British Cardiovascular Society Annual Report 2010 Annual ... · Annual Report2010 British Cardiovascular Society 9 Fitzroy Square, London W1T 5HW Tel: +44 (0)20 7383 3887 Fax: +44

Annual Report

2010British Cardiovascular Society 9 Fitzroy Square, London W1T 5HWTel: +44 (0)20 7383 3887 Fax: +44 (0)20 7388 0903 Email: [email protected] Limited by guarantee. Registered in England No: 3005604 Registered Charity No: 1093321www.bcs.com

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British Cardiovascular Society. Annual Report 2010

Our Mission and Aims 02Officers of the Society 04Staff of the Society 05Introduction and report from the President 06Honorary Secretary Report 10Chief Executive Officer Report 12

DIVISIONAL REPORTS

Clinical Standards Division 14Corporate and Financial Affairs Division 19Education and Research Division 22Training Division 26

OTHER REPORTS

Women in UK Cardiology 30Joint Working Group for Women’s Heart Health 32BMJ Report from Heart Journal 33

MEMBERSHIP AND CONFERENCE

Membership Costs 34Getting Involved! 34Annual Conference and Exhibition 2009 382010 Annual Conference and Exhibition 40BCS Annual Awards 2009 42

AFFILIATED GROUPS REPORTS

Arrhythmia Alliance (A-A) 44British Association for Cardiac Rehabilitation (BACR) 47British Association for Nursing in

Cardiovascular Care (BANCC) 48British Atherosclerosis Society (BAS) 50British Congenital Cardiac Association (BCCA) 51British Cardiovascular Intervention Society (BCIS) 52British Junior Cardiologists’ Association (BJCA) 54British Nuclear Cardiology Society (BNCS) 56British Society of Cardiovascular Imaging (BSCI) 57British Society of Cardiovascular

Magnetic Resonance (BSCMR) 59British Society for Cardiovascular Research (BSCR) 60British Society of Echocardiography (BSE) 62British Society for Heart Failure (BSH) 64Heart Care Partnership (UK) (HCP UK) 66Heart Rhythm (UK) (HR-UK) 69Primary Care Cardiovascular Society (PCCS) 70Society for Cardiological Science

and Technology (SCST) 72

Contents

The British Cardiovascular Society is dedicated to the promotion of cardiovascular health.

The BCS will:

> set standards of clinical excellence for the benefit of patients

> be committed to enhancing and maintaining the highest standards in training, education and research

> be the primary source of professional advice and advocacy in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease, and engage with government, patient groups, research councils, funding bodies and industry

> deliver these objectives in collaboration with patients, the wider public, and partner organisations

The above objectives will be delivered at all times within an ethical framework based upon the public interest and professional integrity.

Our Mission and Aims

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04CEOSteven Yeats Appointed 1998 [email protected]

Affiliate CoordinatorAzeem Ahmad Appointed 2007 [email protected]

IT Support SpecialistJasdeep Bhamber Appointed 2005 [email protected]

Head of DevelopmentKirsten Bradbury Appointed 2007 [email protected]

Senior Exhibition ManagerFrançoise Durrant Appointed 2008 [email protected]

Web DeveloperDilowar Hussain Appointed 2006 [email protected]

Affiliate CoordinatorLulu Ho Appointed 2005 [email protected]

Project CoordinatorAnna Kassai Appointed 2007 [email protected]

Office AssistantCatherine Mullin Appointed 2008 [email protected]

Resources ManagerMary-Lou Pitts Appointed 1997 [email protected]

Finance and Membership CoordinatorWojtek Trzcinski Appointed 2007 [email protected]

Exhibition Sales ManagerKelly Edworthy Appointed 2009 [email protected]

President Prof Keith Fox 2009 - 2012

Honorary Secretary Dr Charles Knight 2008 - 2011

VP Clinical Standards Dr David Hackett 2007 - 2010

VP Clinical Standards ElectDr Simon Ray 2009 - 2010

VP Corporate and Financial Affairs Prof Derek Yellon 2009 - 2012

VP Education And ResearchDr Iain Simpson 2008 - 2011

VP Training Prof Stuart Cobbe 2007 - 2010

VP Training Elect Dr Jim Hall 2009 - 2010

Non-executive TrusteeProf Dame Carol Black 2007

Non-executive TrusteeMr Graham Meek 2007

Non-executive TrusteeMr Nigel Turner 2008

Non-executive TrusteeMr John Carrier 2009

Officers of the Society

Staff of the SocietyStaff of the Society

From left to right:Mary-Lou Pitts,

Jasdeep Bhamber, Wojtek Trzcinski,

Françoise Durrant, Steven Yeats,

Catherine Mullin, Dilowar Hussain,

Srinivas Palli, Lulu HoSeated:

Anna Kassai, Azeem Ahmad,

Kirsten Bradbury

BCS ExecutiveStanding left to right:

Iain Simpson, Edward Rowland, Jim Hall, Simon Ray, Nav Masani, Steven Yeats,

Charles Knight, David HackettSeated left to right:

Stuart Cobbe, Keith Fox, Derek Yellon


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06 DESPITE THE PREVAILING FINANCIAL PRESSURES IN 2009, THE yEAR HAS BEEN A HIGHLy

SUCCESSFUL ONE FOR THE BRITISH CARDIOVASCULAR SOCIETy. WE HAVE BEEN ABLE

TO TAkE ON NEW INITIATIVES AND TO BUILD ON THE VERy SUCCESSFUL ACHIEVEMENTS

OF 2008. HOW HAS THIS BEEN POSSIBLE? A MAjOR TRIBUTE MUST GO TO STEVEN

yEATS AND ALL THE STAFF OF THE BCS, THE MORE EFFICIENT ORGANISATION AND THE

EFFORTS TO REDUCE COSTS. WE ARE DEEPLy INDEBTED TO THE OFFICERS OF THE

SOCIETy, THE ExECUTIVE, THE BOARD AND THE BCS MEMBERS WHO HAVE MADE HUGE

CONTRIBUTIONS DESPITE THE SCARCITy OF OUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE, TIME!

We have taken the opportunity to review the strategic direction of the British Cardiovascular Society and I am indebted to the Vice-Presidents for all the work that has gone into this. We set aside part of each of our Board meetings to discuss strategic direction, and I am particularly indebted to the non-Executive Directors Professor Dame Carol Black, Mr Graham Meek, Mr Nigel Turner and Mr John Carrier for their thoughtful insights and the wider perspectives from related professional and healthcare organisations.

We have resolved to strengthen our partnerships with the Affiliated Groups of the Society and to explore ways in which we can provide “added value” to our Affiliated Group members. This includes providing administrative support and use of Fitzroy Square facilities. We will have a more effective and powerful voice collectively than as separate sub-specialty interest groups and we can provide a cost-effective method of electronic communication with all members.

From our discussions on strategic direction for the BCS, we want to emphasise the educational focus of the Society. This is not only through the very important and successful Annual Conference and Exhibition (please see the report of Iain Simpson, Vice-President Education and Research) but also through separate educational initiatives. The Cardiology Review Course consists of a partnership between the British Cardiovascular Society and the Mayo Clinic, (with the courses run in association with the Royal College of Physicians of London). The first course in 2009 involved 80 participants and this was substantially expanded in 2010 (more than 260 registered) with many participants coming from continental Europe and further afield. It’s clear that the Cardiology Review Course is recognised for the exceptional quality and very high calibre of the contributors.

The BCS has been proactive in developing tools for revalidation, consistent with the requirements of the General Medical Council and the needs of the profession. The aim is to develop a flexible and “user friendly” approach to revalidation that meets professional needs in terms of knowledge, skills and assessment and an approach that minimises duplication

BCS President: Prof Keith Fox

From the PresidentIntroduction and Report

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of effort (please see the report of the Vice-President Clinical Standards, David Hackett). David and colleagues have done a huge amount of work in developing the framework for revalidation.

We are strengthening our links with the European Society of Cardiology and with the American College of Cardiology. British cardiology is well represented within the Board of the ESC and key ESC committees. Senior members of the ESC participate in our Annual Conference and Exhibition, and many BCS members have contributed to ESC guidelines. Our links with the American College of Cardiology are two-fold: firstly, we have a “twinning programme” with the California Chapter of the ACC and this provides access to very high quality courses and short-term attachments, “preceptorships”. The pilot phase of this programme was initiated in 2009 and we aim to develop and expand these educational opportunities and to seek new funding resources to allow cardiologists and advanced trainees to take up the opportunities and to bring back the expertise to the UK. A BCS/ACC Fellowship has been appointed and is underway in advanced imaging with six months in Cedars Sinai Hospital, and six months in the UK (in the Royal Brompton Hospital for the first fellowship).

In a separate initiative, the Fellows of the American College of Cardiology resident in the UK and Ireland have now formed a “UK and Ireland Chapter” of the ACC and the first President of the Chapter is Dr Nick Boon (elected unopposed) and Professor Nilesh Samani elected Secretary. The FACCs and ACC leadership will meet at the BCS Annual Conference and Exhibition to agree a constitution and future plan.

In a collaborative programme with the British Heart Foundation we initiated a detailed report on Access to Cardiac Care (interventional services) in the UK and this revealed substantial inequalities in provision and shortfalls in various parts of the UK. There is additional work to be done especially in looking at non-interventional services, at heart failure and other aspects of cardiology practice.

The BCS has been active in its collaborative work with the Royal College of Physicians, with the Department of Health, with the British Heart Foundation and with other medical societies.

In response to an initiative from the House of Lords a valuable guidance document has been completed on Fitness to Fly and we must acknowledge the huge contribution of Dr David Smith and his colleagues to this valuable resource.

The last year has been exciting, challenging and rewarding! We will face additional financial challenges over the next year, as the impact of the external financial situation also influences the BCS. Nevertheless, the BCS is in good health and good heart! We look forward to working together over the next year.


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10BCS MEMBERSHIP:

> 1368 ORDINARy, SPR, NON-CLINICAL AND INTERNATIONAL MEMBERS

> 312 ExTRA-ORDINARy AND HONORARy MEMBERS

> 453 jOINT BCS MEMBERS

Membership

The British Cardiovascular Society currently has over 2133 members; a healthy increase of 193 members over the last year following continuing recruitment efforts and review of our membership benefits.

Our membership now encompasses a wide range of healthcare professionals working in the field of cardiovascular health. A large majority of our members are Consultants and Specialist Registrars in Cardiology, but we have made special efforts to encourage other health professionals with an interest in Cardiovascular medicine to join BCS, through reduced subscription rates, joint membership with Affiliated Groups and a less exclusive membership application process.

We believe that membership of BCS represents outstanding value for money. BCS membership gives:

> Free access to Heart Online

> A discounted subscription for the twice monthly journal Heart, a peer review journal for health professionals and researchers in all areas of cardiology

> Free access to the web tool Cardiosource in collaboration with the ACC, which offers research, information, ongoing clinical trials, and news regarding cardiovascular health

> Free registration at our Annual Conference and Exhibition (if you register in time for the early-bird fees)

Honorary Secretary Report

As the voice for those working in cardiovascular health, science and disease management in the UK, BCS aims to promote and support the healthcare professionals who work in cardiology. BCS membership gives our members significant professional support, including:

> Professional representation with the Royal College of Physicians

> Representation at the Department of Health

> Support for ACCEA Awards

> All notices and electronic communications of the Society

> Full participation in business meetings and voting rights

> The option to stand for nominated BCS positions

> Access to the facilities of the Society’s offices

Becoming a member of the BCS will also give you the ability to access the whole of the website including the members-only area, which enables members to:

> Discuss issues of interest in the discussion section

> Make contact with other members in the members directory

> Access restricted library documents

> Access educational tools, such as webcasts and online training systems

> Access current membership offers, such as reduced rate on the ESC Textbook

We believe that these benefits will encourage an active and diverse BCS membership over coming years, strengthening the Society and improving cardiovascular healthcare.

Press Office

In 2009, BCS set up a Press Office to deal with the enquiries that we receive from an array of media professionals. 60 members of the Society have offered their services for answering specialist press enquiries, but the bulk of the more general enquiries are handled by the Honorary Secretary and the Vice President for Education and Research. In 2009 over 50 press enquiries were dealt with, with articles and interviews appearing in Daily Express, Daily Mail, Sky News, BBC News, Times Online, BBC London, Radio 5, along with a variety of trade magazine articles. The BCS Press Office can be contacted on [email protected] or 0207 380 1901

Honorary Secretary: Dr Charles Knight


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122009 HAS BEEN A BUSy BUT SUCCESSFUL yEAR FOR ALL THE STAFF OF BCS. WE HAVE

BUILT ON A STRONG 2008, AND SURPASSED ALL ExPECTATIONS, DELIVERING THE

ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND ExHIBITION AND THE CARDIOLOGy REVIEW COURSE FROM

ExCELLENT IN-HOUSE TEAMS. 2009 SAW THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND ExHIBITION

MOVE TO ExCEL LONDON, THE FIRST TIME IN OVER 20 yEARS IT WAS HELD IN THE

CAPITAL. THE CONFERENCE PROGRAMME WAS FULL OF NEW INNOVATIONS DEVELOPED

By THE PROGRAMME COMMITTEE, WHILE THE ExHIBITION WAS ORGANISED IN-HOUSE

FOR THE FIRST TIME. THE ORGANISATION OF THE WHOLE EVENT WAS A HUGE SUCCESS

AND THANkS MUST GO TO ALL INVOLVED.

The first British Cardiovascular Society and Mayo Clinic Cardiology Review Course successfully ran at the beginning of March 2009, at the RCP in London. The course was delivered by a large expert faculty and covered all the key areas of the cardiology curriculum. The emphasis was on practical clinically based knowledge and the course was taught in lecture format with faculty from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA alongside UK speakers. Once again the organisation was exceptional and thanks must go to all involved.

The Society, in conjunction with many other specialist societies and associated groups, has started the development of JBS3: Joint British Societies’ guidelines on prevention of cardiovascular disease in clinical practice. Using the support of in-house expertise and having assigned Catherine Mullin to work part-time as project manager, we hope to deliver the final report before the end of 2010.

The Society has also employed a finance coordinator, Wojtek Trzcinski, who has been able to transfer the book-keeping in house, with quarterly checks by our Accountants. This means that we now have monthly accounts, helping the running of the Society enormously on a day to day basis. We have also moved to electronic banking, and online registration for the ACE is also streamlined through our website.

