September Newsletter

Created - 01.10.2013

BSIR Website

The Communications Committee, together with the Council Officers and BSIR Administrators are pleased to welcome you to the new BSIR website.  This ongoing project started early this year, and the new website was launched September, in time for the Annual Scientific Meeting.  The functionality required for the ASM and membership functions is now live, and content relevant to the remaining web pages continues to be uploaded.  The new site looks a little bare at present as we needed a fresh start but the content will progressively expand over the next few months and we thank you for your patience during the transitional period.  Your contribution towards the website is vitally important and educational content is particularly welcome.  Please contact us via the website with your comments and suggestions.

BSIR Annual Scientific Meeting 2013

We have elected to extend the early bird rate until 07.10.13 as we have had some initial difficulties with the website reported by a few members.  The new EARLY BIRD RATE CLOSES 07.10.13 !!!  

Register for the ASM here – www.bsir.org/meeting-booking/annual-scientific-meeting-2013/ or contact Ruth Moss at [email protected] or on 0141 942 8104.

BSIR ASM Vacancy Survey

As you know we have been highlighting workforce shortages in Interventional Radiology for several years.  At this year’s ASM we hope to conduct a brief survey of members attending the meeting to help inform our future work.  Please participate in the survey if you can.

Member photographs

BSIR’s photographer will be providing members with the opportunity to have a professional headshot taken during the ASM, for a fee of £15 for each session.  If you wish to take advantage of this opportunity, please contact [email protected] for information and times.  In addition, we will be continuing to offer the group shots after the BSIR ASM dinner though these are a little less useful for the CV…

BSIR Subcommittees and Groups

Safety and Quality Group

We are pleased to announce that the first 9 exemplar units have been awarded by the BSIRQI programme.  The QI initiative is a self-assessment programme that aims to improve the quality of IR departments and develop a quality improvement network.  Further details are available at www.bsir-qi.org and the next round of assessment will take place in January, with a closing date for receipt of applications of 20th December 2013.

Education

A recent meeting between BSIR officers, the Dean and incoming Warden of the RCR was used to highlight the need for continued discussion between our society and the College regarding training and workforce development.

IR Curriculum:  the revised IR curriculum has been submitted to the GMC for review and approval.  We have sought to maintain BSIR input into further revisions of the curricula and will continue to liaise via the Education Committee.  The next revisions should begin in 2014 and we have suggested that in the longer term, formal representation by the BSIR to the curriculum committee would be appropriate.

Workforce Document:  This document, which was circulated to members earlier in 2013, has highlighted the shortfalls in service provision and training opportunities which currently exist for Interventional Radiology.  It was agreed that a revised version will be jointly produced by the BSIR and RCR which will then be distributed more widely to inform other groups including commissioners and Health Education England.

Commissioning:  The RCR has undertaken to produce the first draft of a document setting out the structures and processes involved in the commissioning of IR services.  BSIR will be asked to provide comments and amendments.  It is hoped that this document will reinforce the need for increased training opportunities identified in the Workforce Document.

TERUMO Interventional Scholarships 2013

Applications for the 2013 TERUMO Interventional Scholarships are currently being accepted, with a deadline of midnight on Monday, 30th September 2013.  For further information, rules and application forms, please contact [email protected].

Communications

PR @ BSIR ASM

At the 2013 ASM, we are building on the Public Relations work that was started at the 2012 meeting.  We are again working with Trinity PR, and are intending to reach out to the wider medical community as well as press and patient groups.  One medium, which we felt was underutilised last year, was drawings and pictures.  We have been overwhelmed by offers of help from talented artists from amongst the membership, and hope that this will help us put our activities and procedures into a clearer light.

If you are at the ASM, or are contacted by Trinity in the run up to the ASM, please welcome them, they are working for us and with us, and we hope to help spread the word on what we do and why.

Registries and Audit

SIRT registry:

This is an important registry which will capture data on all patients undergoing radio-embolization of the liver in the UK.  Although the registry site is ready, there are some areas that need clarification around consent for this registry.  There are currently also discussions between BSIR and SIRTEX to ensure that the data once complete will be available for publication and presentation by the BSIR and to share this data with UK commissioners and regulatory authorities, particularly NHS England.  The principle has been agreed and a contract is being formalised between the BSIR solicitors and SIRTEX.  It is planned that these issues will be resolved by October 2014 and the registry will then be fully functional.

BSIR Registry Survey

Registries will be a key part of revalidation and the future success of interventional radiology, as well as informing the society and individual members on their own practice.  The Registries and Audit Committee will be conducting a short survey to get some feedback on the utilisation of the BSIR registries.  Please take 5 minutes to complete this survey, which should be coming out in the next few weeks.

National Vascular Registry

The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) has launched the National Vascular Registry (http://www.hqip.org.uk/national-vascular-registry).  It has already started to make an impact by publishing the individual surgeon’s outcome data on elective aneurysm repair.  During the next year, the peripheral vascular interventions component of the NVR will come on stream.  This registry has the potential to be enormously valuable.  BSIR members probably account for the largest number of PVD interventions in the UK, so our contribution to the Registry will be pivotal to its success.  Staff from the NVR will be present at the ASM to demonstrate the Registry and discuss it with us.  Please visit the NVR desk at the meeting to learn more about it.

BSIRT

BSIRT Elections

The BSIRT Elections will be taking place during the BSIRT AGM on the 14th November 2013.  We hope a large number of IR trainees will attend this and put themselves forward for the eligible positions.  Elections will consist of a short summary of candidates’ reasons to perform the committee role and then group voting.  Nominations are invited for the BSIRT Vice Chair, along with five further members of the BSIRT Committee, who will each sit on one of the following BSIR Subcommittees:  Membership & Rules Committee, Registries & Audit Committee, Communications Committee, Scientific Programme Committee and Safety & Quality Group.

BSIR Inaugural Foundation Course

The inaugural BSIR Foundation Course will run this year on the final day of the BSIR Annual Scientific Meeting.  This is a new endeavour organised by the BSIRT aimed at SpRs in Radiology and will comprise of lectures followed by workshops in vascular and non-vascular intervention.  There will also be a parallel careers session for the new medical student/foundation doctor group.  We hope a large number of SpRs will sign up to the foundation course this year and look forward to meeting them on the 15th November.  Further information can be found here - www.bsir.org/bsirt/bsirbsirt-foundation-day/  An email will be sent out to junior members attending the BSIR conference in October to confirm attendance for the course.

 BSIR Council, September 2013