The Croydon Medical Society
The Croydon Medical Society has been a forum for Doctors in Croydon since it was founded in 1832 by General Practitioners. Its aim then was reviewing the latest scientific publications.
Today, it is a vibrant discussion forum for all manner of medical matters and current affairs as well as an opportunity to socialise. Membership is open to current and retired GPs and Hospital Consultants living and or practising in the Borough of Croydon for at least two years.
Caller ID Spoofing
It has come to our attention that a member of the public had a telephone call that appeared to come from the Croydon Medical Society in relation to HMRC tax fraud. They were a victim of Caller ID spoofing (OFCOM website). If you receive a similar call, please hang up and report it to Action Fraud if you have given out any personal information. We would never make such a call. At no time should you rely upon Caller ID as a means of identification.
Our History
The earliest record of the Croydon Medical Society is from 1832. At the time, Croydon was a small, rundown town of 8,000 people.
Our Mission
Since 1832 the Croydon Medical Society has provided a forum for Hospital Consultants and GP’s to meet on a regular basis to discuss current medical topics and to socialise.
Lifetime Achievement Award
The Croydon Medical Society Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded to those that have significantly contributed, on a sustained basis, to the development of health and health services for Croydon patients.
Our News
Christmas Quiz Night 2021
Christmas Quiz Night 2021 Well done to all those who attended the excellent Christmas Quiz which Dr Khalid Khan must have spent many, many hours researching. It was a great evening and the venue (a last-minute change due to Covid restrictions) worked out very well. ...
Lifetime Achievement Award 2021 Dr Peter Boffa
Lifetime Achievement Award 2021– Dr Peter Boffa Dr Peter Boffa: Proposal for LAA by Dr Rupert Courtenay-Evans (abbreviated by Dr John Spicer) Dr Peter Boffa was proposed by Dr Rupert Courtney Evans for the CMS Lifetime Achievement Award – a proposal based on his...
Lifetime Achievement Award 2021 Mr Abdul Sultan
Lifetime Achievement Award 2021– Mr Abdul Sultan FRCOG Mr Abdul Sultan FRCOG – nominated by Miss Bini Ajay 2021 Abdul graduated in South Africa and came to England in 1984. He completed his postgraduate training at St George’s Hospital with Professor Stuart...
Interested in Becoming a Member?
We welcome Hospital Consultants (both current and retired) and GPs who live or work in Croydon.
Dr Peter Boffa presenting the President's Medal to Mr Kambiz Hashemi on 7th April.

Mr Kambiz Hashemi
President 2021 - 2022
Further info.

Dr Peter Boffa
Vice President 2021 - 2022
Further info.
Peter was born and bred in Croydon attending Selhurst Grammar School which latterly became the Fame School of Performing arts sometime after his departure.
He qualified in 1976 at St Georges Hospital, at the time it was transitioning to Tooting but was fortunate to spend around half of his clinical training at Hyde Park Corner site. House jobs followed at the now closed St James Hospital and Mayday with Mr Bradbeer and Mr Pendower.
General medicine followed, he was Rupert Courtenay-Evans registrar for 2 years, prior to 3 years doing thoracic medicine at Papworth and Addenbrookes Hospitals in Cambridge. He switched to general practice and did a year as a trainee in Purley with Dr Betty Bass (Woodcote Practice) and 6 months obs/gynae at Redhill, after which he became a partner at the Old Coulsdon Medical Practice, where he has been since 1985.
Peter is a member of the LMC and was Chairman for about 8 years. He has served on FPCs, FHSAs, Health Authority, PCGs, PEC and is currently Chair of the CCG’s Council of Members. He was a trainer for around 20 years as well as having a stint as an Appraiser at the onset of the process.
He retired as the Senior Partner in his practice but continues in a salaried role 3 days per week.

Dr Agnelo Fernandes
President Elect 2021-2022
Further info.
Agnelo Fernandes was born in Goa, went to school in Wandsworth, South London and attended King’s College, London and Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School. His interests include minor surgery, dermatology, teaching and quality improvement of health services through innovation and transformation. A GP at Parchmore Medical Centre in Thornton Heath, Croydon for 30 years he is also a GP Trainer, member of the South London RCGP Faculty (8yrs) and a Governor at Royal Russell School, Croydon (16yrs). He was previously an Educational Supervisor of GP Trainees out of hours (20 yrs) having initially set up the scheme, a GP appraiser (15yrs), a member of the Croydon Local Medical Committee (2002-2017).

Mrs Anne Pilkington
Honorary Secretary
Further info.
Anne retired a few years ago from a career spanning 30 years of working as a Private Medical Secretary/PA. For 10 years she worked in the NHS and then, for the next 22 years, for a very busy Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist. Anne has been married to Michael, a retired Golf Club Pro, for over 40 years and they have three children and five grand-children. Hobbies include photography, gardening, travelling and volunteering.