Chief Executive Officer Report

BCS Chief Executive Officer:Mr Steven Yeats

We continue to increase the services we offer to Affiliated Groups, and are grateful to all staff involved. We now offer a full range of services to all of our Affiliated Groups, including members’ database management, collection of annual fees via direct debit, and bespoke website design.

A new BCS website was launched at the end of 2009, which is more modular in design and easily transposed for our Affiliated Groups. This enables us to change the website easily, and adapt the front page for specific events. It also enables Affiliated Groups to design their own website and expand the functionality as needed.

Once again the staff at Fitzroy Square have delivered everything in a timely and professional manner. The work of the Society could not be achieved without the help and dedication of all at Fitzroy Square, and I would like to congratulate them all on another efficient and productive year.

Fitzroy Square


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14 Clinical Standards Division Vice-President: Dr David Hackett

THE CLINICAL STANDARDS DIVISION HAS HAD A BUSy 2009. THE MAIN WORk OF THE

DIVISION DURING THIS yEAR HAS INCLUDED:

Revalidation for cardiologists:

Pathfinder pilots for revalidation of all doctors are planned to start during 2010, and the first wave (“early adopters”) of revalidation is planned to start in 2011. After much discussion, including a formal consultation with the membership, BCS published final proposals for recommended principles of a portfolio of supporting information required for cardiologists for revalidation, and which could also be used for annual appraisal (see the Revalidation page on the BCS website). The next task is to define detailed and specific specialty and sub-specialty standards for revalidation. BCS is also in discussion with software organisations with regard to a European-wide electronic platform for demonstrating proficiency in the domains of medical practice which could be offered to the membership for annual appraisal and for the five-yearly revalidation cycle.

BCS Imaging Council:

During the year, BCS established an Imaging Council representative of all the cardiac imaging sub-specialties. BCS has chaired the Council Meetings and provided administrative support; two representatives from each imaging sub-specialty group are expected to attend each meeting. During 2009, Dr Simon Ray as Vice-President Elect has chaired the Imaging Council meetings. The purpose of the Imaging Council is to:

> Raise the profile of cardiac imaging

> Improve cross-linkage with international organisations, particularly the ESC

> Provide coordinated and consistent advice to the SAC and other groups responsible for training

> Develop new educational initiatives and conference planning

> Resolve differences between imaging sub-specialties

> Improve imaging services

> Address anomalies in national reimbursement strategies

> Develop tools for revalidation

Divisional Reports

Vice-President Clinical Standards:

Dr David Hackett

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Non-medical catheter laboratory workforce:

BCS commissioned a Working Group on Non-medical catheter laboratory staffing which produced a report in March 2007. As a result of this, the BHF set up a Non-Medical Catheter Laboratory Workforce Steering Group in early 2008 who agreed the competencies required for multi-skilled cardiac catheter laboratory workforce. This work has led to the creation of a Cardiac Cath Lab Worker course. The first course provider of this is the London Southbank University and three courses have been run to date, with 48 students enrolled. BCS has been a party to all these developments and the BHF have funded a number of places on this course in 2009. It is expected that there will be additional course providers in the near future.

Fitness to Fly:

The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee report on Air Travel and Health: an Update was published in December 2007 (available on www.publications.parliament.uk). This report recommended (5.22) that various specialties such as cardiology, orthopaedics and psychiatry follow the lead of the British Thoracic Society in producing guidelines on fitness to fly with the intention of informing GPs and other healthcare professionals; and that these publications should be made available in electronic form and hard copy to all GPs. As a result, the BCS established a Working Group on Fitness for Air Travel with Cardiovascular Conditions. Dr David Smith has chaired a BCS Working Group and has produced an excellent report, which will be published in early 2010.

Clinical Standards Division representation to other organisations:

NHS Workforce Review Team (England)

Dept of Health (England) NSF Future of Cardiac Services Steering Group

RCP-BCS Joint Specialty Committee (Cardiac)

RCP Clinical Standards Board

RCP Clinical Effectiveness Forum

RCP Medical Workforce Unit

RCP Revalidation Unit

Coalition of Medical Specialist Societies

RCS Revalidation and Hospital Episode Statistics Project Board

BHF Prevention & Care Committee

BHF Non-Medical Catheter Laboratory Workforce Steering Group

Cardiovascular Coalition: Steering Group, Inequalities Working Group, Modelling Burden of Disease Working Group

Study of variations and inequalities in cardiac care: “Access to Cardiac Care”

BCS with the BHF and Cardiovascular Coalition commissioned Oxford Healthcare Associates to produce a study and report of current provision of cardiac procedures, compared with estimated need according to population changes, local burden of disease and deprivation, by locality in all four countries of the UK. And to predict estimated future needs up to 2020. The Report was published and presented to the Annual Conference and Exhibition in June 2009 and can be found on the BCS website. Detailed local authority data was subsequently published in July 2009. These data will help in the development and planning of local and regional services and workforce requirements where there is current or predicted future under-provision or inequality.

Workload of cardiologists:

Many of the BCS Network Service Advisors requested guidance on appropriate workload when considering whether to approve job descriptions for new consultant cardiology posts, and for review of their own workloads when preparing for annual appraisals. After several rounds of discussion and reviews at various meetings, the Clinical Standards Division will be publishing detailed guidance on this in early 2010.

Accreditation of Practitioners with a special Interest in cardiology:

BCS has developed a model of accreditation of courses in cardiology for Practitioners with a Special Interest; this work has been led by Dr Mark Dancy. BCS assesses and benchmarks the quality of the course provision, and the BHF funds training places in accredited courses only. We hope that this process should lead to national standards for courses and training of Practitioners with a Special Interest in cardiology. Several courses have been accredited by BCS and can be viewed in the BCS Accreditation pages on the BCS website.

Cardiac workforce planning:

Data from the “Access to Cardiac Care” study of expected future requirement for cardiac care in the UK has provided guidance on numbers of cardiac and cardiac surgical interventions, for devices and electrophysiology procedures, by need according to population changes, local burden of disease and deprivation and by locality and region of the UK up to 2020. BCS is analysing the corresponding need for cardiac catheterization laboratories, consultant cardiologists, and trainees required for these procedure-based disciplines. BCS is also discussing whether to consider a further “Access to Cardiac Care” study covering similar issues for acute cardiac conditions, the imaging specialties and heart failure, and which might also demonstrate the variations and inequalities in the provision of care and the consultant cardiologist workforce in these sub-specialty areas.

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18 as your next Vice-President for Clinical Standards, and who will formally take over in June 2010. I am very confident that Simon will tackle and succeed in all the continuing and future challenges BCS Clinical Standards Division may face.

Corporate and Financial Affairs DivisionVice President: Prof Derek Yellon

THE FINANCIAL yEAR ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2009 CLOSED

WITH AN OPERATING SURPLUS OF OVER £100,000. TOTAL

INCOME FOR THE yEAR WAS jUST OVER £1.1 MILLION AGAINST

A TOTAL ExPENDITURE OF £1 MILLION. APPROxIMATELy

30% OF THE INCOME WAS REPRESENTED By INCOME FROM

MEMBERSHIP WITH A SECOND SOURCE OF INCOME BEING THE

HEART jOURNAL SHARE OF PROFIT OF £316,904 (26%) AND THE

ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND ExHIBITION REPRESENTING 21%

OF TOTAL PROFIT OF £250k.

The main expenditures of the Society, which is approximately 67% of total expenses, are its Administration and Property costs, which include all core activities of the Society (Committees and Working Group meetings) as well as staffing costs and property maintenance. There was a slight increase in Administration and Property expenses in 2009 in comparison to 2008, this being mainly due to the fact that the Conference management was brought in-house with employment of two new members of staff over the 2008 & 2009 period, and an increase in the number of projects and activities run by the society, such as the Knowledge Based Assessment (KBA) pilot in 2009 and new IT initiatives such as webcasting of educational events. The remaining 33% of the total expenditure represents Members Benefits Costs (Heart and Cardiosource), professional subscriptions, charitable contributions and fellowship grants.

The Finance Committee

In 2009 Professor Derek Yellon took over from Dr Kevin Jennings as Vice President for Corporate and Financial affairs. Two new members were appointed to the Committee during 2009 these being; Dr Steven Holmberg and Dr Duncan Dymond. Dr Martin Rothman resigned from the committee at the end of last year and we thank him for his invaluable support

Clinical Standards Division committees:

The Clinical Standard Committee met during the year. The Guidelines and Practice Committee also met during the year.

BCS reviews & responses to Consultations, Guidelines and Statements in 2009

NICE Appraisals & Guidelines:

> Investigation, assessment and management of chest pain

> Assessment and management of acute coronary syndromes

> Hypertension in pregnancy

> Stable Angina

> Prevention of CVD

> Heart Failure

> Ticagrelor for the treatment of acute coronary syndrome

> Clinical Knowledge - Hypertension

> Dabigatran etexilate for the prevention of stroke in atrial fibrillation

> Everolimus for the prevention of organ rejection in cardiac transplantation

> Rolofylline for the treatment of acute heart failure

> Clopidogrel in combination with aspirin for the prevention of vascular events in atrial fibrillation

Other guidelines reviewed:

> National Specialist Commissioning Group Specialised Services National Definitions Set for cardiology and cardiac surgery: http://www.ncg.nhs.uk/download/306/

> Healthcare commission study in inequalities (Jan 09)

Map of Medicine:

Several pathways of care for various cardiac conditions have been reviewed by BCS members for the Royal College of Physicians.

I am delighted that the membership has elected Dr Simon Ray

Vice President Elect Clinical Standards:Dr Simon Ray

Vice President Corporate and Financial Affairs Division:Prof Derek Yellon

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during his tenure. The Committee receives very helpful and supportive advice from two Non-Executive Members, Mr Graham Meek and Mr Tony Salter. Investment advice is provided by Rensburg Sheppards Investment Management Limited. The Committee meetings are also attended by the society auditor Mr Nic Kaye, who represents AEL Partnership Chartered Accountants. Currently the Committee has nine members, including the President, Prof Keith Fox, and one elected member Ian Hutton. This latter post is due for re-election in 2010. Internal financial management reporting is provided by Mr Steven Yeats and Mr Wojtek Trzcinski.

Finance Committee Members:

DM Yellon (Chair, 2009)

KAA Fox (2008)

J Dymond (2009)

S Holmberg (2009)

I Hutton (2007)

N Kaye (2003)

G Meek (2003)

MT Rothman (2003)

T Salter (2007)

W Trzcinski (BCS)

S Yeats (BCS)

The Annual Conference and Exhibition

The 2009 meeting was acknowledged widely to be a considerable success from the educational, training and scientific perspective, however, overall conference revenue fell again this year.

In 2009 income from the Annual Conference and Exhibition was £250k, over £50k more than initially projected. The target of £550,000 space sales was not reached; however, over £500,000 was achieved with total space sale income just under £503,000 (an increase of almost £20k from 2008). Total revenue for the event reached the budgeted £800k with registration and dinner tickets income achieving £65k more than initially forecasted.

With regards to the expenses due to the current financial situation the BCS managed to negotiate with some contractors resulting in the final costs being lower than the initial quotes. This resulted in spending just approximately 50k less than initially anticipated.

Bringing our Conference Management in-house proved to be successful giving the Society more control over the event as a whole. It also provided more flexibility in responding to our members and exhibitors’ needs and expectations. Even though we witnessed a slight increase in profit in comparison to the 2008 event, the Society is fully aware that demand for this kind of event from industry is decreasing therefore we constantly need to review the programme and overall form of the Conference to ensure that it is changing with the times and serving both the BCS members and the industry. We also need to constantly explore other possible income sources to ensure a stable financial future of the Society. The Society’s efforts to further integrate the conference and exhibition and the pre-event organisation has been recognised by the industry and taken under consideration in planning future events. The Society believes that the future of the BCS Conference lies in increasing educational content within the event and more pro-active participation from exhibitors.

Heart

BCS Profit from Heart has increased by 7.4% in comparison with 2008. In 2009 BCS received £316,904, 50% of total journal profit for the year from BMJ. Despite current trends in the magazine and journals publishing markets, when a number of paper journals are in decline, Heart continues to confirm its strong position in the market with a stable increase in profit and even better forecasting for the future. The BCS also continues to provide free on-line access to Heart and offers an optional discounted paper subscription to its members. Members who wish to receive the paper edition of Heart may arrange to do so by contacting Fitzroy Square ([email protected]).

Fellowships

In 2009 BCS paid out almost £200k in Fellowships. There were 3 clinical fellows supported by the Society in 2009 these being through the Swire and the BMS fellowship programmes. The Swire fellowship programme ended in 2009 with Dr Cunnington completing his fellowship; however, an additional £25,000 was received from the Swire Trust in 2009 to start a new initiative to support trainees gaining experience in advanced cardiac imaging at Cedars Sinai Hospital in the USA. This sort of exchange is an excellent way for our UK trainees to gain invaluable experience which will ultimately benefit others in their training as well as benefitting patients. In 2009 Dr Ronak Rajani was the first person to be awarded this new initiative allowing him to spend 6 months at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London and 6 months at Cedars Sinai Hospital in California. The Society continues with two BMS fellowships for Dr Sirker and Dr Monfredi. Dr Sirker’s fellowship is due to finish in 2010 and Dr Monfredi’s will finish in 2011. The Society is extremely grateful for this valuable support from both BMS and the Swire Trust.

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22BCS & Mayo Clinic Cardiology Review Course and the kBA Pilot

In 2009 the BCS ran pilots for two new initiatives - A Cardiology Review Course and a Knowledge Based Assessment (KBA), both of which proved a great success and will be repeated on an annual basis. The Cardiology Review Course pilot was run in conjunction with the Mayo Clinic at the Royal College of Physicians, London and attracted 80 delegates. In 2010 the course attracted over 250 attendees. A pilot of the KBA exam was run during the Annual Conference and Exhibition with 60 volunteers taking the exam.

