President's Message
Dr Nick Thompson, BAPEN President
As we near the end of Spring, there’s plenty happening across clinical nutrition – from major structural changes in the NHS, to exciting opportunities for education and training. Whether it’s attending our webinars or submitting an abstract for BAPEN Conference, there are lots of ways to stay involved with BAPEN – and I’m pleased to outline opportunities here.
Government announcements
We are in the midst of many large-scale announcements and changes to the UK healthcare system – notably, the planned abolition of NHS England. In a recent oral session of the Health and Social Care Committee, Wes Streeting described the move as the “biggest devolution of power in NHS history,” aimed at reducing duplication, empowering local leadership, and improving outcomes.
Key areas discussed included Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), workforce reductions, public health mandates, specialised commissioning, and digital infrastructure. Commitments were made to uphold current public health functions, ensure continuity of services, and revisit the NHS Workforce Plan in line with the upcoming 10 Year Health Plan. We recognise that these decisions may bring significant changes to the way we work and welcome discussion about the implications of these reforms which we can reflect in any future engagements with decision-makers.
Greener AHP Week: Enteral feed plastic recycling
Greener AHP Week took place in April, an initiative championed by the NHS and focused on the importance of environmental sustainability for both population health and the health of the environment. BAPEN was delighted to have the opportunity to chat with Faith Toogood, a dietitian who has pioneered a very impressive and successful recycling project in her Trust. The project centres on enteral feed bottles, where she initiated a project which aimed to recycle high quality plastic used in enteral feed bottles and sterile water bottles, stopping them from being incinerated in clinical waste. Faith created a separate waste stream, enabling the segregation of these bottles at a ward level, to divert them into a specialist reprocessing system that repurposes the used bottles into domestic milk bottles. The project was then rolled out onto high usage wards and, once further funding was sourced to support collection of these bottles, Faith hopes to roll it out Trust-wide to increase the environmental and financial impact. I encourage you to read a write-up of the interview – click here – and please do reach out to Faith if you’re interested in exploring the possibility of implementing the scheme in your Trust.
BAPEN Connect
Thank you to everyone who joined us for April's exciting launch of the BAPEN Connect Clinical Nutrition webinar series, which builds on the very successful series started by Emily Clarke, Suzi Batchelor and Charlotte Rutter. Hosted by our Education team, the session offered an insightful exploration of the nutritional management of inflammatory bowel disease, reflecting the series’ ongoing aim to deliver evidence-based education for the wider nutrition multidisciplinary Team, gastroenterology and hepatology SpRs, and surgical colleagues.
These monthly webinars aim to provide a valuable platform to promote best practice in clinical nutrition and highlight the importance of timely, specialist input in the care of patients with malnutrition risk. We encourage you to take advantage of these excellent sessions, which run monthly – so do keep an eye out for details about the upcoming sessions! A reminder that BAPEN members can also catch up on previous sessions via our website.
BAPEN’s Edgbaston Course
We were delighted to host the Edgbaston Course last week, as a new addition to BAPEN's educational offering this year. Designed as a three-day immersive experience, the course brought together multidisciplinary nutrition teams from across the UK to learn, collaborate, and grow together.
This interactive and engaging programme offered a unique opportunity to strengthen teamworking, enhance clinical knowledge, and share best practice in a supportive learning environment. We're delighted to have had interest from teams across the UK, who brought with them some brilliant reflections and takeaways.
NNNG Annual Conference 2025
Looking ahead, I want to draw your attention to the NNNG Annual Conference, taking place 18–19th June in Birmingham. This CPD-accredited Conference offers a valuable opportunity to develop your clinical skills through practical, hands-on learning and stay up to date with the latest developments in nutritional care for nurses.
As a Core Group of BAPEN, we’re proud to support the continued work of all those involved with NNNG and hope you take advantage of this excellent opportunity to connect and learn alongside peers.
BAPEN Annual Conference 2025
Early bird registration for the BAPEN Annual Conference is OPEN. I encourage you to make the most of these significantly reduced rates for members, ending on 29th August – registration details can be found here.
Please do consider submitting your abstract for our Annual Conference. It’s a great opportunity to have your work showcased for an engaged, multidisciplinary audience. There’s also awards and honours to be won, for instance the prestigious Powell-Tuck prize, awarded for the best abstract submitted by a doctor in training. Don’t miss out – complete your submission by 7th July to be in with a chance.
And, if you’re planning to apply for a 2025 Improving Nutritional Care Grant, don’t forget that successful applicants will also be invited to present their findings at Conference, following the completion of their project. The grant application deadline is 30th June, so visit the website for all the guidance you need to submit.
This year, we’re also pleased to introduce a limited number of attendance grants of up to £250 to support students and first-time abstract submitters in joining us at Conference. We hope this helps make the event even more accessible and encourages even more of you to get involved.
Finally…
As some of you may know, I am on the final stretch of my fundraising walk of the Via Francigena, from Canterbury to Rome. If you are able, you can help us to continue raising money for two outstanding charities – PINNT and clinical nutrition research at Newcastle Hospitals & University. Please visit our JustGiving page for more information on how to sponsor the team.
We’ve already raised just over £10,000, so I want to say a huge thank you to all those who have already donated. If you’re interested in staying up to date with the final leg our journey, you can see our progress on a dedicated Instagram page (@2000k.to.rome).
Best wishes,
Nick
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