Professor Peter Brennan, FRCS
Consultant Oro-maxillofacial Surgeon, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust
British Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
Professor Peter Brennan
Peter Brennan is a Consultant Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon with an interest in head and neck oncology, working in Portsmouth, UK. He has a personal chair in Surgery in recognition of his extensive research and education profile. He is committed to education at levels and regularly teaches internationally (albeit virtually during the current pandemic). To date he has over 600 publications including more than 75 on human factors (HF) and patient safety. He is editor of 5 major specialty surgical textbooks and Lead Editor for the recently published Gray’s Surgical Anatomy, bringing Henry Gray’s original book on anatomy for surgeons published in 1858 in to the 21st Century. The book begins with a chapter on minimising error in the operating theatre.
Peter is recent past Chairman of the Intercollegiate MRCS Committee and currently leads MRCS Research Lead, driving up quality assurance for this important examination. He has published widely on predictive validity and differential attainment in surgery examinations. He has recently been elected by the general voting route to the Royal College of Surgeons of England Council, a first for his specialty.
His extensive HF work and unique collaborations with airline pilots, UK National Air Traffic Services (NATS) and more recently the Red Arrows Royal Air Force aerobatic team have resulted in many changes to practice, better team working, reducing hierarchy, patient safety improvements across medical specialties, as well as changes in MRCS delivery internationally.
In 2019, Peter was awarded a PhD entitled ‘Applying HF to Improve Patient Safety’ – likely to be the first of its kind in healthcare. He works with national organisations including the Royal Colleges of Surgeons, General Medical Council and HEE to help drive up safety and better working experiences for junior staff and other healthcare professionals.