Membership

We continually encourage members to persuade their trainees and consultant colleagues to consider joining the Society. We do require to be less dependent on the Annual Conference and Exhibition for revenue and appropriately more dependent on subscription income. Membership subscription income was £350k, out of which £310k represents membership fees and £38k represents paper Heart subscription income from members (currently chargeable to members at £80 per annum). The joint membership initiative with BANCC, BJCA and SCST proved a success with over 270 new members joining the Society in 2009, bringing an increase in membership income of over £15K (approximately 5%). It is important to appreciate that membership allows free admission to the Annual Conference and Exhibition, free on-line access to Heart and Cardiosource, the portal for the American College of Cardiology and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Education and Research DivisionVice President: Dr Iain A Simpson

ALTHOUGH MUCH OF THE ACTIVITy OF THIS DIVISION IS FOCUSSED ON THE PLANNING

AND DELIVERy OF THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE & ExHIBITION, THIS HAS NOW BEEN

INTEGRATED INTO A BROADER EDUCATION STRATEGy IN CONjUNCTION WITH OUR

AFFILIATED GROUPS DESIGNED PRIMARILy TO FACILITATE DELIVERy OF HIGH qUALITy

EDUCATION FOR OUR TRAINEES AND ALL OUR MEMBERS.

Annual Conference and Exhibition

The Programme Committee is responsible for organising and delivering the Annual Conference & Exhibition but it is the result of a huge team effort spanning our Affiliated Groups, BCS staff, industry partners and many others.

Manchester will be the venue for the next three years and has proven to be one of the most popular venues for delegates and exhibitors. Given the time and financial pressures on all of us, the Annual Conference & Exhibition (ACE) continues to evolve to fit the needs of our members, trainees and industry partners. Many of our Affiliated Groups have their own specialist annual meetings and it is not the intention of the BCS ACE to duplicate these but rather to enhance the expertise of the Affiliated Groups for the educational benefit of all and for the BCS ACE to concentrate on a number of focussed area which is it best suited to deliver. As such, there will be four evolving themes in future:

> National training programme for trainees in cardiovascular disease

> Continuing Education Development for trained specialists

> Translational and clinical research

> Basic Science

For the individual Affiliated Groups, the BCS ACE remains an opportunity to education non specialists in important aspects for their specialist area, to hold educational events with other Affiliated Groups which have mutual interest and to have an opportunity to promote scientific and translational research.

Although we have always tried to include sessions targeted towards trainees in cardiology, this year sees the inclusion of a full national training day which will be a regular event at the BCS ACE and integrated with a second national training day in the autumn. These national training days will provide a rolling programme of educational activities linked to area or the curriculum where it is more suitable to provide quality education on a national basis and also to ensure aspects of Professionalism, which may be difficult to provide on a local or regional basis, are adequately covered.

The launch of Educational Spotlight sessions and themed Imaging Council sessions will, in conjunction with Affiliated Group sessions, form the basis of a more structured educational programme which will become of increasing value and importance for supporting and facilitating revalidation.

Vice-President Education and Research: Dr Iain Simpson

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We are delighted that the British Heart Foundation has helped facilitate a linked, basic science track in the conference through association with the British Atherosclerosis Society and the British Society for Cardiovascular Research which we hope will not only further improve the academic input to the meeting but will also be a platform for more clinical and translation research to bridge the science and clinical education aspects of the BCS ACE.

It is equally important that the delegates see the BCS ACE as an enjoyable event and we are keen to promote professional and social networking given the limited opportunities to do so in an increasingly time-pressured environment. The recent success of a more entertaining Annual Dinner would seem to indicate it is rapidly shedding it’s somewhat “stuffy” former reputation.

Academic Committee

This committee, chaired by Prof. Hugh Watkins continues to provide the BCS with advice on a variety of issues relevant to academic cardiology and cardiovascular medicine. In addition, they have a number of specific roles especially in relation to the Annual Conference & Exhibition. The academic committee is responsible for selecting the finalist for the Young Research Workers Prize presentations; a difficult task given that there was well in excess of 50 entries this year, having combined the Clinical and Basic Science categories. Recognising the gap between young research workers and those established in academic cardiology, the Michael Davies Award, chosen each year by the academic committee celebrates the achievement of recently established, independent investigators who have made an outstanding contribution to cardiovascular science with the award winner presenting at the Annual Conference & Exhibition.

Education Strategy

Although the Annual Conference & Exhibition remains a pivotal BCS educational event, the development and initial implementation of a broader education strategy has been a major focus for the Division and will define much of its efforts in the coming years. We believe that the BCS and its Affiliated Groups should be leaders in cardiovascular education. Although we have no direct responsibility for training, or indeed the educational content of individual training programmes, with the expertise of our collective membership, we are uniquely positioned to deliver high quality education mapped to the cardiology curriculum. In addition, with the development of revalidation, it is important we can support our members with an educational programme that not only fulfils the needs of revalidation but ensures we all maintain our knowledge, skills and professionalism throughout our careers in cardiovascular medicine. An education strategy tailored to these needs will provide a valuable resource for our membership and underpin the aspirations of the BCS to promoting excellence in cardiovascular care.

Communication and Education Committee Chair: Dr Sarah Clarke

Chaired by Dr. Sarah Clarke, this is one of the busiest BCS committees and is a key component for delivering the BCS education strategy. Under the auspices of the Communication & Education committee there are a number of key activities which include:

> Developing a rolling National Training Day programme for Trainees

> BCS & Mayo Clinic Cardiology Review Course

> Education Officers Sub-group

> Reporting and webcasting of Annual Conference & Exhibition

> www.bcs.com

> Education links with the Joint Specialty Committee of the Royal College of Physicians

The first joint BCS & Mayo Clinic Cardiology Review Course was a major success in 2009 and, as a result, the capacity has been increased in 2010. The programme has been developed by Dr. Alun Harcombe for the BCS and Dr. Peter Brady at the Mayo Clinic, focussed around the needs of trainees in preparation for their knowledge based assessment, but is also proving popular for other trainees from the UK and from Europe as well as many trained cardiologists who are finding it useful as part of their own continuing professional development.

The Education Officers subgroup, chaired by Dr. David Roberts, brings together representatives from the Affiliated Groups, and will gather, coordinate and disseminate information about existing educational programmes mapped to the cardiology curriculum. It will also identify gaps in education requirements where educational programme may be developed, especially in areas of professionalism as well as the newer and less well covered areas of the curriculum. In the medium and long term we hope to be able to construct a comprehensive map of curriculum based education activities at national and regional levels. This will also help to inform the content of our own National Training Days being developed by Dr. Mark Gunning.

Communication and Education Committe Chair: Dr Sarah Clarke

26


27

26 for example, can be used as an alternative to the Mini-Clinical Examination (mini-CEX) to assess competence in some areas of the curriculum. The revised curriculum now includes reference to generic areas of good medical practice, communication, medical leadership and a greater emphasis on public health issues. The updated curriculum was presented to PMETB on time in November 2009. It has been approved with minor changes, and will be operational for trainees entering Specialty Registrar posts at ST3 level in August 2010.

knowledge-Based Assessment

Arrangements are on course for the first live exam of the Knowledge-Based Assessment (KBA) in Cardiology to be held during the BCS Annual Conference & Exhibition in Manchester. A successful pilot KBA was held in 2009, when around 60 trainees assisted the Society by acting as “guinea-pigs” to test the practicalities & logistics of the examination. The results were analysed by Prof Chris McManus, an authority in psychometric testing & examinations, and deemed to have sufficient reliability to form the basis of the formal KBA. A standard-setting group chaired by Dr Rob Wright has been formed to determine the pass mark, using techniques similar to those in use for the MRCP examination.

There will be a single Multiple –Choice examination of 120 best-of- five questions to test knowledge of the Core Curriculum. The examination will be computer-based, and will include interpretation of ECGs, echocardiograms and other imaging modalities. It will be taken in the 3rd year of Specialty Training (ST5). Given the high quality of entrants into Cardiology, we envisage that the great majority of trainees (85-95%) will achieve an adequate standard in this test at the first attempt. Failure to do so will not automatically prevent further progression, but would be considered along with all other evidence of a trainee’s progress in the annual ARCP process. Opportunities to re-sit the KBA will be available in ST6 and ST7, but ultimately a trainee will need to pass in order to receive the Certificate of Completion of Training.

The KBA is part of a European project, which may ultimately lead to a Europe-wide knowledge assessment. Supported by the European Society of Cardiology, it is dependent on the efforts of an international question-setting group, chaired by Dr Nick Brooks, of whom around two thirds are UK-based. The question bank being developed will ultimately be used in other European countries, and discussions are underway with the Dutch Cardiology Society to see the KBA launched there in 2010.

Finally, the editorial content of www.bcs.com is regularly populated by our group of sub-editors under the direction of Dr. Conrad Murphy and the reporting and webcasting of the Annual Conference & Exhibition by our roving reporters under the guidance of Dr. Alison Calver is a valuable education resource especially for those unfortunate enough not to be able to attend the BCS ACE, left behind to cover the clinical service.

I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the BCS Annual Conference & Exhibition in Manchester over the next few years.

Training DivisionVice-President: Prof Stuart Cobbe

THE MAIN ACTIVITIES OF THE DIVISION CONTINUE TO OVERLAP

WITH THOSE OF THE SPECIALIST ADVISORy COMMITTEE IN

CARDIOLOGy (SAC), WHICH IS CHAIRED By PROF STUART

COBBE, BCS VICE-PRESIDENT FOR TRAINING WITH DR jIM

HALL, VICE-PRESIDENT ELECT FOR TRAINING, AS SECRETARy.

THROUGH ITS OFFICE BEARERS AND MEMBERSHIP, THE

SOCIETy HAS A MAjOR INFLUENCE IN DETERMINING SAC

POLICy. THERE HAS BEEN NO LET-UP IN THE PACE OF CHANGE

IN THE ORGANISATION OF POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION &

TRAINING, AND THE DIVISION & SAC HAVE HAD A BUSy yEAR!

FURTHER TURBULENCE IS LIkELy, AS THE IMPLICATIONS

OF THE ABSORPTION OF THE POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL

EDUCATION & TRAINING BOARD (PMETB) INTO THE GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL BEGIN

TO WORk THROUGH INTO POLICy.

Cardiology Curriculum

The 2007 Cardiology curriculum has been revised to bring it fully into line with PMETB requirements. This process, led by Jim Hall, has occurred in parallel with the piloting of additional methods of assessment, such as Case-Based Discussion, Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire, Teaching Assessment, and Audit Assessment. These assessments are not all additional to the current ones, in the sense that Case-Based Discussion,

Vice-President Training Division: Prof Stuart Cobbe

28Recruitment into ST3

Following the implementation of the Tooke report into the MMC/MTAS fiasco, Core Medical Training has now been “uncoupled” from Higher Specialist Training. As a result, recruitment into Cardiology at ST3 level will occur on an open basis in 2010 in England & Wales, and in 2011 in Scotland. The SAC in Cardiology is cooperating with four other medical specialties (Diabetes & Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Geriatric Medicine & Renal Medicine) in piloting a central recruitment portal, hosted by the Royal College of Physicians of London. This scheme utilises nationally standardised person specifications, application forms, shortlisting criteria & interview format, although selection will take place at Deanery level. If individual Deaneries have unfilled ST3 places, the opportunity exists for a “clearing” mechanism, whereby appointable but unsuccessful candidates from one Deanery may wish to be considered for appointment in another Deanery, using a standardised transferable interview score.

quality Assurance

The SAC has a role in advising PMETB on the quality of Postgraduate Medical Education. Previously, this was undertaken by means of Deanery visits, which included interviews with trainees. One of the first actions of PMETB was to ban SAC visits to Deaneries as being disruptive and not cost-effective. Deaneries, through their Schools of Medicine, are required to report to PMETB on the quality of their training, and a copy of these reports comes to the SAC for review and collation into a National report on training in the specialty. As may be appreciated, this system provides no true external view on the quality of training in a Deanery, and the SAC has been arguing for a return to some form of external oversight. Although SAC visits will not be reinstituted, there are encouraging developments towards re-establishing the principle of external review of training quality.

And finally

This is my last report as Vice-President for Training for the Society. It has been a pleasure and privilege to serve the Society over the last four years. I would like to acknowledge my gratitude to all who have helped to support postgraduate training in Cardiology, in particular Jim Hall and all other members of the SAC, and Kirsten Bradbury, Mary-Lou Pitts & Steven Yeats at Fitzroy Square.

CARDIOLOGY REVIEW COURSE 2011

7 to 11 March 2011 At the Royal College of Physicians, London

Full 5 day programme matched to the Cardiology Curriculum.

A faculty that includes key figures in Cardiovascular Medicine.

Registration and further details on www.bcs.com

1673 Cardio Review2011v1_Ad_4press.indd 1 29/4/10 11:16:01

30


31

3030 Women in UK CardiologyDr Rachael James

IN LESS THAN SIx MONTHS IN 2009 THERE WERE TWO REPORTS SPECIFICALLy

ExAMINING THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE MEDICAL WORkFORCE. THE ROyAL COLLEGE

OF PHySICIANS’ REPORT WOMEN AND MEDICINE: THE FUTURE (jUNE 2009) PREPARED By

MARy ANN ELSTON, EMERITUS READER IN MEDICAL SOCIOLOGy AT ROyAL HOLLOWAy,

AND THE NATIONAL WORkING GROUP ON WOMEN IN MEDICINE, CHAIRED By BARONESS

RUTH DEECH, WOMEN DOCTORS: MAkING A DIFFERENCE (OCTOBER 2009) WHICH WAS

COMMISSIONED By SIR LIAM DONALDSON. THE REPORTS WERE, IN PART, PREPARED

IN RESPONSE TO CONCERN ABOUT LEADERSHIP IN MEDICINE AND TO BETTER

UNDERSTAND THE ECONOMIC AND ORGANISATIONAL IMPACT OF AN INCREASINGLy

FEMALE PROFESSION.

Both reports highlight the lack of parity amongst medical specialities and the gender imbalance in academia and leadership roles. Causes of gender imbalance in different areas of medicine are complex and are not necessarily a result of simplistic discrimination. Furthermore, they will not necessarily be addressed by the increasing numbers of female graduates. However, both reports have detailed the effectiveness and importance of role models and mentoring for women.

Mentor groups and women’s forums have had a positive influence on the progression of female academics and have been shown to be useful in cardiology. The BCS has a newly updated, speciality and region specific list of female Consultant Cardiologists as a resource for SpRs and young doctors interested in cardiology as a career. I would like to take this opportunity to invite all Cardiologists who are keen to offer their mentoring services, regardless of gender, to let me have their contact details. A balanced cardiac workforce is important to reflect society as a whole and to ensure we continue to recruit from the most talented young trainees. Please contact me via [email protected] if you are interested in taking part in mentoring.