Dr Sabitha Michael
Social Secretary
Further info.

Miss Heather Allen-Coward
Elected Member
Further info.

Sandra Hill
Honorary Treasurer
Further info.

Dr Nick Cambridge
Honorary Archivist
Further info.
Nick is a retired GP and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Buckingham. He is a Trustee and Editor of the Medical Society of London Transactions and a past President. In 2017 he was the Dr T J (Jock) Murray Visiting Scholar in Medical Humanities at Dalhousie University, Canada and gave a lecture to Gresham College, London. He is Chairman of the Erasmus Darwin Foundation, the William Shipley Group for RSA History, the Charles Bell Group, Chairman of The Middlesex Hospital Celebrations and Vice President of the Johnson Society of London. He is a past President of the Croydon Medical Society, the Hunterian Society and the History of Medicine Section at the Royal Society of Medicine.

Dr Khalid Khan
Elected Member
Further info.
Dr Khalid Khan has been a Principal in General Practice at the Parkside Group Practice in South Croydon since 1997.
He is a GP trainer, tutor for King's College London School of Medicine and a former community pharmacist. He is former Board member of the South Croydon Primary Care Group(PCG) and of the South London Faculty of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP.)
Dr Khan is Fellow of the RCGP; Fellow and Steering Committee Member for the Chinese Medical Institute and Register (C.M.I.R.), a Licensed NLP Trainer and author of Mnemonics & Study Tips for Medical Students (CRC Press). He is current Quizmeister of the Croydon Medical Society.

Dr Mike Mendall
Elected Member
Further info.
I qualified from Cambridge University and the Middlesex Hospital in 1985 and currently still work as a consultant gastroenterologist at Croydon University Hospital. Exploration and the new are my great loves and administration my great hate.
I was a member of the Cambridge Travellers and Explorers Club and organized an expedition to Zanskar in the Indian Himalayas in 1981. I was the first to discover an old unused route across the Himalayas, providing the Indian ministry of Tourism with the first description of the route. I have been to the central Congo, have crossed the Sahara, climbed the Hoggar mountains, and visited Mongolia and Tibet more recently.
In medicine, I have had an active research career crossing many different disciplines. I was the first to prove that Helicobacter pylori was mainly acquired in childhood with little on the way of acquisition in adulthood, the first to show that most cardiovascular risk factors were the result of chronic inflammation, the first to show that bowel inflammation is affected by exercise, fibre intake and obesity which are all risk factors for colorectal cancer, and the first to show that counterintuitively obesity is risk factor for the development of Crohn’s disease. Enthusiasm for the novel led me down one blind alley, being the first to propose that Helicobacter pylori infection is a risk factor for coronary heart disease. The association turned out to be the result of residual confounding but nevertheless it was the forerunner of the contemporary interest in the role of gut flora in the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease.

Mr Emmanuel Ofuasia
Elected Member
Further info.

Dr Louise Newlands
Elected Member
Further info.
Born and bred in Croydon, Louise returned to her roots in 2014 after qualifying from Imperial College and completing foundation training in North-West London.
She dabbled in a career in hospital medicine with the MRCP, but soon found her true calling as a GP and has been working in a salaried post at Greenside and Lennard Road practices in West Croydon since 2017.
Louise enjoys speaking French and worked with GPs in the Loire region as part of an Erasmus exchange programme during her training. She is an avid musician; she plays the bassoon, piano and, more recently, percussion with her 1 year old son!

Dr John Spicer
Elected Member
Further info.
John Spicer qualified from the Middlesex Hospital in 1977, spending the few years thereafter in various hospital posts in the Midlands, before washing up in Croydon as a GP trainee with Albert Nawrocki in 1981. He started working at Woodside Health Centre, South Norwood in 1985 after a couple of years travelling and working overseas. He's still there, at the time of writing ! Other medical interests have included undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in which he's had various roles, leading to being Head of Primary Care Education for HEE South London. He is still a teacher of, and writer about, medical ethics, and is particularly proud of A Handbook of Primary Care Ethics: a large book published in 2018 and winner of a BMA prize. He is very interested in the arts and medicine [being a mediocre guitarist] and a trustee/director of the London Arts and Health Forum.

Mr Abdul Sultan
Elected Member
Further info.
Abdul Sultan is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist with a special interest in urogynaecology. He has been based at Croydon University Hospital since August 1996.
Contact Us
We look forward to hearing from you.
Programme of Events for 2022
Please visit the events page to confirm your attendance.
Postponed due to COVID
Talk by Miss Ranee Thakar FRCOG
Title: “Domestic violence and abuse - Best practices for clinicians".
Venue: Oakwood Junior School, Coombe Road, CR0 5DR (same venue as The Cedars School)
Starts at 19.30 hrs