UPDATES FROM THE VASCULAR SOCIETIES
British Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in limb Absence Rehabilitation. (BACPAR)
www.bacpar.org | @BACPAR_official
BACPAR is a Professional Network (PN) affiliated to the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP). Membership numbers continue to grow (301 at the time of writing). BACPAR supports and represents individuals working in acute and rehabilitation settings, NHS and private and some international members. BACPAR members benefit from the delivery of a focussed limb loss rehabilitation Journal twice a year; a member review of which was carried out in 2022 to identify areas that can be developed further.
In 2022 BACPAR participated in work to develop an Equality, Diversity and Belonging (EDB) reflective tool to be used by all CSP. PNs to start a conversation about EDB within their existing networks and this will be implemented in the Autumn Executive Committee meeting.
Regional CPD and peer support events are organised by regional representatives who have a place on the Executive committee to feed forward issues. BACPAR members also benefit from reduced registration fees for partners’ conferences (VS and ISPO).
BACPAR's website continues to be updated to meet membership needs, it also holds resources for patients. There is an active closed membership Facebook group and Twitter page. Educational, post graduate and research bursaries are available to the membership. BACPAR members are active in research priority setting and delivery. Progress and outcomes are disseminated in the BACPAR journal, through the Amputee Rehabilitation Research Network and routinely feature in Conference programming. BACPAR's association with the Vascular Society is continuing to strengthen with representation on the journal Editorial Board, participation in Open Council meetings and partnership in the delivery of the Vascular Societies Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM).
BACPAR members continue to support humanitarian projects and have been involved in providing a webinar to support Ukrainian therapists working in the rehabilitation of amputees.
The BACPAR committee is supporting the update of clinical and education guidelines in lower and upper limb loss rehabilitation.
The 2022 AGM will be programmed within the ASM in November.
Louise Tisdale
BACPAR Chair
September 2022
The British Society of Endovascular Therapy (BSET)
www.bset.co.uk | @BSETnews
The British Society of Endovascular Therapy (BSET) was established to promote scientific research, education and training in endovascular treatment and procedures. Membership of BSET is free and open to all vascular and interventional radiology specialists with an endovascular interest.
The BSET Annual Meeting provides a major forum for the presentation of research into endovascular therapy, and attracts over 170 consultants, trainees and industry delegates. The meetings unique informal format encourages high level discussion and participation and an opportunity for networking between consultants and trainees.
The National Vascular Training Day is held prior to the Annual Meeting for vascular and interventional radiology trainees. The training day comprises case-based discussions led by senior endovascular specialists, as well as practical training led by industry.
BSET also runs a two-day Endovascular Training course for senior trainees and new consultants. This innovative two-day course provides extensive hands-on practical training in the principles and practicalities of endovascular management of vascular diseases. Attendees are mentored in small groups by world class trainers who are senior members of BSET.
BSET is committed to driving excellence in endovascular research and improving outcomes for patients by:
• Raising the profile and impact of endovascular vascular research
• Developing the research leaders of the future
• Increasing investment in research activities and programmes of study through sustainable research funding streams.
BSET offers Endovascular Fellowships for training and research, and provides travel grants, giving the opportunity for trainees to further their training and knowledge in endovascular procedures in dedicated training centres. These distinctive fellowships have led to many Fellows becoming prominent and successful endovascular specialists.
The 2023 BSET Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday 29th and Friday 30th June (National Vascular Training Day on Wednesday 28th June). The 2023 Endovascular Training Course will be held on 23rd – 24th March.
British Society of Interventional Radiology (BSIR)
www.bsir.org | @BSIR_News
The British Society of Interventional radiology (BSIR) is a charitable foundation established to promote and develop the practice of Interventional Radiology. The strategic aims of BSIR are to promote safe and high-quality care for our patients by providing access to high quality information on Interventional Radiology procedures to patients and healthcare professionals, supporting audit and research in Interventional Radiology and assist education and training in Interventional Radiology.
In addition to serving the needs of practising UK Interventional Radiologists, BSIR works closely with the Royal College of Radiologists and other bodies, e.g. NICE to develop the strategic direction of Interventional Radiology. Day-to-day BSIR administration is provided by the Council Officers (President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer) with assistance of the administrators.