Other Reports

Representative for Women

in Cardiology:Dr Rachael James

3233


national co-ordinators in January 2010 in Brussels. The main focus on Women and Cardiovascular Research in Europe highlighted that the 62 randomised clinical trials published since 2006 enrolled only 33.5% women, and only 50% of the trials performed any gender analysis. “Despite an increase in the number and proportion of women enrolled in cardiovascular clinical trials, there is still an under-representation of women, particularly in the fields of cholesterol-lowering therapy, ischaemic heart disease and heart failure, which may have affected the reliability of subgroup analysis.” E-documents are available for anyone who would like a copy. If you would like a copy please email [email protected]

This document provides a final major evidence base to embellish the research section of our full BCS Joint Working Group Recommendations’ Report for Women’s Heart Health. Aspirations are being shared with the JBS3 Working Group, as well as being further disseminated within both local, Network and national meetings addressing Inequalities. The recently emerging Marmot Review: “Fair Society, Healthy Lives” provides added impetus to the vital context of our work as a stakeholder in the future of cardiovascular health for all.

BMJ Report from Heart JournalEditor: Prof Adam Timmis

1. Heart welcomes Perry Elliott as new Deputy Editor sitting alongside John Sanderson. Meanwhile a major reorganisation at BMJ Publishing sees Christiane Notomarco as Heart’s new Publisher and Craig Raybould as its Journal Manager, replacing Janet O’Flaherty and Claire Jura who take over other management responsibilities within the organisation.

2. Heart’s impact factor increased to 4.96 in 2009, the highest it has ever been.

3. Submission rates remain high (c 1,000 original research articles per year) with the inevitable corollary of high (c 86%) reject rates.

4. Other metrics are increasingly favourable for authors with median time to first decision for original research articles now only 5 weeks and time from acceptance to paper publication about 15 weeks.

Joint Working Group for Women’s Heart HealthChair BCS Working Group for Women’s Heart Health, Dr Jane Flint

THE EUROHEART WORk PACkAGE 6 CENTRED ON WOMEN AND CARDIOVASCULAR

DISEASE (CVD) HAS BEEN THE MAIN FOCUS OF jOINT ACTIVITy DURING THIS LAST yEAR.

WORkING TOGETHER WITH REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION

AND NATIONAL HEART FORUM WE COMPLETED A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE

RESEARCH WORk PERFORMED WITHIN THE FRAMEWORk, INCLUDING CAMPAIGNS AND

PROGRAMMES ON WOMEN AND CVD TARGETING WOMEN, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES

ON WOMEN AND CVD TARGETING HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, AND ISSUES OF GENDER

SPECIFICITy COVERING LEGISLATION (EqUALITy DUTy IN Uk), AND THE RESPONSIBILITIES

OF EDUCATIONAL, PROFESSIONAL AND RESEARCH ORGANISATIONS TO OBSERVE AND

EFFECT CHANGE.

We shared our BCS Joint Working Group Recommendations with other national co-ordinators from across Europe, and our co-operative efforts involving our Affiliated Groups including patients, health professionals and other relevant organisations was appreciated. The importance of evaluation was an important learning outcome for all. We made a significant attempt to reflect current Medical School and postgraduate gender-specific teaching practice; the situation is clearly one ripe for audit. Our Women’s Track through the Annual Conference and Exhibition (ACE) was noted. The BCS approach to tackle the issue of there being still too few Women in UK Cardiology was also reflected in the research performed within Work Package 6.

An inspiring November 2009 meeting welcomed the launch of the report ‘Red Alert for Women’s Hearts’ at a prime networking and presentation event held at The Heart House in Nice. The BCS Newswire linked to a summary of the outcome, and a final summary document was issued after a final joint consultation of the Advisory Board and

BCS Cardiovascular Society joint Working Group Recommendations

For Women’s Heart Health

Chair BCS Working Group for Women’s Heart Health:

Dr Jane Flint


35

34 Membership CostsCurrent Membership Fees are:

> £220 + VAT for ordinary membership

> £140 + VAT if you do not hold clinics, e.g. you are a nurse, cardiac physiologist, basic scientist

We believe that BCS membership remains great value for our members. We continue to negotiate with our membership service providers to ensure that our costs can remain as low as possible, and to look for new benefits and services that members can make use of. The Honorary Secretary’s report gives full details of BCS membership benefits.

joint Membership

Launched in 2008, BCS’ joint membership packages offer significant fee reductions whilst retaining the same BCS benefits that have proved so valuable to our members. Joint membership is currently available for:

BJCA & BCS Membership

BANCC & BCS Membership

SCST & BCS Membership

Joint membership is £100 for non-consultants and £300 for consultants or physicians. To apply for joint membership, visit our website to download the application form. We hope to be able to offer further joint membership types in the future.

International BCS Membership

BCS is continuing its offer of International Membership for just £75 + VAT, which was launched in 2007. International membership is for those working in cardiovascular health, science and disease management outside of the UK.

Members Views

We are keen to listen to the views of our members. If you have a comment or query on your BCS membership you can email us at [email protected]

Getting Involved!The BCS is run for and with its members: our staff manage the day to day running of the

organisation, but the strategic direction of the Society is set by the members who volunteer their time to take on posts in our Executive, Board and Committees. There are a variety of ways that you can get involved in the Society. Here are a few examples.

Membership and Conference

3637


Adrian Cheng

Doughie Elder

Shane Gieowarsingh

Sam Groves

Sadia Khan

Pegah Salahshouri

Usha Prasad

Tushar Raina

Nabeel Sheikh

Rhidian Shelton

Sreekumar Sulfi

Venkatesan Suresh

Roshan Weerackody

Paul Williams

Andrew Wiper

Recent articles have included contemporary topics such as:

> Are Outcomes and Complications Post Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation Dependent on Gender

> Gene therapy for cardiovascular disease - white knight or white elephant?

> Recent advances in the use of statins in PCI

If you are interested in becoming a sub-editor for our website, contact us on [email protected]

Annual Conference and Exhibition

Each year at the Annual Conference, we have volunteer BCS SpR Members who take on the role of ‘roving reporters’. The roving reporters give overview reports on highlight sessions of the conference. These informative reports are held on the BCS website. If you are interested in becoming a roving reporter, contact us at [email protected]

Elections

Each year, we run elections for the vacant posts in the Executive and Committees of BCS. We have historically achieved a great response to our elections with nominations coming through from across the UK for the available posts and the elections themselves show a healthy proportion of our members are keen to cast their vote.

With a history dating back to the 1920’s, BCS has been privileged to have had some of the key figures in Cardiovascular medicine on our Executive and Committees.

Network Service Advisors

The BCS Network Service Advisor role is to help with:

> assessing job plans for new consultant appointments

> acting as college advisor on the appointments committee for the RCP

> providing advice and support on Revalidation (once it starts)

There are currently 39 Network Service Advisors, one for each Cardiac Network in the UK.

Archives

Our offices in Fitzroy Square hold some of the archives from our long history and beyond; we have displays that include some of the earliest cardiovascular equipments, such as the first clinical electrocardiograph and one of the first ever pacemaker devices. We also have a wealth of historical texts on Cardiovascular medicine. Dr Arthur Hollman is the BCS Archivist.

Any member who wishes to view our archives or even make a contribution to them, can contact us on [email protected]

Web Editors

BCS News on our homepage is an ever popular section of our website, with articles regularly attracting a high number of viewers. In 2008 a team of sub-editors from BCS SpR Members were recruited to write news items on relevant topics in Cardiovascular Medicine. These articles continue to be some of the most widely read articles on our website and they increase our websites’ usefulness for Trainees and newly appointed Consultants. The 2009-10 sub-editors are:

Dr Arthur Hollman

38


39

38treatment through understanding mechanisms; Devices - Pacemakers ICD & CRT; and the Strickland Goodall Lecture given by David Newby on Intravascular Thrombosis - new frontiers in endothelial function.

Despite the current financial crisis, BCS had a full Exhibition this year with over 85 companies present. The exhibition is a crucial component to the success of our annual event, enabling our delegates to keep up to date with innovative and developing technologies, pharmacology, diagnostic equipment, educational materials and more. This year the Exhibition was further integrated into the programme with a greater number of educational activities occurring in the Exhibition area throughout the meeting. The simulators proved as popular as ever with attendees getting the chance to try their hand at PCI, Echo, EP and Patient simulators. An innovation of this year’s Exhibition was the “Meet the Expert” sessions that ran around the Exhibition Hall providing “snapshots” of good clinical advice in interesting or difficult areas of clinical practice. Topics included: Dilemmas and escapes in primary PCI; Pressure wire; use and misuse; and Inappropriate Shocks - horror stories. The highly regarded “How to” sessions were this year held in separate theatres within the main Exhibition Hall and included the following topics:

> How to manage the pregnant patient with valve disease

> How to assess risk in acute coronary syndromes

> How to assess cardiovascular risk before non cardiac surgery

> How to use pacemakers and defibrillators in congenital heart disease

The BCS Annual Dinner had a more relaxed atmosphere, with entertainment that included a live band and magicians. With over 300 people attending the dinner, it was BCS’ largest social event to date.

Annual Conference and Exhibition 2009

IN jUNE 2009, OUR ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND ExHIBITION WAS HELD IN THE ExCEL

CENTRE, DOCkLANDS. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT BCS HAS USED THIS LONDON VENUE;

IT PROVED TO BE A POPULAR CHOICE AND THE GREAT VENUE WAS COMPLIMENTED

By SOME RARE SUNSHINE. THE CONFERENCE WAS ATTENDED By PROFESSIONALS

INVOLVED IN DELIVERING CARDIOVASCULAR CARE; INCLUDING CARDIOLOGISTS, NURSES,

PHySIOLOGISTS, PHySICIANS AND SCIENTISTS. WE HAD OVER 2,500 ATTENDEES THIS

yEAR, 75% OF THE ATTENDEES WERE CONSULTANT CARDIOLOGISTS OR TRAINEES.

The Conference has evolved over recent years and although its scientific content remains important, it has become much more of an educational meeting. BCS works with its Affiliated Groups and other partner organisations to produce a first class programme of educational sessions, covering all aspects of Cardiovascular Medicine. Key sessions from this year included:

> BCS with the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) - Guidelines and Guidance

> BCS with the American College of Cardiology (ACC) - Heart Failure plenary

> Paul Wood lecture given by Dr Valentin Fuster - Promotion of Cardiovascular Health: From Risk Factors to Imaging and Genomics

> BCS Lecture given by Prof John Deanfield - Investing in your arteries! Lifetime management of atherosclerosis

> BCS with the British Heart Foundation - Access to Cardiac Care in the UK report

Webcasts of the major sessions at the Conference are available for members to view on the BCS website (www.bcs.com).

The Wednesday programme focussed on Cardiac Rhythm Management to attract delegates interested in this area who might only be able to attend for a day. Led by our Affiliated Group Heart Rhythm UK, the day included sessions on Atrial Fibrillation - improving

Scenes from the Exhibition ACE09 Lecture ACE09 Simulator ACE09

4041


> The popular “How to” sessions will return to this years’ ACE, but will be held in larger theatres to allow for the high number of attendees that these sessions attract. This years’ topics include the following:

- How to deal with EP in the ER

- How to image the aorta

- How to assess risk before cardiac surgery

- How to deal with asymptomatic valve disease

- How to interpret and critically appraise a clinical trial.

> The educational content of the ACE 2010 has been based on the new European Curriculum, and includes a Trainee day that will have a session from the SAC as well as covering a wide variety of topics such as Cardiac Operations, Cardiac Fitness to Fly, Nuclear Cardiology, Valve Treatment and the Athletes Heart. The ACE 2010 will give attendees the opportunity to gain CPD points and review the general cardiovascular knowledge that will be required for revalidation.

> A new highlight will be Educational Spotlight sessions where the focus will be on different topics, each fitting to a 90 minute session. These Spotlights are designed to be digestible education presented in a dynamic format and with robust evidence based take home messages.

> As well as its’ great educational content, the ACE 2010 offers attendees a great opportunity to meet colleagues from other centres and hospitals to review and share experiences and to enjoy a night at the BCS Annual Dinner! This year’s Annual Dinner will be held at the Manchester Town Hall, with entertainment from magicians and a jazz band. During the Annual Dinner, the President of BCS will give out the BCS Awards and Prizes that are made each year. These include the Young Research Workers Prizes (Basic and Clinical) to recognise excellence among young researchers intending to pursue a career in cardiovascular clinical medicine or research, the Michael Davies Early Career Award to honour researchers who have recently established themselves as independent investigators and who have made an outstanding contribution to cardiovascular science, and the MacKenzie Medals given as recognition of outstanding service to British Cardiology.

> At this years’ event there will be a linked meeting with British Atherosclerosis Society and British Society for Cardiovascular Research at the ACE 2010. This joint initiative will include hot topics and developments in cardiovascular research, the Young Investigator award and the BAS John French lecture.

2010 Annual Conference and Exhibition

2010 SEES OUR 88TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND ExHIBITION, A THREE DAy MEETING OF

EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC INTEREST IN CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE. THE EVENT

WILL BE HELD IN THE NEWLy RENOVATED MANCHESTER CENTRAL. THE CONFERENCE

PROGRAMME HAS A THEME OF CASE BASED PRESENTATIONS INTERSPERSED WITH

PLENARy SESSIONS OF A CLINICAL, SCIENTIFIC AND TRANSLATIONAL NATURE.

> The keynote lectures this year will be given by Prof David Crossman (the BCS/RCP Lecture supported by the Joy Edelman Legacy, ‘New discoveries and their translation to man’), Dr Edward Rowland (BCS Lecture, ‘Managing the cardiac rhythms of life’), Prof Patrick Serruys (Thomas Lewis lecture, ‘Biodegradable drug eluting stent or vascular restoration therapy for percutaneous revascularization’) and Prof Keith Fox (‘From the cell to the bedside’, a symposium in the memory of Philip Poole-Wilson).

