BSCCP Constitution

1    Title

The Society shall be called “The British Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology” or BSCCP.

2    Aims

The aims of the Society are:

2.1     To provide professional advice concerning:

2.1.1  The practice of colposcopy
2.1.2  Screening for cervical pre-cancer and cancer
2.1.3  The organisation and audit of colposcopy services
2.1.4  Lower genital tract pathology

2.2    To define and update training standards in colposcopy

2.3    To promote best standards of practice in colposcopy

2.4    To determine and update clinical practice guidelines for colposcopy

2.5    To promote and undertake educational activity in the sphere of colposcopy and lower genital tract pathology for medical and allied professionals

2.6    To provide ad hoc advice to members of the Society

2.7    To liaise professionally with similar National and International Societies and federations (e.g. The European Federation for Colposcopy; International Federation for Cervical Pathology and Colposcopy).

2.8    To promote relevant research within and without the Society

2.9    To facilitate the presentation of high quality relevant research amongst members of the Society

2.10  To collaborate actively with the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the NHS Cervical Screening Programme (NHSCSP).

2.11  To facilitate the dissemination of information about colposcopy to the general public.

3      Membership of the Society

3.1    Ordinary membership of the Society is open to registered medical practitioners and members of related professions with an interest in Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology.

3.2    Honorary membership may be conferred on a nominated individual after agreement by the Executive and ratification by the Annual General Meeting.

3.3    Termination of membership shall be automatic if:

3.3.1 A member expresses a wish to resign in writing to the honorary secretary

3.3.2 A member defaults payment of the annual subscription in two successive years

3.3.3 A member is deemed by a majority vote of the executive committee to have brought the Society in to disrepute.

4      Officers

4.1   The officers of the Society are:

• President
• President elect
• Secretary
• Treasurer

4.2   The officers of the Society shall normally serve a term of three years which will commence at the annual general meeting.

4.3   Tenure of Officers

4.3.1 The President shall serve for a maximum of three years and shall not then be eligible for re-election to the same office.

4.3.2 President-elect shall be elected for a maximum of three years and will take up the office of President at the end of this time.

4.3.3 The Treasurer shall be elected for three years and shall be eligible for a second term of office.

4.3.4 The Secretary shall be elected for three years and shall not be eligible for a second term of office.

4.3.5 The position of Assistant Secretary shall cease in April 2012.

5      Election of Officers

5.1    In years when officers are to be elected, the Secretary shall send nomination papers to all members of the Society approximately six months before the AGM.   The agreement of the nominee should be sought prior to the nomination being made.

5.2    Nominations should be returned to the Secretary within six weeks to allow a ballot if necessary.

5.3    In the event of there being more than two nominations for any office the Secretary shall send out ballot papers at least three months before the AGM.

5.4    There shall be an open election for the positions of President-elect, Treasurer and Secretary every three years.

5.5    The election shall be held using the single transferable voting system and shall be overseen by an independent monitor, appointed by the Executive Committee.

6       Executive Committee

6.1    The executive committee is responsible for the ordinary and extraordinary business of the society and is the governing body of the society.  

6.2    The executive shall aspire to fulfil the aims of the society.  

6.3     It shall meet at least twice yearly and may hold meetings of the executive officers from time to time according to its wishes and needs. 

6.4    The President may call a meeting at any time and members of the executive may call a meeting if a two-thirds majority of members so wish.  

6.5    The executive may form sub-committees from time to time and will decide their composition and brief.  

6.6    The President and Treasurer shall present reports to the annual general meeting.  

6.7    The Treasurer will include in his/her report the current accounts of the society which shall be audited every three years.

6.8    The executive committee consists of the officers of the society as well as the following members:

6.8.1 The immediate past President

6.8.2 The regional representatives of the society are as follows:

• Scotland
• Ireland (North and South combined)
• Wales
• North East of England
• North West of England
• South Western England
• South Eastern England
• The Midlands
• Eastern England
• London

6.8.3 The regional representatives shall be elected for three years by the Society’s members in the relevant region.

6.8.4 A representative for Colposcopy Nurse Practitioners and Colposcopy Clinic nurses shall be elected by the UK Colposcopy Nurses Group.

