Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery

What Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery does

The Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in Great Britain and Ireland (SCTS) is a registered UK charity (No. 1113536) and private non-profit professional medical society headquartered at 38-43 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London. It functions as the recognised professional body for the cardiothoracic surgical community in Great Britain and Ireland, serving consultant surgeons, NTN trainees, Trust-Appointed Doctors, medical students, nursing and allied health professionals, and patients seeking information on cardiac, thoracic, and congenital conditions. Its core activities span education (courses, fellowships, SCTS-Ionescu University), an annual scientific meeting, publications (SCTS Bulletin, From The Chest, books), research coordination via the Cardiothoracic Interdisciplinary Research Network (CIRN), and national policy engagement through NHS England's Cardiac Clinical Reference Group.

The society operates a membership-based digital platform (scts.org) providing access to educational resources, event booking, a member directory, and patient-facing information covering procedures, glossaries, and outcome data. Technology is conventional web content management without proprietary AI or platform IP; the technology layer supports rather than differentiates the organisation. The society also runs specialised training courses delivered at partner venues such as Keele Anatomy & Surgical Training Centre and the J&J MedTech Pinewood Campus.

SCTS generates revenue through five streams: annual membership subscriptions (Direct Debit/online), paid educational courses (e.g., £200 for the ST7.1 Pre-Consultant Course and the Curriculum Review Course), annual meeting registration with corporate exhibition and sponsorship, charitable donations and fundraising events (notably the London to Brighton Cycle Ride), and corporate sponsorship packages. The go-to-market motion is community-led, centred on membership acquisition and event-driven engagement, with marketing distributed across the website, weekly e-newsletter, social channels (LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram), and the flagship annual meeting. No headcount, revenue figures, or financial statements are disclosed in the available data.

Name

Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery

Legal name

Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in Great Britain & Ireland

Website

https://scts.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1934

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in Great Britain and Ireland (SCTS) is a UK-registered charity and the recognised professional body for cardiothoracic surgeons, trainees, students, nursing and allied health professionals in Great Britain and Ireland, delivering education, annual meetings, research coordination, and patient information resources.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership subscriptions for cardiothoracic surgeons and related professionals, processed via Direct Debit or online payment.
2. Educational Events and Courses: Fee-based educational courses including the ST7.1 Pre-Consultant Course at £200 and Cardiothoracic Curriculum Review Course at £200, with course dinners and materials included.
3. Annual Meeting Registration: Registration fees for the annual meeting with exhibition and sponsorship opportunities for medical companies.
4. Donations and Fundraising: Charitable donations including the London to Brighton Cycle Ride where riders raise sponsorship (aiming £150 per rider) supporting educational and professional development activities.
5. Sponsorship: Corporate sponsorship opportunities for annual events including kit branding, event-day presence, social media features, and recognition in media coverage.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

SCTS is a registered professional medical society that provides cardiothoracic surgery professionals with membership services, accredited education and training courses, an annual scientific meeting, fellowship programmes, research coordination through the Cardiothoracic Interdisciplinary Research Network (CIRN), publications, and public patient information resources across cardiac, thoracic, and congenital subspecialties in Great Britain and Ireland.

Product overview

The Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery operates a membership-based professional organization offering educational programs (courses, fellowships, SCTS-Ionescu University), annual conferences, patient information resources, publications (SCTS Bulletin, From The Chest, Books), research support, and member services. The organization serves cardiac, thoracic, and congenital subspecialties through training, education, and professional development across multiple career stages from medical students to consultants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SCTS Professional Membership

Quantifiable outcome

• National cardiac transformation programme working with NHS England to improve minimally invasive cardiac surgery coding and establish best practice tariff for enhanced recovery.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• J&J MedTechcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2026J&J MedTech provides support for the Cardiothoracic Curriculum Review Course for Trust-Appointed Doctors. The 2-day course is run at J&J MedTech's state-of-the-art Pinewood Campus facility, demonstrating a strategic partnership for surgical education and training delivery.
• Royal College of SurgeonscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCTS maintains an office at the Royal College of Surgeons and collaborates on professional standards, surgical education, and representation. The President participates in College events including the Buxton Browne lecture.
• NHS England - Cardiac Clinical Reference GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCTS works closely with NHS England's Cardiac Clinical Reference Group on the national cardiac transformation programme, specifically for increasing uptake of minimally invasive cardiac surgery and enhanced recovery protocols.
• Cardiothoracic Surgery Research Network (CIRN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIRN is the research network under SCTS governance, coordinating clinical research and trials in cardiothoracic surgery across member institutions.
• You okay doc?minorGTM or Marketing PartnerCharity partner for the London to Brighton Cycle Ride 2026, with riders from the You okay doc? charity participating in the fundraising event.
• Skyline EventsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEvent management partner for the London to Brighton Cycle Ride, providing online registration and event logistics through booking.skylineevents.co.uk platform.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• British Cardiovascular Society (BCS): The principal UK professional society for cardiologists, overlapping with SCTS in cardiovascular patient pathways, NHS policy engagement, and educational programming. Comparable as a UK-based cardiovascular specialty society, though focused on cardiology rather than surgery.
• Royal College of Physicians: The UK professional body for physicians, providing training, education, and policy representation. Comparable as a much larger UK medical professional membership organization that SCTS members frequently also belong to.
• British Medical Association (BMA): The UK-wide trade union and professional association for doctors. Comparable as a UK-wide medical membership organization that negotiates on physician workforce, pay, and conditions — a much broader-scale counterpart of the specialist-society model SCTS operates.
• European Society of Cardiology (ESC): The leading European cardiology society with annual congresses, guidelines, and education that intersect with SCTS's cardiac surgery agenda. Comparable as a peer in the cardiovascular clinical specialty space, though operating at much greater scale across the cardiology discipline.
• Royal College of Surgeons of England: The overarching UK professional body for surgeons across all specialties. SCTS operates from RCS office space, collaborates on standards and lectures, and is a sub-specialty society within the broader RCS ecosystem — comparable as a wider-scope incumbent that SCTS both partners with and sits beneath.

Emerging players

• International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT): A smaller international professional society focused specifically on heart and lung transplantation, a sub-domain of cardiothoracic surgery that SCTS also serves. Comparable in niche specialty focus and meeting-led education, though narrower in clinical scope.
• Association for Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia and Critical Care (ACTACC): A UK-based professional society for cardiothoracic anaesthetists and intensivists who work alongside cardiothoracic surgeons. Comparable as a closely adjacent specialty society with overlapping educational events and NHS-facing policy work.

Direct peers

• The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS): The US-based professional society for cardiothoracic surgeons, providing annual meetings, workforce education, clinical guidelines, and national outcome databases. Highly comparable to SCTS in mission, structure, and product mix; differs primarily by geography and scale.
• American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS): Historic North American specialty society for thoracic and cardiovascular surgeons, running annual meetings, research awards, and education. Directly comparable as a peer cardiothoracic surgery professional society with a similar membership-led, education-and-research mission.
• European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS): The leading European professional society for cardiothoracic surgery, offering annual meetings, educational courses, fellowships, and clinical guidelines. Direct overlap with SCTS in membership, education, and standards-setting for cardiothoracic surgeons in Europe.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sctsuk
• Facebookfacebook.com/SCTSGBI
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-society-for-cardiothoracic-surgery-in-great-britain-and-ireland
• Instagraminstagram.com/s_c_t_s

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery