IBMS Centenary Symposium and AGM

28 Jun 2012

The Institute’s Centenary Symposium and AGM was held in the Liverpool Art and Design Academy on the 23rd June. As the city of the Institute’s birth, Liverpool provided a fitting venue to celebrate the Institute’s 100th year.

Presentations – morning lecture programme

Following The President’s welcome address to delegates the lecture programme for the day.

The programme began with Dave Eccleston’s presentation: Developing the Biomedical Support Staff Workforce. Dave Eccleston is an IBMS North West Regional Council Member. The presentation explained that support workers are in integral part of the biomedical science workforce, with the increased workload in laboratories necessitating the support of qualified support staff. Dave set out that the support staff qualifications that the IBMS are developing are driven by Modernising Scientific Careers, the QIPP agenda and the Institute’s own education strategy, highlighting that the Carter report and QIPP necessitate the evolution of the profession – greater workforce flexibility and new staff with new skills Associate Practitioners will become a significant part of the biomedical science workforce. He then went on to address concerns that support staff would encroach on registered staff responsibilities. Dave concluded by explaining that the IBMS will outline the scope of practice and use qualifications to standardise support worker skills and provide a structure for the training and recognition of biomedical science support staff and enhancement of their career prospects.

Alan Wainwright, Head of Education at the Institute, gave a presentation on Qualifications for Support Staff – the story so far, updating delegates on the Institute’s Working Group activities on support worker qualifications. The presentation outlined some of the processes involved in the development of IBMS support worker qualifications, including the field testing of qualifications by NHS London and consultations carried out in all four nations. The importance of the new support worker qualifications in clearly demarcating the roles and responsibilities of support workers and biomedical scientists and the standardisation of support worker roles across different laboratories was also highlighted. The presentation concluded with details of the final phase of preparation for the qualifications, scheduled to be completed by December 2012.

Deputy Chief Executive at the Institute, Sarah May, launched the new RSci and RSci Tech registers with her presentation entitled Registers and Recognition - Registered Scientists and Registered Science Technicians. The IBMS is one of the professional bodies licenced to award RSci and RSci Tech registration. She explained that the introduction of the new registers recognised the need for a "modern technician class" in a modernised NHS workforce, with efficiency drives and technological innovation required a changing skills mix and had lead to the rise of the professional technician. Sarah detailed the ways in which the Institute are working to meet these new workforce needs; through the development of professional qualifications and standards and competencies, building a career framework for support workers and inclusion in Institute membership. The benefits of the new registers for biomedical science were outlined, including professional ownership of the entire biomedical science workforce and the establishment of a differential scale of professional standards. The presentation concluded with the announcement of a grandparenting offer of RSci Tech to non-student, practicing Associate members and RSci to eligible Associates and Licentiates to begin on the 2nd July 2012.

The final speaker of the morning lecture programme was Christine Murphy, IBMS Yorkshire Region Council Member. Christine’s presentation Modernising Scientific Careers - Assessing the impact of implementation on biomedical scientists explored the implications for the Institute and the biomedical science workforce. The presentation set out some of the challenges and future considerations for the Institute and outlined the Institute’s strategy regarding Healthcare Scientists.

The presentation drew attention to the lack of register for Healthcare Scientists, with the same route to registration as biomedical scientists, meeting the same HPC standards. Christine flagged up the work the Institute is doing in partnership with Modernising Scientific Careers (MSC) and Higher Education Institutions to thrash out the details of implementing MSC on the ground.

Derek Bishop concluded the morning lecture programme by thanking the speakers and reminding delegates that they could meet Council and IBMS staff to discuss any of the issues raised in the morning’s presentations.

AGM

Acting Treasurer of the Institute, Kenny Rae, gave an overview of the Institute's accounts for the year ending 30th September 2011. Members present at the AGM voted that the Institute’s Annual Report for 2011, Accounts for the year ending 30th September 2011 and the auditors’ report be accepted. A vote to reappoint the Institute’s auditors for another year was also carried.

Council Election results

The results of National and Regional Council elections were announced at the AGM. Derek Bishop, President of the IBMS, announced that Mrs Debra Padgett FIBMS and Mr Daniel Smith CSci FIBMS had been duly elected to the two National vacancies on Council.

Mr Clinton Blackburn CSci FIBMS (North East), Mr David Eccleston MPhil CSci FIBMS (North West), Mr Ian Sturdgess CSci FIBMS (East Midlands) and Dr Valerie Bevan PhD CSci FIBMS (London) were named as the duly elected Regional members of Council. All the newly elected members will immediately take up office and serve a three year term.

The Institute would like to thank all members who voted in the Council elections.

Awards and Honours

The Centenary Symposium and AGM offered an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of some of the Institute’s members.

50 Year Medals

Hilda Taylor and Ron Templeton were both presented with 50 year medals.

Hilda has been a member of the Institute for 65 years, completing 50 years membership of the IBMS before the introduction of the 50 year medal celebrating longstanding membership of the Institute. Presenting Hilda with her medal, IBMS President, Derek Bishop, praised her unfailing support for her professional body over the years, "It is a great honour to belatedly award this medal to Hilda in recognition of her 50 years membership, but also to have this opportunity to publically thank her for the past 65 years for which she has been such an active and supportive member of this profession."

The President highlighted Ron's contribution to the profession over his fifty years of membership. Ron’s passion for the profession and the education of his fellow biomedical scientists and his contribution to the success of many of the Institute’s events were commended by the President. Derek Bishop paid tribute to Ron’s "successful career, encompassing several of the disciplines of biomedical science and shown great passion for passing on his knowledge to future generations of biomedical scientists."

Company Members Prizes

Institute members achieving top marks in Higher Specialist Diploma examinations were awarded the Institute’s Company Members Prize during Saturday’s AGM. The IBMS Company Members prize was first established in 2007 at the suggestion of the Institute’s company members to demonstrate their support of both the Institute and its qualifications. The Company Members prize recognises the individuals achieving excellence, with the highest pass mark in each discipline of the Institute’s Higher Specialist Diploma examinations.

Robyn Gunn was awarded the Higher Specialist Diploma Company Members Prize for Haematology. Robyn is a Biomedical Scientist currently based at the Royal hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.
Claire Shenton received the Higher Specialist Diploma Company Members Prize for Immunology. Claire is a Biomedical Scientist based at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford.

Peter Burkhart was presented with the Higher Specialist Diploma Company Members Prize for Medical Microbiology. Peter is a Senior Biomedical Scientist working at the Royal Lancaster Hospital in Lancaster.

Cathryn Skea was awarded the Higher Specialist Diploma Company Members Prize for Virology. Cathryn is a Biomedical Scientist practicing at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

Nicola Main received the Higher Specialist Diploma Company Members Prize for Transfusion Science. Nicola is a Biomedical Scientist at Sunderland Royal Hospital.

RJ Lavington Prize

The R J Lavington prize is awarded annually to the candidate who receives the highest mark in the Higher Specialist Diploma examination across all disciplines. Nicola Main was awarded the R J Lavington Prize at this year’s AGM for her examination result in the Higher Specialist Diploma in Transfusion Science.

Life Membership

Life Membership of the Institute was awarded to Hilda Taylor FIBMS, David Houliston CSci FIBMS and Bill Chaffe FIBMS.

On presenting her with her Life Membership award the President acknowledge Hilda’s tireless work on behalf of the Institute and the profession, especially the preservation and exposition of their history. Hilda’s support for the Institute’s London branch and founding and Chairing of the Hertfordshire branch were praised along with her work on the Institute’s History Committee, the Medical Sciences Historical Society and her voluntary work at Watford’s Peace Hospice.

