President's Welcome Summer 2023

Presidents Welcome

Welcome to the sizzling pages of our summer newsletter!

I’d like to thank the whole team for their input into this quarter’s newsletter and special thanks to Daniella, our Newsletter editor and Emma Tucker for their ongoing hard work and support in its production.

This summer has seen a symphony of remarkable events. In May, we witnessed the grand coronation of King Charles, a majestic and rather wet spectacle capturing the hearts of the nation.

June followed with an exclamation of its own, igniting the record books in a fiery blaze of heat. The mercury soared to unprecedented heights, etching its name into meteorological history as the hottest ever recorded in the UK. And let's not forget the lion-hearted triumph of England's Lionesses in the FIFA World Cup, earning their rightful place in the Semi-Finals against host nation Australia.

Amidst the jubilation, the summer narrative has also been punctuated by sombre undertones. The relentless effect of inflation and the cost-of-living crisis have dominated news headlines and radio channel debate painting a rather negative picture of the economy. Meanwhile, the widespread industrial action across public sector workers for their rights and fair treatment marks a milestone in history. Many of these workers are our colleagues and friends.

I sincerely hope that amid the whirlwind of responsibilities, you found a moment to enjoy the warmth of June's sunshine and, perhaps, steal away for a well-deserved break.

On to the updates!

Executive Committee

Our last Executive meeting in June had a jam-packed agenda and was very productive indeed. We have a great education program in the pipeline ranging from research webinars and face to face workshops to the annual conference. This September 7^th, the Giant Cell Arteritis workshop will be held at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in London and is already close to fully booked, be sure to book your place as this will be an excellent day.  You can find information on all SVT events on the website https://www.svtgbi.org.uk/mediacentre/events/

The ASM program is coming along well thanks to the hard work of Klaus Bond, Conference secretary and our Irish Colleagues Dr Cleona Gray at The Mater hospital Dublin. We will have a draft ready for you to view in September. Please remember to book flights, accommodation and your tickets as soon as possible.

Committee updates

Following official election by the executive committee Kamran Modaresi will step into the Presidents role this November, Steven Rogers will become President Elect and I will move to Past President. Hannah Lines will step down as Chair of the Education committee and handover to Hannah Williamson.

We would like to welcome Jenny Anton, our new non-portfolio member on the Executive committee and we are still recruiting a second non-portfolio member so please do consider getting involved, we are a fun bunch!

As a non-portfolio member, you will attend executive committee meetings to observe the committee and how the various roles work, with a view to taking on a role the following year. Please contact president@svtgbi.org.uk to express interest.

Website

The website, developed seven years ago is due to be updated. We hope to streamline the look and feel of the website and add on functionality to allow for invoicing to be generated and many other helpful features.

Professional Standards Committee

The professional standard committee have been working not only on PPG’s but also on job profiles for bands 5, 6 and 7, which are now on the website.

These profiles have been adapted from the ‘National profiles for Healthcare Science’ and specifically from Healthcare Scientist profiles for Band 6 upwards. The generic healthcare science profiles are intended to cover a wide range of professional groupings and healthcare science disciplines, including physiological sciences, clinical physiologists and clinical technologists. The profiles are also designed to apply to new and developing healthcare science roles.

The PSC team have also been working on a job planning advice/tool for service managers, more information to follow.

Thank you to Joanne Walker PSC chair and the whole PS committee for their hard work.

Membership Fees

The new membership fees have come into effect as of the 1^st of July. Please refer to the information sent early this year for further information. You can contact the membership team for any queries related to your membership membership@svtgbi.org.uk

Physiological Science transformation programme

There was miscommunication and delay in the dissemination of the Vascular Stocktake. This was not sent out early this year as we were told by the DCSO office.

The stocktake will be sent out in the last quarter of 2023. This delay was due to pressing need for audiology to be assessed. We are working with the program and will communicate with all members when the stocktake is sent to trusts.

https://future.nhs.uk/system/login?nextURL=%2Fconnect%2Eti%2FPhysiologicalMeasurements

STP Equivalence

We are working with the AHCS on a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and Accreditation document that will map the AVS certificate to Good Scientific Practice standards. The alignment aims to enable the induvial holding AVS certification to use it as evidence in the STP Equivalence portfolio without the need to submit the original work they’ve done.

This approach will streamline the application process for equivalence as applicants would only need to provide additional evidence for the learning outcomes within the GSP standards that are not covered by the AVS certificate. This would reduce the workload on applicants, making the process more efficient.

We aim to provide a mapping template designed to provide approved alternative options for evidence to fulfil the GSP learning outcomes that are not addressed by the AVS certificate.

More details about this project and the mapping template will be shared when they become available.

Best Wishes

Emma