At AfPP, our awards celebrate the people making a real difference to patient care, safety, and best practice across perioperative practice.

Our Novice Writer Award was launched in 2004 in memory of David Pidduck, who edited the AfPP Newsletter from 2002 to 2004. David was passionate about encouraging new writers to submit articles to both the Newsletter and the Journal of Perioperative Practice (JPP).

The award recognises individuals who show evidence of critical thinking, demonstrate awareness of current debates, and show willingness to challenge assumptions or explore emerging issues, as well as being able to use language accessible to a multidisciplinary perioperative audience. Judges also look for papers that have the potential to influence perioperative practice, and patient safety and experience.

The winner of the award is selected by the review panel of the JPP’s Editorial Board and, after careful consideration, we are pleased to announce that Alex Gaspar has been chosen as the 2026 Novice Writer of the Year.

Alex is a trainee Advanced Critical Care Practitioner at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Trust. He also works on a voluntary basis as the Prolonged Casualty Care Course Leader for the WEM Fund in Ukraine.

His winning paper, ‘Quality, not just data: Implementing NELA for safer emergency laparotomy care’, demonstrates critical thinking and intellectual curiosity, testing the assumed causal link between national audit and improved outcomes, and drawing conclusions with clear potential to influence perioperative practice.

The Paper was first published online 16 December 2025 in the Journal of Perioperative Practice 36 (6) 369-374.

Read the winning paper here.

Alex was presented with his award at AfPP’s Annual National Conference in August. On accepting the award, Alex said “I am honoured to accept this award and proud to be recognised by AfPP, an organisation that champions safer surgery, professional development, and the highest standards of patient care.”

Congratulations Alex!