6.8.5 A Genito-Urinary Physician shall be elected by the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) or a similar organisation.

6.8.7 Three trustees (see 10.2 below)

6.9    The President may, from time to time, with the approval of the executive committee invite ad hoc members of the Society to attend the executive committee (e.g. the chairman of the NHSCSP QA committee, the chairman of the organising committee of the annual scientific meeting, etc).

6.10    An executive committee shall be considered quorate when there are at least three officers and three additional regional representatives present.

6.11    Only executive officers and elected regional representatives will be entitled to vote at executive committee meetings.

7       Meetings

7.1    The Society shall meet at least once per year, usually in the spring (the annual general meeting or AGM).

7.2    The Society shall hold a scientific meeting once per year just before the annual general meeting.

7.3    Combined meetings with other national or international societies may be held from time to time.

7.4    The AGM and annual scientific meeting may occasionally be held abroad.

7.5    Any other meeting shall be called an Extraordinary General Meeting.  

7.6    An extraordinary meeting may be called by the executive committee or at the request of 100 members.

8       Subscriptions

8.1    There will be an annual subscription which shall be proposed by the executive and approved by the membership at the Annual General Meeting.

8.2    The Society shall participate in the direct debiting scheme as an originator for the purpose of collecting subscriptions for any class of membership and/or any other amounts due to the Society.   In the furtherance of this object the Society may enter into any indemnity required by the Banks upon whom direct debits are to be originated.   Such an indemnity may be executed on behalf of the Society by officials nominated in the appropriate resolution.

8.3    The Society shall have their accounts officially audited on a three yearly basis.

9       Conflict of interest

9.1    Every officer of the Executive Committee shall declare any potential conflict of interest to the Executive Committee prior to the Annual General Meeting.

10      Trustees

10.1   Trustees are required by the Charity Commission.  

10.2   Trustees shall be recommended by the executive committee and ratified by the AGM.

10.3   Trustees shall serve a term of three years and this term may be renewable.

10.4   There shall be three trustees who will not have voting rights.

10.5   Trustees shall be individuals whose qualifications and motivation would be of value to the BSCCP in promoting its goals within the rules of its charitable status.

11      Standing committees

11.1   There shall be three standing committees as follows:

11.1.1  Training committee
11.1.2  Information Technology committee
11.1.3  Meetings committee

11.2   The Chair of the Training Committee should ideally have educational qualifications/interests and should be voted in by the Executive Committee. The Chair will serve for a term of 3 years and shall be eligible for a second term of office.

12      Amendment of Statutes of the constitution and dissolution of the Society

12.1   The Council must give notice in writing to members of the Society of any change of the statutes and ensure that written objections from the members of the Society are taken into consideration.  

12.2   Any alteration of the statutes must be by a two-thirds majority of votes cast in a ballot of all members of the Society present at the annual general meeting.

12.3   Alterations may only be made with the prior written approval of the Charity Commissioners.

12.4   No amendment shall be made which would cause the Society to cease to be a charity in law.  

12.5   The Society can only be dissolved by a two-thirds majority vote of the membership in favour of such action.  

12.6   On dissolution, after settling all outstanding debts, the assets shall be given to a charity in this country with similar aims and ideals approved by the Executive of the Society.

13      Affiliation with Other Groups

13.1   Another society or group can be affiliated with BSCCP when they share similar aims, as defined in the BSCCP constitution.  An affiliation recognises these shared aims and the mutual support which BSCCP and an affiliated group can offer in achieving these.   Members of affiliated groups are not members of BSCCP by means of the affiliation but are able to join BSCCP under the same conditions as all members.

13.2   Termination of the affiliation shall be automatic if:

13.2.1 The affiliated group expresses a wish to resign in writing to the honorary secretary
13.2.2 The affiliated group is deemed by a majority vote of the executive committee to have brought the Society into disrepute.