Welcome

It is a pleasure and a privilege for me to be able to welcome you to the 52nd BSH Annual Scientific meeting in Glasgow. The theme for this year’s meeting is “Moving from age directed care to biologically directed care".

As medicine has become increasingly politicised, the important role of the BSH increases by providing a platform to deliver a uniform voice to Government on the UK’s Haematologists views of matters pertaining to education, at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels, maintaining professional standards and patient advocacy. It is also increasingly apparent that UK Haematology should engage with our European colleagues to ensure that the high standards that we have set within our speciality is delivered across Europe and that EU & UK regulations are aligned as far as possible in the future to allow our patients access to effective, cost-efficient therapy.  A closer collaboration with Specialist Societies should in turn facilitate a wider consensus view from the BSH. We are currently in the process of looking how to take this forward.

This year we have allocated £300k in Grants for both non-malignant and malignant Haematology research. We see this as a central plank in supporting and promoting UK Haematology R & D to improve haematology care in the future and promote the many talented people working the field. We are encouraging those offered grants to present their work at this and future Annual Conferences and it is important that the speakers have as wide an audience as possible to analyse, criticise and encourage their continuing endeavours. This year we again will be welcoming speakers from around the globe covering all areas of haematology and delivering state of the art lectures. We are again offering a special trainees and new consultant update meeting that has been very popular and well received over the past several years.

Time is increasingly at a premium for all of us but I hope you will find the time to attend the meeting in the wonderful city of Glasgow. The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre has excellent facilities for lectures, poster presentations and the trade exhibition. I hope that we can share views formally and informally with colleagues about the future of haematology practice and research and development so that together we can improve and expand the Haematology and build upon our existing excellence. Together I hope this will be a memorable and worthwhile meeting not only from an educational but also from a personal point of view. I look forward to seeing you there.

Steve Schey