President's Message
Dr Trevor Smith, BAPEN President
I’d like to start by wishing everyone a happy New Year. BAPEN closed out 2022 on a high by delivering a successful Conference in Brighton and the launch of our new five-year strategy. I’m delighted to have the opportunity to highlight these milestones and outline BAPEN’s upcoming activities.
BAPEN Annual Conference
Last year marked BAPEN’s 30th birthday and it was important for us to celebrate this landmark moment with an outstanding Annual Conference. I believe the many of us who travelled to the Hilton Brighton Metropole in late November would agree that it didn’t disappoint. Despite enjoying the excellent virtual webinar series that BAPEN organised for the previous two years due to COVID-19, it was great to finally see attendees in-person for the first time in a while.
Between re-connecting with friends and colleagues, delegates were spoilt for choice with an outstanding programme of sessions that catered to the multi-disciplinary audience. It was great to see all the buzz surrounding the sessions on social media, being able to provide those who could not attend in-person with a taste of the conference.
BAPEN Strategy 2022-2027
It was an honour to announce the new BAPEN Strategy 2022-2027 at the Conference. During the first session, I presented BAPEN’s three new strategic priorities to attendees: knowledge, reach, and sustainability. These priorities will inform our activities, shape the way we operate, and outline our future direction by:
- Facilitating and supporting improvements in knowledge and understanding to deliver excellent nutritional care to all those in need
- Extending our reach to raise awareness of malnutrition and influence consistent and equitable access to excellent nutritional care across the four nations
- Striving to maintain BAPEN as a sustainable, charitable organisation through sound financial planning, succession planning, people development and our pledge to protect our environment.
It was great to see so many people take photos and selfies with our Strategic Priorities boards at the Conference and, most importantly, share in our excitement for this new forward-looking plan. Those unable to attend the Annual Conference did not miss out on learning about BAPEN’s new vision for the future. The strategy was launched online alongside an accompanying video, which was shared across BAPEN social channels.
BAPEN Podcasts
We all know that podcasts are an ever-growing medium to share content that is rich with in-depth conversations and expert insights. One of the many reasons why podcasts are a popular way to digest information is that they cater to those who are constantly on-the-go. Podcasts can be listened to at a time that is convenient for you, making them easily accessible to a wide audience of people who otherwise might feel they don’t have time to sit down and read through a similar amount of information.
With this in mind, we are pleased to announce the launch of BAPEN Podcasts, the inaugural series of which has been dedicated to bringing to life the British Intestinal Failure Alliance’s (BIFA) top tips. Based on the content of the top tips created by the BIFA committee, and alongside invited experts, we hope these podcast episodes and supporting references will help to improve the working of clinical practices and the overall patient experience.
Hosted by Dr Anne Holdoway, key authors of the BIFA top tips will be interviewed, including Dr Jeremy Nightingale, Consultant Gastroenterologist, and Dr Alison Culkin, Consultant Dietitian. In the first episode, Dr Nightingale and Dr Culkin discuss the topic of high output stomas and provide transferable information for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and dietitians to apply in everyday practice.
Episodes are available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and the BAPEN website. The latter of these options will have links to the articles referenced within the episodes, in case you’d like to read more on the specific topic.
Yorkshire & Humber Nutrition Network Meeting
Registration is open for a day of learning and networking for Nutrition and Intestinal Failure Team members from the Yorkshire & Humber region on 21st March 2023. Please click here to sign up.
Best wishes
Trevor
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