relation to the pandemic including a taskforce which helped international medical graduates (IMGs) and a taskforce on mental health wellbeing.
Throughout the pandemic, I was continuously in communication with members of the Parliament and Peers. As a result of these efforts, the Right Honourable Lillian Greenwood MP raised our concerns about PPE in the British Parliament during the Women and Equality Rights Committee question hour. We also presented our views on mainstream British media including radio, television and print media throughout the first wave of the pandemic. I made APPNE part of COVID related inquiries and research studies looking into impact of COVID on BAME communities. I helped develop awareness campaigns through APPNE including producing a video which highlighted the importance of vaccination against COVID -19. Our awareness campaigns included attendances on local TV, Radio, educational, training and networking events throughout the pandemic.
I collaborated on behalf of APPNE with BAPIO and DAUK, and we successfully lobbied for removal of the ‘Health Surcharge’ for NHS healthcare professionals. This was raised in The Prime Minister’s Question Hour in the Parliament By Sir Keir Starmer during the pandemic and as a result of our lobbying this surcharge was eventually removed.
Our work included promoting the request for the provision of ‘Death in Service Benefit’ for bereaved families and the provision of indefinite leave to remain for migrants who lost a family member whilst they were working in the NHS or Social Care Services. With the efforts of our General Secretary at the time, APPNE working with other BAME organisations initiated work to request the British Government to reconsider the rules governing Adult Dependent Relative visas for parents of healthcare professionals working in UK.
During my tenure the APPNE Newsletter was published on quarterly basis which constantly informed our membership of past, current and future events.
My vision as the President was to make APPNE a leading advocate for the professional excellence of Pakistani physicians in Northern Europe, providing a platform for collaborative work and raising awareness about issues affecting the British Pakistani medical fraternity and the wider European community. I envisaged this by helping to create a strong, supportive network among its members promoting academic, social, educational and charitable activities and making a positive impact on our communities both in Europe and Pakistan. One of my main aims was to collaborate with our junior doctors’ fraternity, International medical graduates and build strong professional relationships with them. I strongly believe that it will be these individuals who will lead APPNE to the next level and build on the solid foundations that I alongside my executive team laid down in the first two years of APPNE’s inception.