> The exhibition will showcase the latest developments in cardiovascular medicine and new technologies. Stands from over 80 companies from the wide arena of Cardiovascular medicine will be present, making our Exhibition the largest in Cardiovascular medicine in the UK. Following on from developments at last years’ event, the Exhibition will include greater number of educational activities such as:

> Moderated Posters

> “Meet the Experts” An innovation of the 2009 Exhibition, these sessions provide “snapshots” of good clinical advice in interesting or difficult areas of clinical practice. Topics in 2010 will include:

- Pacing the poor ventricle: who, when and where

- VT Ablation; Underused or oversold?

- Assessing Aortic Valve Disease in the era of percutaneous treatment

> Cardiac simulator training with opportunities for all to try their hand at the latest equipment available from TOE to Harvey

BCS Annual Dinner

AnnuAl ConferenCe And exhibition 2011

13 to 15 June, at Manchester Central

Free registration for BCS Members by the early bird deadline 31 March 2011.

Abstract submission deadline 1 December 2010.

www.bcs.com

1673 ACE2911v1_advert_4press.indd 1 29/4/10 11:14:41

42> On Monday 7 June, PCCS will be holding afternoon sessions for their members on

Cardiovascular Guidelines.

> The Future of Cardiac Commissioning – a one day symposium for commissioners and managers on Wednesday 9th June developed in conjunction with the Department of Health and NHS Improvement, focussing the challenges of commissioning quality services and showcasing the very latest developments in this area.

Members of the British Cardiovascular Society can register for their place at the ACE 2010 free before the end of March each year. For online registration and full details of the programme, go to www.bcs.com

BCS Annual Awards 2009During the Annual Dinner, the President of BCS gave out the BCS Awards and Prizes which

are made each year. These included the Young Research Workers Prizes (Basic and Clinical) to recognise excellence among young researchers intending to pursue a career in cardiovascular clinical medicine or research, the Michael Davies Early Career Award to honour researchers who have recently established themselves as independent investigators and who have made an outstanding contribution to cardiovascular science, and the MacKenzie Medals given as recognition of outstanding service to British Cardiology. The 2009 winners were:

> Young Research Workers Prize Clinical - Dr Nicola Edwards

> Young Research Workers Prize Basic - Dr Rizwan Sarwar and Dr Alexander Lyon (joint winners)

> Michael Davies Early Career Award - Dr Costanza Emanueli

> MacKenzie Medals - Prof Roger Hall and Dr John Birkhead

Dr Boon presenting the Michael Davies Award to Dr Costanza Emanueli


45

44 Arrhythmia Alliance (A-A)Founder and Trustee: Mrs Trudie Lobban MBE

ARRHyTHMIA ALLIANCE IS AN INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION, STRIVING TO IMPROVE

THE TREATMENT, CARE AND qUALITy OF LIFE FOR THE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE SUFFERING

WITH ARRHyTHMIAS AROUND THE GLOBE. WE AIM TO REDRESS THE BALANCE IN

HEALTHCARE STANDARDS By PROVIDING SUPPORT, INFORMATION AND ADVICE TO ALL

THOSE INVOLVED IN MANAGING THE CARE AND TREATMENT OF PATIENTS, FROM FAMILy

AND CARERS TO MEDICAL AND HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS.

2009 proved to be another successful year for Arrhythmia Alliance. Our annual events experienced extraordinary success with a record number of delegates attending the Heart Rhythm Congress and the most events ever held for Arrhythmia Awareness Week (AAAW) across the length and breadth of the UK. Through active presence at events and conferences internationally, increased media coverage and the expansion of all our work at a grassroots level, Arrhythmia Alliance has seen a remarkable rise in the awareness of the organisation and its projects and campaigns.

Arrhythmia Awareness Week 2009 was launched at The House of Commons on the 8th June and set the tone for the week, with over 1100 events held across the UK, and countless more internationally. The message of ‘Know Your Pulse’ proved successful, with over 250,000 Pulse Check Cards distributed during the week. Arrhythmia Alliance encourage routine pulse checks with the aim that they become as common as blood pressure and weight checks. Running in conjunction with AAAW, is the international awareness week; World Heart Rhythm Week (WHRW). The week brings together our partner organisations, affiliates, individuals and organisations from across the globe to highlight arrhythmias on an international scale. The week centred on the same informative message of ‘Know Your Pulse’ and over 100,000 Pulse Check Cards were distributed internationally.

Arrhythmia Awareness Week and World Heart Rhythm Week 2010 will be held between the 7th and 13th of June, continuing the theme of ‘Know Your Pulse’. AAAW will concentrate on raising the profile of the charity and this routine health procedure by holding regional events targeting the general public. With the addition of international partners to Arrhythmia Alliance, WHRW will have the opportunity for outreach and awareness at a local level in many countries.

The fourth annual Heart Rhythm Congress was held at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole Hotel. The conference played host to presentations, symposiums and lively debates centred on cardiac

Affiliated Groups Reports

Founder and Trustee:Mrs Trudie Lobban

MBE

4647


British Association for Cardiac Rehabilitation (BACR)President: Dr John Buckley

BACR HAS MOVED TOWARDS ENHANCING THE PREVIOUS

ACHIEVEMENTS LED By PAST PRESIDENT PROFESSOR

PATRICk DOHERTy, WITH A NEW CARE PLAN IN PLACE, WHICH

STANDS FOR C = CONTINUING THE NATIONAL CAMPAIGN,

A = AUGMENTING ITS PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION THROUGH

EDUCATION, TRAINING AND INCREASING THE PROFILE OF

THESE SERVICES, R = REACHING OUT TO OTHER GROUPS

AND ASSOCIATIONS WITH A COMMON INTEREST IN THE

PREVENTION AND REHABILITATION OF PEOPLE AT RISk OF OR

LIVING WITH DISEASES OF THE HEART AND CIRCULATION, AND

E = ENGAGING MORE WITH ITS MEMBERS.

BACR is a membership organisation, and the current council are now focussed on enhancing their ability to hear and communicate better with the members they represent, putting them at the heart of the future developments.

The infrastructure of the Council has been formalised by having an Executive Coordinating Group (ECG) made up of the President, President Elect, Treasurer, Secretary and Scientific Officer. From this stem three core committees of Membership and Communications, Education and Training, and Conferences. Each committee has a Chair from the elected officers and it is the role of the ECG to ensure these three groups work in an integrated way.

It has been another highly active year with a successful conference in Birmingham in October, 2009, the Education programme continues to attract large numbers attending one or two-day study days in addition to the 10th year of operation of the Exercise Instructor Qualification which has acted as a prototype of many of the new exercise qualifications being developed for the health and fitness industry for other clinical populations.

This is not to say that everything is good and the job is done. On the contrary the job is just coming out of the starting blocks, with some serious challenges ahead, mainly highlighted by the BHF National Audit for Cardiac Rehabilitation. These include:

arrhythmias and optimising care. The most popular item agenda was the dynamic cases and traces session, with enthusiastic speakers and an energetic discussion. With a larger exhibition and greater attendance than ever before, hopes are high for next year’s event.

Arrhythmia Alliance held regional meetings in 8 areas of the UK in 2009, with an average of 100 delegates per meeting. Covering popular topics, the meetings were of great interest for both patients and medical professionals. In 2010, Arrhythmia Alliance will hold 22 meetings across the UK for patients and medical professionals. Patients will be provided with information on how to get the best out of local services as well as an opportunity to ask questions. Medical professionals will hear experts talk on topical issues such as anticoagulation and the latest ESC guidelines.

The Restart the Heart initiative has proved successful both in the UK, and internationally, the project has gained approval from Ambulance Services, allowing the life saving equipment to go live. AEDs have been placed across the UK and more recently towns in Warwickshire have become ‘heart safe’ with equipment placed in high footfall areas.

In response to the hundreds of thousands of phone calls and e-mails for support throughout the year, Arrhythmia Alliance plans to develop ‘The Heart Rhythm Charity’, the patient arm of the organisation, more extensively in the coming year. A 2009 Patient Newsletter has already been written and distributed with a great response. This focused newsletter will become a regular feature as further resources are developed, including a range of children’s information booklets to inform and reassure the child of their condition and relevant treatments.

Arrhythmia Alliance has exciting plans for 2010 and will build upon previous successes to ensure the patient’s voice remains the focus of our work. Through international projects, campaigns and events we will strive to improve the diagnosis, treatment and care for patients with cardiac arrhythmias.

Trudie Lobban receiving MBE

Dr john Buckley

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48 The year started with a difficult time, as our incoming President stepped down, leaving the Council with the dilemma as to how to continue the Association’s work. With significant help from the incoming Council members and exceptional administrative support, we have been able to maintain the work of the Association as well as to progress significantly into developing areas.

Representation at international and national events and on Councils, such as the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions (CCNAP) in Europe. Our contribution this year to the BCS Annual Conference and Exhibition is developed in partnership with the SCST, PCCS and BACR, and we are very pleased to be working in collaboration with other BCS affiliate groups.

Members of Council and BANCC members are involved in work in progress, along with members of the BCS and other organisations, to contribute to the development of the new JBS3 guidelines for prevention in cardiovascular disease.

We have also been developing the research interests and focus of the Association, clarifying the contribution made to research of cardiovascular nurses, and taking forward the research agenda.

We continue to be involved in the work of the cardiovascular coalition (CVC), and BANCC members have been approached to contribute to the recent review of the impact of the National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease. We continue to develop our input in to NICE consultations, engaging the membership wherever it is possible to develop our contribution to a broad range of topic areas, and in particular recently the NICE guidance on Chronic Heart Failure, the Management of Chest Pain, and Acute Coronary Syndromes due to be published in 2010.

We have further promoted and developed working with BCS to offer all our members improved access to news and information, and demonstrated the benefits of joint membership. We are further developing collaborative working with other organisations and improving links with the Royal College of Nursing Cardiovascular Nurses’ Network, and continue to work closely with the British Journal of Cardiac Nursing. We were pleased to meet some of our members, and indeed to recruit some new members, at the November 2009 ‘Nurse Led Clinics’ conference held in Manchester, in which we were pleased to have played a significant role in programme development and delivery. We are pleased to be supporting

> Only 38% mean CR uptake nationally

> Too few women getting CR

> Not enough CR services geared to attract ethnic groups

> Only 40% of programmes have a defined business case

> Reduced referral to CR from Primary PCI

> Poor alignment between many Hospital Trusts and PCTs in the delivery of CR

> Too few community based opportunities for CR

> Need for more CR champions to fight for local solutions

> Limited engagement between CR providers and commissioners in some regions

> And the continued challenge of establishing a full CR tariff to aid commissioning

So there is plenty of work ahead but given what we have achieved this year we believe that we have the expertise and desire to achieve even more.

The BACR would like to thank Council members for their dedication and we would also like to thank the BACR members for their unwavering support. We look forward to tackling these new challenges, together, and celebrating success at our annual conference in Liverpool.

There are new challenges for many new faces on Council but there is certainly no lack of enthusiasm to meet the challenges and this should manifest many visual and operational matters being highlighted towards enhancing member services. For more information, contact [email protected]

British Association for Nursing in Cardiovascular Care (BANCC)Acting President and Hon Secretary: Jan Keenan

THE PAST yEAR HAS BEEN AN ExCEPTIONALLy BUSy TIME FOR BANCC, IN PARTICULAR

IN OUR REDOUBLED EFFORTS TO ENGAGE THE MEMBERSHIP IN CONTRIBUTING TO THE

WORk OF THE ASSOCIATION, AS WELL AS CONTINUING TO DEVELOP WAyS IN WHICH WE

CAN PROVIDE ‘ADDED VALUE’ TO THE MEMBERSHIP.

Acting President and Hon Secretary: Jan Keenan

BACR Conference 2009

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British Congenital Cardiac Association (BCCA)President: Dr Shak Qureshi

SHAk qURESHI (EVELINA CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL, LONDON) REPLACED BILL

BRAWN AS PRESIDENT OF THE BCCA AT THE AGM IN LIVERPOOL IN NOVEMBER

WITH TONy SALMON (SOUTHAMPTON) ELECTED AS VICE PRESIDENT TO TAkE OVER

AS PRESIDENT FROM SHAk IN NOVEMBER 2011.

The ongoing issue of rationalisation of paediatric cardiac services continues to provide a backdrop for much of the association’s efforts over the last 12 months. The BCCA’s position remains supportive of changes that will improve the care of patients with congenital heart disease, provided rationalisation is supported with sufficient financial and logistic resources. As a result of dialogue about the future of congenital cardiac services, the association has invested considerable time developing written standards and guidelines over recent months for best practice in the care of our patients, including those defining the role of DGH’s in the outpatient care of paediatric cardiac patients, standards for tertiary fetal cardiac services, standards for fetal cardiac screening (feeding into the DH fetal anomaly screening programme) and in conjunction with our colleagues in BCIS as well as the society as a whole, guidelines for trans-catheter intervention in adult patients with congenital heart disease. We continue to take our responsibilities to the growing adult congenital heart disease population very seriously. The BCCA has been involved in a number of important recent projects to positively shape services for these patients including the “GUCH” guide, and guidelines designed to promote high quality care for adult congenital heart disease patients.

We were involved in the British Cardiovascular Society’s Annual Conference and Exhibition last year with well supported sessions on holistic management of congenital heart disease and the management of coarctation of the aorta, as well as BCCA contributions to the interactive educational feel of the meeting. This year will see BCCA sessions on Tetralogy of Fallot and genetic cardiac disease. The 2009 BCCA Annual General Meeting was held in Liverpool in November in the fabulous surroundings of St George’s Hall. The standard of organisation and lectures at the BCCA Annual Meetings continues to be consistently of the highest standard, this year dealing with topical issues such as aortic and mitral valve repair, inherited arrhythmia and adult congenital intervention with an international faculty including Lee Benson from Toronto and Yves D’Udekem from Melbourne. Next year’s meeting will be in Winchester under the auspices of the Southampton congenital cardiac unit. In addition to the BCS and BCCA meetings, a third BCCA endorsed meeting

the RCN’s ‘Nursing Counts’ campaign, calling for the protection of specialist nurses in the run-up to the 2010 general election.

For further information about the work of the Association, contact Jan Keenan, Acting President and Hon. Secretary via e-mail at; [email protected]

British Atherosclerosis Society (BAS) Chair: Prof Dorian Haskard

THE BRITISH ATHEROSCLEROSIS SOCIETy (BAS) HOLDS TWO MEETING A yEAR, IN SPRING

AND AUTUMN. MEETINGS ARE HELD OVER TWO DAyS, AND ARE ATTENDED By 100-150

DELEGATES. PROGRAMMES ARE CENTRED ON A THEME, AND AIM TO INTEGRATE BASIC

SCIENCE WITH CLINICAL TRANSLATION.

