President's Message
Dr Nick Thompson, BAPEN President
It’s a pleasure to put pen to paper for my first In Touch column as BAPEN President. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the outstanding leadership of my predecessor, Dr Trevor Smith. It has been very clear over the last year that I have some big shoes to fill, but I’m both excited and honoured to be taking on this challenge.
For those who don’t already know me, I am a Consultant Gastroenterologist in Newcastle upon Tyne. Over many years, I’ve helped develop a regional Intestinal Failure service and establish the Northern Nutrition Network, which began in 2004 and meets biannually, apart from during COVID! My longstanding affiliation with BAPEN includes serving as a committee member of BAPEN Medical and co-authoring the BIFA guidelines on blood monitoring for home parenteral nutrition (HPN) patients.
Looking ahead, I’m eager to build on the work carried out over Trevor’s tenure by continuing to deliver on our strategic objectives as a charity, in knowledge, reach and sustainability. Our focus remains on helping members to adopt best practice within their multi-disciplinary teams and stay at the forefront of providing high-quality nutritional care. I am particularly enthusiastic about collaborating with the exceptional BAPEN Executive Team and Council, and to work alongside such capable and learned individuals throughout the organisation.
As always, this column is a fantastic opportunity to highlight both recent and upcoming milestones across BAPEN and its Core Groups, starting with our recent Annual Conference.
BAPEN Conference 2023
Thank you to all those that attended the BAPEN Conference in Edinburgh last November. The event, held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre over two days, attracted a record-breaking number of delegates, with over 700 attending. The outstanding symposia programme catered to a diverse, multi-disciplinary audience, and it was heartening to see the enthusiasm and talent demonstrated by professionals in nutritional care throughout the UK. Many thanks to Pete Turner for leading the Programme committee so successfully again. Congratulations to Rebecca Stratton on being awarded the John Lennard-Jones medal, very well deserved after being so instrumental in developing ‘MUST’ to what it is today and for leading the Malnutrition Action Group (MAG).
HCP Resource
In collaboration with PINNT, BAPEN launched a new resource for healthcare professionals (HCPs) in December. The resource explains the promises made to patients – adults in hospital and the community who are receiving oral, enteral or parenteral nutrition support – regarding the care they should expect to receive.
It includes a checklist for HCPs to ensure adherence to these commitments and the implementation of high-quality care. This resource complements materials launched in August for patients, empowering them to understand the care they should expect. It is our hope that – together – these resources improve dialogue between patients and HCPs, and ultimately improve patient care and experience.
To access the Quality Standards resource for patients, please visit the BAPEN website, or the PINNT website.
Website
The new website was launched at Conference and I hope everyone feels that it looks better and is easier to navigate. Hopefully you can find what you want more easily, certainly going to Guidelines is much quicker than before! If you have any comments to improve the site further, please do use the comments box at the bottom of the landing page.
New Year’s Honours List
Congratulations to Dianne Jeffrey, one of our much-valued trustees, who was made a Dame in the New Year’s Honours list. This was particularly in recognition of her work in creating Age UK and then Age International. She has given much very good advice to us in BAPEN, and this award could not be more deserved, which is perhaps more than for some of the political appointees!
Upcoming events
For those looking to mark their diaries with upcoming events throughout the year, keep a close eye on the event page of our website. A heads-up that the BAPEN Annual Conference 2024 will be on the 5-6 November in Gateshead. The Conference has not come to Northeast England before, and we hope to build on the great experience of #BAPEN2023. I know many of you will also be marking Nutrition & Hydration Week on 11-17 March in your diaries as a chance to promote good nutritional care through continued education and professional development. Make sure to visit their website for more information about how to get involved.
Finally, on a personal note, I’m planning this year to go on a long walk. There is a long history of BAPEN Presidents undertaking very strenuous tasks and this pales compared to the activities of Presidents Mike Stroud and Simon Gabe. Somehow being 60 this seemed to be a good idea and so with my wife (Ruth) and two long suffering friends (Simon & Rosie) we are planning on walking the Via Francigena. This runs from Canterbury to Rome, and we plan to do in two sections in the spring and autumn. We will be raising money for PINNT and for nutrition research at Newcastle University and Trust. We have to carry our bags, but Ruth made me promise there was no camping! We will set up a Just Giving page for anyone who would be kind enough to sponsor us.
Best wishes,
Nick
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