Professor Marinos Elia (November 2005)
A glimpse into the past and future
It is 17 years since Professor John Lennard-Jones, Professor David Silk and I went, with some apprehension, to meet Barbara Stocking, the Director of the King’s Fund Centre, with the view to establishing a working party that was to write a report in straightforward terms why nutrition is an important issue for patients and the NHS.
The apprehension quickly disappeared because the King’s Fund strongly supported our proposal. This led to the formation of a working party, represented by key individuals from several disciplines in the UK, and to the publication, in January 1992, of the influential King’s Fund Report: A positive Approach to Nutrition as Treatment. One of the key recommendations of this report was the establishment of a national multidisciplinary organisation to draw together and represent the common interests of patients, academic nutritionists, dietitians, nurses, doctors and the pharmaceutical industry.
In the same year BAPEN was established and initially chaired by Professor John Lennard-Jones (1992-1995), followed by Professor David Silk (1995-2000), Dr Chris Pennington (2000-2002), and Professor Alastair Forbes (2002-2005). It is now my great honour to take up the Chair of BAPEN, after such prestigious predecessors. All the previous chairs of BAPEN have been men, a tradition that I hope will change in future, and all have been gastroenterologists, a tradition that has changed with my appointment. Although I have been trained in gastroenterology, my main professional activity has been in metabolic medicine and nutrition, including nutritional support.
The breadth of nutrition is large, spanning the entire lifecourse, from fetus to old age, and all medical disciplines. Therefore, we should hear each other and optimally structure and integrate our contributions to our newsletter, meetings, conferences, and political activities. If we can do this, we will be more effective in influencing policy and improving care. BAPEN also needs to align itself with other influential bodies, including the Royal Colleges, the Department of Health and other governmental agencies, as well as the Intercollegiate Group on Nutrition, the Health Professionals Confederation, the Nutrition Society, and the British Dietetic Association. This would ensure that we move forward as a discipline without duplication of effort or provision of conflicting messages. BAPEN should take a lead in several new initiatives, such as the economics of malnutrition, and implementation of nutritional screening, and training and education, whilst playing to its strength: a multidisciplinary perspective.
There are many challenges ahead, but I am optimistic that, with your help and support, and with sound advice from the Faculty, we can overcome any difficulties, and grow stronger and more influential, so that we may help alleviate the suffering and distress associated with malnutrition and other nutritional problems.
Professor Marinos Elia Chairman BAPEN