In 2009, a combined Spring Meeting was held with the British Society for Cardiovascular Research at St Catherine’s College Oxford and included oral presentations on the topic of atherosclerotic plaque rupture, posters, the John French Lecture (delivered by Dr Robin Choudhury, University of Oxford) and the Michael Davies Young Investigator Award (sponsored by the BHF). The Autumn meeting was held at Queens’ College Cambridge and focused on the genetics of complex diseases. The Hugh Sinclair Lecture was delivered by Prof Leena Peltonen, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge.

The next meeting of the BAS will be a combined meeting “New Frontiers in Cardiovascular Research” with the British Society for Cardiovascular Research on June 7th-8th in Manchester, embedded in the BCS Annual Conference and Exhibition.

Further details from http://www.britathsoc.org

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53

52Reflecting this breadth and volume of activity, the Society

has adopted a new infrastructure and constitution, allowing the development of individual Working Groups dedicated to specific task areas (Administration, Research, Clinical Standards, Professional Standards, Programmes, Training & Education, Data Monitoring & Analysis). These groups will allow distribution of the substantial workload currently undertaken by the Council and greater involvement of the general membership in the running of the Society. Legal restructuring will also address the wider scope of activities adopted since drafting of the original Constitution over 10 years ago and provide a more robust framework for the site visit programme and matters relating to individual and institutional clinical governance.

These developments have been achieved in parallel with stronger interaction with the BCS, the Department of Health, NICE and international bodies. In response to national calls, BCIS has invigorated its process of peer review in partnership with The Department of Health to ensure sustained improvement in the quality of patient care. The huge physical and geographical expansion of PCI activity over the past decade requires careful regulation, particularly with reference to the periprocedural care of patients. New site visits continue apace and a programme of revisits for fledging sites has been adopted to ensure sustained compliance with agreed standards. Systematic monitoring by annual BCIS PCI audit and scrutiny of clinical outcomes via links with the Central Cardiac Audit Database are in a state of rapid evolution. Risk adjusted institutional outcomes are now available and in depth statistical analysis of collected UK experience is now planned with a view to publication in mainstream international journals. Expansion of this audit activity into the field of non-coronary intervention and linkage with newly established European databases is also anticipated.

deserves mention and the support of BCS members. The 6th national Adult Congenital Heart Disease Symposium was held in York in May, providing a necessary forum for those interested in this growing sub-speciality of adult congenital heart disease in the UK.

The CCAD project enters its 10th year and remains the only international externally validated outcome database of which members of the BCCA are justifiably proud. Data is openly available to the public and recently individual operators have been able to view their own results against national datasets. Hopefully this sort of personal outcome data will provide assistance for some members of the BCCA when revalidation finally hits us, a matter of increasing anxiety for small but diverse organisations such as ours!

Although there are many issues facing members of the BCCA, not least understandable anxiety surrounding the ongoing rationalisation process against the backdrop of a growing public sector deficit, the BCCA remains a vigorous and growing association with well over 350 members drawn from all professional groups with an interest in the care of patients with congenital heart disease. The paediatric cardiac review is due to complete in 2010, so next year’s report will no doubt be an interesting one!

John ThomsonHonorary Secretary

British Cardiovascular Intervention Society (BCIS)President: Dr Mark de Belder Honorary Secretary: Dr Bernard Prendergast

THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL STANDING OF BCIS IN THE FIELDS OF EDUCATION,

RESEARCH AND MAINTENANCE OF THE HIGHEST CLINICAL STANDARDS OF

INTERVENTIONAL PRACTICE CONTINUE TO PROSPER.

A multidisciplinary membership of over 1000 and an ever broadening agenda of responsibilities present exciting challenges to the Society within this continually advancing subspecialty of cardiology. Major developments in the past year include the sustained rise in rates of revascularisation (with continuing excellent outcomes demonstrated via the Central Cardiac Audit Database), the further expansion of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) into non-surgical centres, the nationwide rollout of primary angioplasty for the immediate treatment of acute myocardial infarction (24 hours a day, 365 days per year) and further development of percutaneous techniques for the treatment of valvular and other structural heart disease.

President: Dr Mark de Belder

Live Case at BCIS 2010

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In order to engage with the various training bodies and subspecialist societies, we represent trainees at the committees of the BCS, SAC, BCIS, BSE, BSCMR, Heart Rhythm (UK) and the BMA.

The 2009 BJCA annual conference held at Coventry attracted more than 100 trainees with excellent feedback. The trainees’ session at the Advanced Cardiovascular Intervention 2010 on additional skills for the aspiring interventionist was very well received.

In an attempt to encourage trainee participation at national conferences, the BJCA is collaborating with other BCS affiliated groups in organising joint meetings. The Basic Cardiovascular Intervention meeting aimed at early interventional trainees is being organised by the BJCA and BCIS and will be held at Manchester in May this year.

This year the annual trainees’ survey was carried out with a special section on career intentions. We intend to present the findings of this survey at the forthcoming BCS annual conference.

The BJCA pages on the BCS website have become a valuable resource for trainees. Information related to training and education including courses and events, fellowship schemes, training issues and clinical guidelines is regularly updated.

For more information on the BJCA contact: [email protected]

BCIS is instrumental in the maintenance of training programmes for PCI in the UK and places increasing emphasis on education within the annual meeting structure. Further elaboration of basic scientific and clinically orientated research in the field of intervention is anticipated in future years in collaboration with the newly established UK Clinical Research Network. In addition to its mainstream contribution to the BCS Annual Conference and Exhibition, BCIS hosts two popular national meetings each year. The 2009 Autumn Meeting held in Bournemouth attracted over 300 delegates with a varied programme. The annual January meeting, “Advanced Cardiovascular Intervention”, attracted almost 1000 delegates with an opening day of live case transmissions hosted by Dr Andreas Baumbach at The Bristol Heart Institute, followed by two days of didactic presentations (including keynote lectures by Dr John Webb, Vancouver, Canada, Dr Dariusz Dudek, Krakow, Poland and Alexandre Abizaid, Sao Paulo, Brazil), debate and the ever popular interactive angioplasty review sessions. The increasing standing of BCIS on the world stage was also recognised in its continuing contribution to international collaborative research, its established educational presence at key global events (notably EuroPCR and TCT, the premier European and US interventional meetings) and ongoing collaboration with the US-based Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. 2010 and 2011 will be further busy years!

British Junior Cardiologists’ Association (BJCA)President: Dr Tushar Raina

THE BjCA HAS CONTINUED TO PROMOTE THE INTERESTS AND VOICE THE CONCERNS OF

CARDIOLOGy TRAINEES IN THE Uk. OUR MEMBERSHIP HAS GROWN AND NOW STANDS AT

750 TRAINEES WHICH INCLUDES ALL SPRS AND ST3+ TRAINEES, LATS AND CARDIOLOGy

RESEARCH FELLOWS. EACH REGION HAS 2 ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES WHO ENSURE

THAT INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH TRAINEE SURVEyS, LOCAL DISCUSSIONS AND

PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS THE OPINIONS ExPRESSED By

THE BjCA AT VARIOUS FORA.

BCIS January 2010 BJCA annual conference in Coventry, November 2009

President: Dr Tushar Raina

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56 there is any softening in the reliance on advanced imaging techniques. A detailed physics session looked at new techniques to provide absolute flow quantitation with SPECT and also how to reduce radiation doses with resolution recovery software.

The new decade provides new challenges; the well documented problems with the UK economy and the expected budget cuts within the NHS will promote efficiency drives. Nuclear Cardiology is well placed to provide a cost effective, evidence based, high throughput and efficient service.

British Society of Cardiovascular Imaging (BSCI)President: Dr Roger W Bury

THE BSCI CONTINUES TO GROW AND OUR AFFILIATION TO THE BCS HAS STRENGTHENED.

THE SOCIETy AIMS TO REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF RADIOLOGISTS AND CARDIOLOGISTS

AT BOTH MEMBERSHIP AND COMMITTEE LEVEL.

I would like to thank our Past President, Charles Peebles, for his hard work in placing the BSCI on such a firm foundation. Charles strongly encouraged the affiliation with the BCS and I would like to continue to encourage cardiologists to become involved with the BSCI at all levels. Medicine is rapidly changing from the clear divisions of individual specialities to a merging of specialities into clinical teams that are able to provide the most holistic care for our patients. As a multi-modality cardiovascular imaging society we are ideally placed to be actively involved in giving advice on cardiovascular imaging to the DoH, Royal Colleges, cardiac networks and individual hospitals.

The success of employing a professional administrator (BioMedEx) continues with the administration of the Society being further streamlined allowing the committee to focus on more pressing issues that we face. BioMedex has also allowed our website @ www.bsci.org.uk to be developed and provide useful information on cardiovascular imaging for both members and non-members. Contributions - such interesting cases are encouraged.

Dr Charles Peebles and Dr Stephen Harden hosted our 2009 Annual General Meeting, in Southampton. This meeting, held in the very impressive teaching facilities at Southampton University Hospital, included live demonstrations of CMR viability imaging, real time teaching on cardiac CT and a very entertaining lecture on Nuclear functional imaging.

Our Autumn meeting was held in conjunction with the RCR at the Geographical Society in London and was entitled “Hot Topics and Controversies in Cardiac Imaging”. This well attended conference covered wide ranging topics within Cardiac CT & MR.

British Nuclear Cardiology Society (BNCS)President: Dr Catherine Dickinson

2009 HAS BEEN A BUSy yEAR FOR NUCLEAR CARDIOLOGy. CONTINUING DEMANDS ON

DEPARTMENTS STRIVING FOR SHORTER WAITING TIMES HAS RESULTED IN INNOVATIVE

METHODS OF SERVICE DELIVERy. NUCLEAR CARDIOLOGy REMAINS THE WORkHORSE

FOR ISCHAEMIA AND VIABILITy TESTING THROUGHOUT THE Uk. ExPANSION IN SERVICES

ALLIED WITH INCREASING INTEREST FROM CARDIOLOGy, NUCLEAR MEDICINE AND

RADIOLOGy TRAINEES BODES WELL FOR THE FUTURE OF NUCLEAR CARDIOLOGy

One of the greatest challenges for the society in 2009 was reviewing the mammoth draft NICE chest pain guidelines. The weighty tome looks to completely revolutionise the method of assessing chest pain patients with increasing reliance on functional ischaemia testing. If ratified, then this will prove to be a significant test for Nuclear Cardiology services throughout the UK. Coupled with shortages in the provision of molybdenum generators, this will prove to be the biggest challenge for 2010. Optimism that supply chains would be secured in late 2009 has been knocked by delays in modernising reactors. On a brighter note, new gamma cameras using solid state technology became available in 2009; this is a huge evolutionary step in SPECT imaging which will revolutionise the way Nuclear Cardiology is practised in the future.

The International Congress in Nuclear Cardiology (ICNC) meeting in Barcelona was well attended with good UK representation. For the first time the meeting included Cardiac CT and its complementary role with Nuclear Cardiology. The results of the ADMIRE-HF study were discussed in detail and stimulated much interest in risk stratification with MIBG imaging. At the Annual Scientific Conference of the BCS there were two BNCS sponsored sessions. In the multi-modality imaging session, Dr Parti Arumugam of the Manchester Royal Infirmary presented a case whereby Nuclear Cardiology techniques proved instrumental in determining hibernating myocardium and predicted functional recovery post CABG. The second session considered the results of the ERASE trial and the feasibility of setting up an acute chest pain imaging services using Nuclear Cardiology techniques. This is clearly a challenge for acute hospitals to administer, however the clinical and financial rewards may be great.

At our annual meeting we spent a productive session looking at risk stratification in peri-operative and heart failure patients. Professor Hugh Montgomery from the Whittington Hospital gave an entertaining lecture on the benefits of Cardio-Pulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) in these patients. The draft NICE guidelines were discussed in detail again - we will see if

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British Society of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (BSCMR)Chair: Prof Stefan Neubauer

THE BSCMR CONTINUES TO GROW AND NOW HAS OVER 120 MEMBERS.

The aims of the Society are to:

> promote clinical practice and research into cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and to disseminate the useful results of such research

> further the advancement of education in CMR for the public benefit

We hold an annual Society meeting, and also contribute scientific and educational sessions to the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) Annual Conference & Exhibition (ACE).

The 4th BSCMR Annual Meeting, held in Oxford in March 2009, was another great success. The participant numbers at this meeting increased significantly compared with the previous meeting in 2008, to 120, as did the number of companies exhibiting, to 8. The CMR Investigators’ Prize and posters evoked great interest, with over 45 abstracts submitted, and the Society will continue with this initiative as an integral part of the programme in the future. The award winners were as follows: 1st Dr Daniel Stuckley (Oxford); 2nd Dr Alistair Lindsay (Oxford); 3rd Dr Paul Foley (Birmingham); 4th Dr Chiara Bucciarelli-Ducci (London).

The 5th BSCMR Annual Meeting will take place in London on 24 March 2010, and will include the popular ‘Read cases with the experts’ sessions.

At the BCS ACE in June 2009, the BSCMR was involved with three sessions:

> Imaging in coronary artery disease

> Assessing LV function

> Read with the expert

The BSCMR was, and continues to be, actively involved with several projects focusing on education, training and clinical practice, including:

> Drafting a policy/recommendations document on delivering a quality service

> Membership of the new BCS Imaging Council

> Involvement with NICE guidelines

> Involvement in the development of a National CMR tariff, providing advice to the DoH

As always, we look forward to continuing our work for the UK CMR community next year. Please visit our website www.bscmr.org for more about the Society and its projects.

Over the last year the BSCI has made significant progress on a number of important ongoing imaging issues:

> The Society has completed a Cardiac CT accreditation document under the leadership of Dr Carl Roobottom. This is a voluntary process to help individuals to ensure they are providing a high quality cardiac CT service in their individual departments

> The problem of appropriate tariffs for Cardiac MR and CT has been highlighted at a number of levels including the DoH. Erika Denton has endorsed a guide document on Cardiac MR tariffs drawn up by the BSCMR & BSCI (see individual websites). Cardiac CT tariffs are a more difficult issue

> Provided a representative to sit on the SNOMED Coding Committee.