David Houliston was lauded for his advocacy for his fellow biomedical scientists and the profession. Derek Bishop noted David’s generosity in sharing his expertise through the IBMS Cytology panel, Institute’s Congress and symposia and numerous national meetings. David’s efforts to drive up quality standards in the profession and ensuring public safety through advocacy of quality management in laboratories and his work with the HPC, CPA and National Occupational standards were… . David’s efforts to secure recognition of the valuable work carried out by scientific staff in the NHS and support for the profession in the workplace were also singled out for praise as he was presented with his award.

The final Life Membership was awarded to Bill Chaffe. The President praised Bill’s passion for education and his mentoring and inspiration of his colleagues. Bill was noted as a fantastic ambassador for the profession, especially in encouraging collaboration and understanding between laboratory and clinical staff. Derek Bishop went on to outline Bill’s contribution to improving practice in transfusion science and advocating for high standards of professional training and competency, working with UKNEQAS, the CPA, SHOT, National Blood Transfusion Committee, the British Blood Transfusion Advisory Council and as Lead for the National Transfusion Collaborative and National Specialist Advisor for Transfusion. Bill’s commitment to the profession, and generosity in sharing his knowledge and experience with others were commended wonderful assets to the Institute.

The Institute would like to congratulate all those who were honoured at the AGM for their remarkable achievements.

Presentations – afternoon lecture programme

The afternoon lecture programme was chaired by Dave Eccleston and featured insightful presentations on pathology service improvement, integration and consolidation.

Dr Ian Barnes, National Clinical Director for Pathology at the Department of Health, gave the first presentation of the afternoon on Rising to the Challenge: Savings and Service Improvement. Dr Barnes began by outlining the current position pathology services, going on to detail some of the challenges for service improvement in microbiology and histopathology. Dr Barnes went on to give his thoughts on the impact of the Health and Social Care Bill, innovation, information strategy, long term conditions, point of care testing (POCT) , telehealth and genomics on the future shape of pathology services. His presentation emphasized the need or a strong IBMS in this challenging period and the need to drive up quality. Dr Barnes concluded by highlighting the need for a multi professional approach to working across clinical teams and a move towards integrated care as future strategic issues for pathology services.

The second presentation of the afternoon was given by Tony Scriven, General Manager –Integrated Pathology, Nottingham University Hospitals and University Hospitals Leicester NHS Trusts on Pathology Integration: The Nottingham and Leicester model. In his presentation Tony offered a case study of the integration of pathology services in Nottingham and Leicester, detailing the background, commercial model, service model, business plan and his predictions for the future. Tony concluded his presentation with advice for others undertaking pathology integration.

The final presentation of the afternoon was a case study of pathology consolidation in the East of England given by Nick Kirk, IBMS East Anglia Regional Council Member. Entitled East of England - A personal reflection on the journey so far, Nick offered an overview of the transformation of pathology services in the East of England, from initiation of the process two years ago to the present. Nick set out some of the positive and negative experiences around the process and elaborated on the next stages of the consolidation process.

The afternoon lecture programme

Displays

A poster illustrating the milestones in the Institute’s hundred year history was unveiled for the first time the AGM. The Centenary Timeline was devised by the Institute’s History Committee to celebrate the achievements of the Institute and mark significant historical milestones through the Institute’s century. Also on display were the poster series "Health for Heroes" and "Dyeing for a Diagnosis". These eye catching and informative display proved popular with delegates attending the Centenary Symposium and AGM.

If you would like to display the IBMS Centenary Timeline at your centenary celebrations please contact sarahholman@ibms.org

Social Media

Those who weren’t able to attend the Centenary AGM and Symposium were able to keep up to date with all the days event’s through live updates on Twitter and Facebook. Delegates joined in the conversation tweeting about their experiences, posing questions and posting their comments on Facebook.

To join the conversation visit http://www.ibms.org/followus for more information on IBMS social media

IBMS Member Charlotte Hill runner up in Healthcare Science Awards Professor Ian Cumming appointed Chief Executive of Health Education England (HEE)