As we celebrate the festive season, it’s time to reflect on the challenges and successes of the BSH during 2024. We set out our strategy at the beginning of the year, which consisted of four pillars – membership, knowledge sharing, strategic partnerships and a sustainable infrastructure.
Since then, the Society’s membership has increased by 11%, being now over 3,100 strong. Nurses, support workers, allied health professionals, physician associates, pharmacists, and biomedical and clinical scientists comprise 18%.
We held 18 educational events, with 1,550 places filled in total. Additionally, we led dedicated BSH sessions for events run by other colleges and societies, including the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of Pathologists, and the British Blood Transfusion Society. We partnered with the Royal College of Pathologists for International Pathology Day and the medical student summer school. Overall feedback for all events has been excellent, with many selling out, including our Haematology Taster Day, Obstetric Haematology SIG Education Day and the final Paediatric SIG/PHTN Teaching Session.
Our main event, the Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM), had a record registration of 1,842 this year. Abstract submissions increased to 433, and we awarded excellence in NIHR research and the most popular publications in the British Journal of Haematology. We gave richly deserved recognition for lifetime achievements to Professors Mike Makris and Cheng-Hock Toh.
Internationally, our Global Haematology SIG continues activities in Cambodia and Zambia with Health Volunteers Overseas and our work with HaemSTAR in the UK and Nigeria. We sent our Global Speakers to the Annual Academic Sessions of the Sri Lanka College of Haematologists and the Haematology-Blood Transfusion Society of Vietnam.
One of our priorities is to facilitate and promote haematology research. The UK life science sector is globally leading. Indeed, 25% of the world’s top 100 prescription medicines have been discovered in our nation, and UK haematology has played its part in this.
We aim to enhance the opportunities and academic successes of our members. We have continued existing research and travel grants and introduced new ones, including a Genomics Grant, Early-Stage Research Start-up Grants and Clinical AI Fellowships in partnership with Guys’ and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and the NHS Digital Academy.
A further 12 BSH guidelines and five good practice papers have been published this year, with recorded podcasts accompanying them. We have developed additional guidelines in collaboration with the UK Haemophilia Centre Doctors’ Organisation and the UK Myeloma Society, and other guideline collaborations in the pipeline include the British Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, the Sickle Cell Society, the British Society of Immunology and UK Primary Immunodeficiency Network.
Our Workforce Project has highlighted areas we can address internally alongside campaigning for policy influence. Liaison haematology has been analysed and defined, and other areas of unseen work brought to the fore, such as transfusion medicine and laboratory haematology. The emotional demands of our high-stakes and high-stress field have been recognised. It will take time to make changes, but we now have baseline data to develop and progress initiatives, and we continue to work with London Southbank University on this. The webinar, where we shared the initial findings of our workforce research project, has been viewed 2,500 times.
To support the delivery of our initiatives and help build capacity to achieve our aims, our Chief Executive, Carol Bewick, has led internal restructuring, with more defined roles for existing team members and the development of two new director-level posts - Director of Services and Director of External Affairs. Notably, we have 24 representatives on external committees and organisations.
Towards environmental sustainability, we have reviewed our investments, banking and building and have made changes where necessary. We have appointed Climate Action for Associations to audit our activities, and we are planning another engaging session on sustainable haematology at the 2025 ASM.
All in all, we have an active, ambitious society, which is exciting to be part of. There is an opening for four positions of Ordinary Trustees on the Board, and we are calling for nominations. We welcome trustees from all walks of the haematology community; you don’t require any special experience or to hold a senior role, but you do need commitment and a passion for the advancement of haematology.
I thank everyone who contributes to the BSH and to haematology in general. As 2024 draws to a close, I hope you feel proud of your hard work and achievements this year, whether exams, night shifts, covering colleagues, coping with the emotional toll, advancing science and innovation, a fight for new drugs, more staff or improved services. All this you do is for the care of people with haematological disease. It is your diligence and dedication that goes to making our field of medicine and pathology so rewarding.