> Published a guideline document on “benchmarking” for Cardiac cross sectional imaging, that is an evolving document and should be helpful for our members when job planning and negotiating with managers

> BSCI is represented on the Cardiac Imaging Group initiated by Erika Denton, that has the remit of an overview of cardiac imaging in the UK

The Society has been involved as stakeholders in the recently released NICE guidelines on “Chest pain/discomfort of recent onset” and “Acute Coronary Syndrome”.

A highlight of the last year has been the invitation by Dr Mark de Belder, President of BCIS, for BSCI to submit an imaging session to the BCIS Annual Conference. The BSCI was made extremely welcome and we look forward to further collaboration.

The main issue still facing cardiac imaging, particularly CT and CMR is the lack of training opportunities. This applies to cardiology and radiology trainees in both the core and sub-specialty curricula as well as established consultants wishing to develop new areas of practice. We are continuing to work hard with the RCR and the BCS to address this problem.

With the training issue in mind the BSCI 2010 Annual Conference will be a joint, two day, conference with the Cardiology section of the RSM. The first day will be a training day for cardiac CT. Cardiologists and radiology trainees are to be encouraged to attend.

We look forward to a busy year ahead as we further address the issues raised above.

BSCMR

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The Bulletin

Four issues of the BSCR Bulletin were published.

Chair and BAS Representative:

Chair and BAS Representative:

Dr Christopher Newman

(01/09 - )

University of Sheffield

Secretary:

Dr Christopher Jackson (01/08 - ) University of Bristol

Treasurer:

Dr Michael Curtis (01/08 - ) King’s College, London

Committee Members:

Dr Yvonne Alexander (01/08 - ) University of Manchester

Dr Katrina Bicknell (01/08 - ) University of Reading

Professor Barbara Casadei (01/09 - ) University of Oxford

Dr Alison Cave (01/08 - ) MHRA, London

Dr Andrew Grace (01/09 - ) University of Cambridge

Dr David Grieve (01/08 - ) Queen’s University, Belfast

Dr Derek Hausenloy (01/09 - ) University College, London

Dr Richard Heads (01/09 - ) King’s College, London

Dr Cathy Holt (01/09 - ) University of Manchester

Bulletin Editors:

Dr Nicola Smart (09/99 - ) University College, London

Dr Helen Maddock (09/01 - ) Coventry University

Dr Melanie Madhani

(09/09 - )

University of Birmingham

British Society for Cardiovascular Research (BSCR)Chair: Dr Chris Newman

THIS ANNUAL REPORT COVERS THE ACTIVITIES OF THE BRITISH SOCIETy FOR

CARDIOVASCULAR RESEARCH (BSCR) FOR THE PERIOD 1 APRIL 2009 TO 31 MARCH 2010.

BSCR Main Meetings

There were two main meetings which fell within the period of this report. The Spring 2009 meeting was a joint meeting with the British Atherosclerosis Society in Oxford. Organised by Christopher Jackson, Christopher Newman and Martin Bennett, it focused on “Unstable Atherosclerotic Plaque.” A report of this meeting was published in the BSCR Quarterly Bulletin (Vol. 22, No. 2). The Autumn Meeting, on September 7th-8th and also at the University of Oxford, took as its theme “Myocardial Energetics and Redox in Health and Disease.” An exciting innovation at the meeting was to webcast many of the talks. All are available for download from the Society’s website.

Workshops and Symposia

No workshops were held during the period covered by this report. The Society contributed to a symposium at the BCS Annual Conference in London.

Committee, Officers and Elections

The Committee met on two occasions, on April 2nd at the University of Oxford, and on September 7th at the University of Bristol. There were no changes in committee composition during this period, with the exception of the co-option of Dr Melanie Madhani as a third Bulletin editor. The composition of the Committee is shown in the box on this page.

Annual General Meeting

The AGM took place on September 8th at the University of Oxford. During the AGM the members agreed a new simplified form of the Society’s Constitution.

Sponsorship

The journal, Clinical Science, continued to sponsor a Young Investigator Award of £250, given at each meeting for a best poster presentation. The Society is also grateful for educational grants from Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, and the British Heart Foundation. The Society has also been in receipt of an extremely generous bequest from the estate of the late Bernard and Joan Marshall. The bequest will be used to fund new prizes and also the costs associated with having an especially distinguished lecturer at each Autumn meeting.

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An important initiative for 2009, to be completed in 2010, was the development of an improved, online process for BSE Departmental Accreditation. This includes the publication of quality standards for echocardiography departments together with an assessment process (including site inspections). We have received vital support from the British Heart Foundation in terms of logistic and financial support for this process - the latest in a growing number of extremely successful collaborations between BSE and BHF that also includes BHF/BSE publications (Reference Value posters and pocket books), BHF Echo Trainees.

The annual BSE Conference was held at the new Liverpool Conference Centre in October 2009. Our year on year growth in delegate attendance continues, with a record 719 attendees. In addition, we repeated the successful Advanced Imaging Day at the Royal Society of Medicine, in March 2009, and will do so again in March 2010.

Current BSE membership stands at 2654.

BSE Officers:

President: Dr Navroz Masani

Past President: Dr Simon Ray

Vice-President: Dr Helen Rimington

Secretary: Ms Jane Allen

Treasurer: Ms Tracy Ryan

Administrator: Ms Dawn Appleby

Chairman, Accreditation Committee: Dr Ranjit More

Chairman, Education Committee: Dr Rick Steeds

Chairman, Communications Committee (2010): Dr Guy Lloyd

British Society of Echocardiography (BSE)President: Dr Navros Masani

FOR THE BRITISH SOCIETy OF ECHOCARDIOGRAPHy, 2009

WAS A yEAR OF PROGRESSION AND CONSOLIDATION OF

ExISTING PROjECTS, AS WELL AS THE DEVELOPMENT OF

NEW INITIATIVES AND PARTNERSHIPS. CORE ACTIVITy OF

THE BSE REMAINS CENTRED AROUND (I) ExAMINATIONS,

ACCREDITATION AND RE-ACCREDITATION IN TRANSTHORACIC

AND TRANSOESOPHAGEAL ECHOCARDIOGRAPHy (II)

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITy SUCH AS GUIDELINES AND

RECOMMENDATIONS (III) THE ANNUAL BSE CONFERENCE AND

(IV) REPRESENTATION OF THE INTERESTS OF OUR MEMBERS IN

DISCUSSIONS WITH PROFESSIONAL AND POLITICAL BODIES.

In 2009, 209 individuals (cardiac physiologists, echocardiographers and cardiologists) achieved accreditation in transthoracic echocardiography bringing the total number of TTE Accredited members to 1072. 22 gained accreditation in transoesophageal echocardiography (cardiologists, anaesthetists and cardiac physiologists - in collaboration with ACTA) and there are now 92 members holding TOE Accreditation. A further 3 were accredited in community echocardiography (GP’s) bringing that total to 11. In 2010, a mechanism of paediatric echocardiography re-accreditation (BSE no longer runs an accreditation process for paediatric echocardiography) has been agreed with the European Association of Echocardiography for our members.

New partnerships have been forged with the Intensive Care Society, to develop Accreditation in Critical Care Echocardiography, focussing on the areas of the echocardiography syllabus most relevant to this sub-specialty. We expect to run the inaugural examination in 2010 followed by further assessments by logbook, supervisor reports and video casebook in a process identical to our other accreditations. In a separate initiative, the organisers of FEEL(UK) - Focussed Echocardiographic Evaluation in Life Support - held a study day at the 2009 BSE Conference and we will continue to support this process.

President: Dr Navros Masani

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64 BCS Annual Conference and Exhibition 2009

The Society was involved with four successful sessions at the BCS Annual Conference and Exhibition 2009, in collaboration with other BCS Affiliated Groups. Programme titles included:

1. Assessing LV function (Joint session BSE/BSCMR/BSH/BSCI)

2. Heart failure or heart success (Joint session BSH/BANCC/HCPUK/BACR)

3. Devices – pacemakers, ICD and CRT (Joint session HR-UK/BSH)

4. Advanced heart failure: an evidence-based approach or a need for evidence? (Joint session BSH/BCIS/BSCR)

A report from these meetings was published as a BSH Newsletter (issue 24), and circulated to members, and is also available on the BSH website.

BSH Trainee Meeting 2009

A new and important event in the BSH meeting calendar was the BSH Trainee Meeting, held on 22 April 2009. The training day was specifically designed for SpRs to meet the educational needs of the heart failure component of the core curriculum in cardiovascular medicine, as well as the needs for advanced training in heart failure. It also provided a comprehensive overview of heart failure for trainees in internal medicine and care of the elderly, and GPSIs.

This one day meeting was held in the National Heart and Lung Institute and was attended by around 70 participants. The meeting was highly valued by those who attended, who felt the quality of the programme and calibre of speakers was extremely high. There was a strong demand from participants for the meeting to be repeated in future years.

Initiatives and collaboration with other groups

In addition to our meetings, the BSH has also been involved in a number of important initiatives and collaborations during the past year, including:

> The National Heart Failure Audit, launched in July 2007, remains an extremely important initiative for the BSH. It was developed jointly by the BSH and The NHS Information Centre for health and social care (The IC), by whom it is managed, and was commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP)

The heart failure audit provides information on heart failure treatment across the UK, including patient profiles, length of hospital admission, interventions, medication and outcomes

The audit is now providing reliable information to help clinicians, boards and commissioners to continually measure and improve care by comparing services

British Society for Heart Failure (BSH)Chair: Dr Theresa McDonagh

THE PAST yEAR HAS BEEN A BUSy ONE FOR THE SOCIETy, WITH THE INTRODUCTION

OF A NEW EVENT IN THE MEETINGS CALENDAR, THE SPR TRAINEE MEETING, AS WELL

AS A FULL TWO DAy ANNUAL AUTUMN MEETING AND SESSIONS AT BCS. WE NOW HAVE

OVER 750 MEMBERS AND A NEW BOARD WAS ELECTED AND OBSERVERS FROM OTHER

DISCIPLINES RECRUITED IN jUNE 2009.

12th Annual Autumn Meeting 2009

This meeting was, once again, the highlight for BSH in 2009. Held on 26–27 November at the Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre in Westminster, London, the meeting was entitled ‘Heart failure - step-by step guide to care of a complex syndrome’. For the second year, this meeting was held over two full days, which continued to be popular with both delegates and exhibitors. The meeting was attended by a large multi-disciplinary audience over 400 participants including some international delegates.

The primary aim of the meeting was to suggest solutions for the complex syndrome of heart failure. It first set the scene by looking at how we manage and structure heart failure care across primary, secondary and tertiary care in the UK. Data presented showed that we are still a long way from delivering optimal care. The next section of the meeting was dedicated to suggesting how we can move forward. Difficult areas were tackled and we looked at updates in therapeutics and devices which have occurred recently. Co-morbidities contribute to the complexity of heart failure and this meeting examined them and their management in some detail.

The meeting also included the inaugural Philip Poole-Wilson Memorial Lecture, given by Professor Henry Dargie. Mrs Mary Poole-Wilson presented Professor Dargie with a medal, honoring his tremendous contribution to the area of heart failure over many years.

A report from the meeting has recently been published as a BSH newsletter (issue 25 - available on the BSH website, www.bsh.org.uk) and articles have been submitted to several relevant journals.

Mrs Mary Poole-Wilson and Prof Henry Dargie

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to specific standards and national trends. Information will also help patients make informed decisions about their care and treatment

During the year, the BSH continued to input to the strategy of the audit and helped review results from it, as well as continuing to encourage participation in the audit by members and others via mailings, membership information, the BSH website and at conferences

> The society continued its engagement with the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology to provide information on relevant services in the UK, share good practice and, more recently, to increase awareness of heart failure amongst the general public which will lead to a pan-European Heart Failure Awareness Day in May 2010

> Continued collaboration with the Cardio & Vascular Coalition (CVC), including input to meetings and workshops and providing comments on the white paper, targeted at politicians and policy makers, which was launched on 25 March 2009 at the House of Commons

> Continuing nurse education in partnership with Glasgow Caledonian University and the British Heart Foundation, now also franchised to the University of the West of England

> The BSH provided comments on the topic ‘Heart failure - Chronic’ as part of the NHS Clinical Knowledge Summaries, http://www.cks.nhs.uk/heart_failure_chronic. The knowledge summaries are aimed at healthcare professionals working in primary and first-contact care, and are a reliable source of evidence-based information and practical ‘know how’ about the common conditions managed in primary care

> The BSH endorsed or supported a number of meetings run by other organisations during the year

For more information on the above projects and future plans, please see the BSH website www.bsh.org.uk or contact the BSH Secretariat on [email protected]

Heart Care Partnership (UK) (HCP UK)President: Ken Timmis MBE JP LCIE

SINCE My LAST REPORT WE HAVE AT LONG LAST ACqUIRED CHARITy STATUS AND

I WOULD WISH TO THANk THE OFFICERS OF THE BCS FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE IN

THE PROCESS. THANkS TOO TO LULU HO AND HER PREDECESSORS FOR THE

SPADEWORk INVOLVED.

Further highlights were to hear that Trudie Lobban and Paul Willgoss, both our Trustees and CEO of Arrhythmia Alliance and respected advocate of GUCH respectively, had received well earned MBEs in the Queen’s honours list. Congratulations Trudie and Paul, you both deserve it.

We were all saddened at the last AGM, when we had to accept the resignation of Anne Jolly as Secretary. Anne had done a sterling job over the years of her tenure, keeping us in order and expanding our work in addition to running her own organisation. Anne continues to work with us as a Trustee and for that we are grateful. Fortunately in Carol Reilly, Black Country Network Manager, we have found a very worthy successor, which has softened the blow somewhat.

During the year two new members have joined our team, adding their expertise to our deliberations and service. Julie Wootton brings her paediatric and congenital expertise on children’s heart problems as Chair of Trustees of Children’s Heart Federation and Max Appeal. This will add a new dimension to our work.

Our second acquisition comes in the form of Dr. Felicity Astin. Felicity is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Healthcare at the University of Leeds. She has a keen interest in raising awareness about the benefit of service user and carer involvement in teaching and research in cardiac care. She is leading funded research (in collaboration with Leeds Acute Trust) to better understand people’s experiences of cardiac interventions. Findings are used to inform service development and develop patient/carer centred information resources. She is currently part of NHS Improvement working group developing information for people recovering from primary angioplasty. We are very fortunate to have her services and contribution.

Our Past President, David Geldard MBE, continues to travel up and down the country for meeting after meeting, which leaves me breathless. He is specialising for the team in Cardiothoracic Surgery, leaving me to cope with the Cardiology side of our work, a split of activities which is proving advantageous to us both. We join forces in our efforts to improve Cardiac Rehabilitation uptake across the nation, both of us having been drafted onto the reference group to inform the development of the cardiac rehabilitation (CR) Commissioning Pack, chaired by Professor Patrick Doherty, Chair of Rehabilitation, York St John University.

Heart Care Partnership(UK)

H

C P

UK

President: Kenneth Timmis

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68I could fill this report with the multitude of activities undertaken by David, but I hope he will forgive me if I resist the temptation as there is so much else to report.

I have also joined a research group, The United Kingdom Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implementation (UK TAVI) Trial, chaired by Dr. William D Toff, Senior Lecturer in Cardiology & Director Leicester Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Leicester. The research project is to assess the clinical and cost effectiveness of TAVI in patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis who are at high operative risk or unsuitable for conventional aortic valve replacement (AVR).

I was privileged last year to be asked by the British Heart Foundation to address a gathering of MPs and Lords in the House of Commons on behalf of heart patients at the Cardio & Vascular Coalition launch of “Destination 2020”, a plan for cardio and vascular health for the next ten years. Also in February of this year I was joined by David Geldard, Anne Jolly and Suzie Hutchinson in Westminster, when the BHF organized a pre-election lobby of MPs, hoping to get Heart Health included in election manifestos.

Through our new Secretary, Carol Reilly, we are beginning to embrace stroke in our curriculum, which adds vascular to our remit. She attended the House of Commons for the launch of a new report from the Stroke Association, “Getting Better: Improving Stroke Services across the UK”. It consists of case studies highlighting best practice, issues and challenges to drive forward stroke care (www.stroke.org.uk). In attendance were Andrew Lansley CBE MP, Shadow Health Secretary and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Stroke, Ann Keen MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health, MPs and stroke representatives, so the “Stroke Voice” is being heard at the highest level.

I never hear the name, Paul Willgoss, without thinking of GUCH for which he gives so much of his time. The service provided to adults with congenital heart disease is in the process of being reviewed and developed, based on the NHS commissioning guide. The Grown Up Congenital Heart Patient Association has been working regionally and nationally to ensure that these processes genuinely reflect the needs of a growing patient base and that they provide a seamless service to which children covered by paediatric services can subscribe. Together with Suzie Hutchinson and Julie Wootton he has been working as part of the user voice within Congenital Cardiac service provision on the safe and sustainable review of England’s paediatric congenital heart surgical care provision which will lead to the finalisation of antenatal and surgical congenital heart disease care standards and a re-organisation of the national service provision. The work has included input on surgical pathway standards, antenatal care and diagnosis standards and sub specialisation of congenital surgery proposals.

Dr Jane Flint continues to champion Women’s Heart Health issues, incorporating the outcome of the Euroheart Work Package 6: ‘Red Alert - Women and Cardiovascular Research in

Europe’ in our final full BCS Report and Recommendations; and also Cardiac Rehabilitation Development this year for presentation at the National Cardiac Conference 2010.

David Geldard has at our request added sexual activity concerns of heart patients to his remit. Liz Clark has been a patient representative on the NICE Chest Pain Guideline which is due for publication in March. She is now on the Angina Guideline. Trudie Lobban continues to be a tireless worker for Arrhythmia Alliance and Peter Diamond continues to work with THRIVE, Suzie Hutchinson, our Treasurer, with Little Hearts Matter and Anne Jolly with SADS UK. All in all we have a very active team for which I, as their President, am truly grateful.

Heart Rhythm (UK) (HR-UK) President: Dr Edward Rowland

WE CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OUR AIMS OF DELIVERING qUALITy AND EqUALITy IN

ARRHyTHMIA CARE.

HRUK is committed to developing professional standards for those who manage and treat patients with cardiac arrhythmias. We recognise that this involves many disciplines in medicine and we must foster closer integration with other professional as well as patient organisations. Education continues as a core activity – this includes training of the next generation of clinical arrhythmia specialists, educating those who come into contact with patients who have heart rhythm abnormalities, and ensuring that these patients have access to the highest quality of care.

During the BCS Annual Conference and Exhibition, HRUK ran sessions throughout a whole day on current and important issues of rhythm management. This is an expanded activity and presence we are keen to continue. We co-hosted the 2009 Heart Rhythm Congress with the Arrhythmia Alliance in October. As a window on our activities this is becoming a major arrhythmia meeting attracting national and international attendees, and is one of the few meetings with a continued increase in the number of participants. Following the success of the initial meeting last year, 2010 will see our second HRUK sponsored workshop for consultants and registrars where a day is spent concentrating on the details of specific arrhythmias.

We have continued the process of developing regional training programmes and the chorus of praise from the trainees for these educational days has been enormously gratifying. We continue to explore ways of devolving these nationally. The training of physiologists involved in heart rhythm management is also a crucial activity, reflecting their increased clinical responsibilities. The HRUK certificate of accreditation exam is an essential part of this training process. Setting the exam requires an enormous amount of work but cannot

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be avoided. I am enormously grateful to the council members and other HRUK members who have committed their time in the last year to bringing the exam up to modern exacting standards. The success of this initiative is evident from the increasing numbers of candidates and interest in the exam from other countries.

We must increasingly demonstrate that what we do is effective, measurable and of the highest quality. Data collection through the Cardiac Rhythm Management part of CCAD remains a core activity to which HRUK remains totally committed. 2009 saw the National Devices Survey report for 2008 published, and during the Heart Rhythm Congress the first reports on quality outcome from the catheter ablation database. It is important here to record our thanks to the other organisations (Department of Health, NHS Improvement, Information Centre, National Devices Survey Group) that have contributed to collating the data and helping HRUK to disseminate the results. The headline figures epitomise the position - while more patients continue to be treated inequality of access to care remains. There is still much to do.

Primary Care Cardiovascular Society (PCCS) Chair: Jan Procter-King

2009 HAS PROVED TO BE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL yEAR yET FOR THE PRIMARy CARE

CARDIOVASCULAR SOCIETy. A kEy FOCUS OF OUR ACTIVITIES HAS BEEN TO ENCOURAGE

AND SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NHS HEALTH CHECkS PROGRAMME.

The PCCS produced a Vascular Risk Toolkit as a comprehensive source of information for those PCTs embarking on the introduction of Health Checks in their local area. We followed this with a series of workshops to encourage key players in the PCT responsible for the Health Checks programme to meet and work together to define roles and responsibilities and develop a plan of action. The PCCS was once again involved in a series of five vascular workshops with Medical Management Services to share initiatives and best practice to facilitate and support the Health Checks roll out programme, and a report was launched at the 2009 PCCS ASM. The PCCS has also been developing and implementing training courses

on cardiovascular risk with the Bradford Training Centre. Working in partnership with Flora ProActiv and HEART UK, the PCCS provided input into a web-based interactive behaviour change programme called ‘activheart’, to help those people found to be at moderate risk following their Health Check to modify their lifestyles. Following on from this work the PCCS won a contract with Unilever to offer Health Checks to their entire workforce.

Apart from the Health Checks programme, the PCCS has worked on another major project in partnership with HEART UK and Pfizer. ‘Follow your Heart’ provides succinct guidance for optimal management of the post-MI patient. It is based on existing official recommendations and was published in the British Journal of Cardiology in July 2009. An important part of this programme is that is contains elements for both the healthcare professional and the patient, to encourage the two parties to work in partnership to improve the care that the post-MI patient receives. Work on this programme and its roll out is continuing.

The PCCS has continued its busy events programme with a second joint meeting in May in Cardiff with the South East Wales Cardiac Network. Also in May the PCCS held its first local Cardiovascular Masterclass in Southampton which was also a great success, a similar meeting took place in Portsmouth later in the year, and further meetings are planned throughout the country. The PCCS also joined forces with the Yorkshire CardioDiabetes Network to jointly host their annual meeting in December in Leeds.

The PCCS held a dedicated day at the British Cardiovascular Society ACE in June 2009 entitled from ‘Vascular Disease - From Cradle to Grave’ which was well supported. The Society had a major role in the National Prevention Meeting at Imperial College in July to launch the start of JBS3. (Joint British Guidelines for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Clinical Practice 3). It also had a dedicated day at the Heart Rhythm Congress in October which was also a great success. Council Members Ahmet Fuat and Kathryn Griffith presented at the RCGP meeting in November. Further joint working with relevant organisations is planned.

The Cardiovascular Nurse Leaders (CVNL) Forum and the GPs with a Special Interest in Cardiology (GPSI) Forum continue to grow and thrive, both groups held their own meetings during the year. In addition a third special interest group, the Cardiovascular

PCCS Annual Meeting 2009

Chair: Ms Jan Procter-King

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72Some of the concerns regarding rotation within the Practitioner Training Programme (PTP) have

been addressed. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) provided additional student numbers (ASN) funding in October in 2009, which would cover the academic portion of the PTP, due to start in September 2010. However, there still needs to be further discussions regarding the funding requirements for the placement component of the PTP. SCST feel it is important that we ensure the outcomes from this programme are fit for purpose within service.

Further discussions are also required for the Scientific Training Programme (STP), which is a key component of MSC as it is the first opportunity for a formalised postgraduate training structure for cardiac physiologists. SCST is actively involved with the British Society of Echocardiography (BSE) and Heart Rhythm-UK (HRUK) in this process. SCST will remain engaged in the process for 2010 to ensure the profession is adequately represented at all levels.

Registration

Throughout 2009, the Registration Council for Clinical Physiologists (RCCP) aggressively promoted the necessity of the much-delayed state registration process. RCCP met with several groups including: parliamentarians, the chief executives of the Royal College of Physicians, Health Professions Council, and Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence, and the Head of Special Projects at the Patients Association to explain the importance of regulation for clinical physiology. However, with the election looming, it is difficult to predict any outcome for the near future.

Cardiac Physiology Trainers funded by British Heart Foundation

All of the ten cardiac physiologist trainer posts funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) were filled in 2009. Close links between the SCST Education Committee and the BHF cardiac physiologist trainers have been developed through the education committee.

Cardiac Catheter Laboratory Course

BHF are also funding up to 25 places on the “Adult Cardiac Catheter Laboratory Practice” graduate certificate, which is aimed at cardiac physiologists, nurses and radiographers who wish to extend their skills across the three disciplines. The course is expected to start in early 2010.

Pharmacists Group (CVPG), has been established and is gradually taking shape. Our joint working with the University of Birmingham’s National College for Anticoagulation Training (NCAT) continues, a highly successful joint meeting in Birmingham was held in April and for the first time an Anticoagulation Management Update took take place on the first day of the PCCS 2009 ASM.

The 2009 PCCS Annual Scientific Meeting and AGM in Nottingham, ‘Making Change Happen’ which took place in October, attracted a record attendance of well over 300 delegates and provided to be the most successful conference in the Society’s 12 year history.

Other highlights of 2009 include a generous grant from the Merck Sharp & Dohme/Schering Plough partnership to rebuild the PCCS website which will be launched early in 2010.

Chair-Elect Kathryn Griffith organized the first PCCS sponsored bike ride from Whitehaven to Sunderland. Fourteen hardy souls cycled 144 miles from coast to coast to raise money for a PCCS research fund to provide grants to facilitate PCCS members to present their work at regional and national meetings.

For more information on the work of the PCCS visit our website www.pccs.org.uk or contact Dr Fran Sivers on [email protected]

Society for Cardiological Science and Technology (SCST)Chairman: Dr Brian Campbell President: Dr Chris Eggett

Education and Training

My thanks to the education committee, which continues to run the part 1 and part 2 undergraduate examinations, and the certificate in electrocardiogram (ECG). I would also like to thank to the exam board and examiners who undertake the work required on a voluntary basis. The education committee is currently working hard to produce guidance for ambulatory ECG and BP for release in 2010.

Modernising of Scientific Careers (MSC)

I cannot mention education without including the Modernising Scientific Careers (MSC) programme. Following the MSC consultation, there were a number of “listening events” run by the Department of Health during 2009 and in the current climate within the NHS, it has proven extremely difficult to ensure adequate representation at all these meetings. However, as this is clearly a landmark in education for the profession, SCST Council and Education Committee have invested the proportionate time required for MSC.

Brian Campbell presenting Keith Johnston (SCST Treasurer), with Honorary lifetime membership of SCST

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Scientific Meetings

The cardiac physiologist’s session was integrated into the BCS Conference in 2009 and was very well attended. The annual general meeting (AGM) did not fare so well with limited numbers in attendance. In response to this SCST will be embedding the AGM within the SCST scientific meeting aimed specifically at cardiac physiologists in May 2010. I hope to be able to report a significant improvement in attendance next year.

In 2010 SCST will be holding a joint session at the BCS conference with the British Association for Nursing in Cardiovascular Care (BANCC). SCST are looking forward to a successful session with our nursing colleagues.

joint membership

The option of joint membership of BCS and SCST was introduced in 2009 providing a stronger links between the two bodies and moves towards increased co-operation with other affiliate groups.

SCST journal

The reduced income from SCST Update put the publication under threat in 2008. However, it was felt that Update, which is currently free to the membership of the profession, was a key benefit of membership of the society. Hence, a review of Update took place in 2009. Efforts to ensure financial viability have led to an increased revenue stream from advertising. The structure of the publication has moved away from a device largely for raising awareness of current issues and society business to a more researched based journal and was launched as the Journal for the Society for Cardiological Science and Technology (JSCST) in January 2010. In addition to society business and professional issues, the new approach will allow cardiac physiologists to cite publication of relevant research and audit material.

SCST Website

The website, also seen as a key benefit of membership of the society, was reviewed in 2009 and updated. Further plans for the website are under review to make the site easier to navigate and provide all the relevant information that the cardiac physiology professional requires in 2010.

Documents

British Cardiovascular Society Annual Report 2010 Annual ... · Annual Report2010 British Cardiovascular Society 9 Fitzroy Square, London W1T 5HW Tel: +44 (0)20 7383 3887 Fax: +44