BSIR provides an annual fund of up to £50,000 as Interventional Radiology educational, research and audit bursaries. BSIR is committed to improving the quality and access to IR services through a structured Quality Improvement Initiative in conjunction with the Royal College of Radiologists and NHS England.
The BSIR Annual Scientific Meeting was held in Glasgow from 2nd to 4th November 2022 with more than 700 registered delegates, and included 7 overseas and many local faculty providing multiple workshops and plenary lectures. In addition, there are regular education meetings throughout the year including the Advanced Practice Course, Special Interest Group meetings in Interventional Oncology, Paediatric IR and Vascular Anomalies. There are also educational/networking events hosted by BSIRT (for trainees in IR) https://www.bsir.org/bsirt/, IR Juniors (for medical students and foundation doctors interested in IR) https://www.irjuniors.com, SIRNR (nurses and radiographers in IR) and SAR (anaesthetists in IR) https://www.sarweb.co.uk.
Rouleaux Club
www.Rouleauxclub.com | @RouleauxClub
It’s been another busy year for the Rouleaux Club.
The biggest event for the association has undoubtedly been the Rouleaux Club’s bullying, undermining and harassment (BUH) survey, which culminated with its recent publication within the JVSGBI. The survey aimed to reinvestigate BUH behaviours experienced by vascular trainees following the association’s initial 2017 survey. Sadly, despite strategies implemented at the time, BUH behaviours are still an on-going problem for trainees, and indeed may have worsened since the initial survey. Based upon this work, the Rouleaux Club, Vascular Specialist Advisory Committee (SAC) and Vascular Society (VS) have committed to developing a strategic action plan to help address unprofessional behaviours and create a more positive work environment for trainees.
Whilst only time will tell if the situation improves, the Rouleaux Club is heartened by the positive responses so far and looks forward to working with both organisations to help stamp out these behaviours once and for all.
Moving forward, the association is keen to broaden its horizons. Whilst previously focussed on vascular surgeons in training, the Rouleaux Club now represents all post-graduate doctors and medical students who have an interest in vascular surgery. The success of the ASPIRE Junior webinar series, Rouleaux Club Essay Competition and Introduction to Vascular Surgery courses show there is a real interest in vascular surgery amongst medial students and junior doctors, something which the association is keen to grow further.
Andrew TO Nickinson
Rouleaux Club SAC Representative
Society of Vascular Nurses (SVN)
www.svn.org.uk | @vascularnurses
It is a year since I now took over as president of the SVN, which seemed at the time a momentous and daunting challenge but one that I am thoroughly enjoying. For those who are not aware of how our committee functions my presidency runs for a 2-year period and then I will remain on the committee for a further year as past president, in a supporting role for the incoming president who will be Jane Todhunter. Aims for this 2-year period include; the development of a new competency document and vascular nursing framework, and working with educational providers to improve access to vascular education for the vascular nurses of the future. The Provision of Vascular Nursing document encompasses the vascular nursing framework and is due to be launched at the Vascular Conference in Brighton, November 2022. We anticipate this will become a well referenced document across all vascular networks.
The committee publish a quarterly newsletter, Vascular Matters, sharing best practice, research and interesting case studies. It is also a forum for advertising courses and study days. We are always looking for content for future issues from members and colleagues.
As a Society we are able to offer bursaries to members of the society for individual development, improvement to services or attendance at conferences. We also have Emma’s gift, which is a bursary aimed specifically at band 5 level nurses to help them attend the annual conference. This is in memory of Emma Bond a past president who we sadly lost and it was her wish that we used her honorary membership to help fund this. Please see our website for details of both these opportunities at: www.svn.org.uk
The SVN also offer 2 secondment positions onto the committee for junior nurses wishing to further their networking and understanding of Vascular Surgery, this is an excellent opportunity for personal growth and development, the details can be found on the website. There is 1 vacancy on the SVN committee this year and we look forward to welcoming a new member in November.
We continue to value the support offered by the Vascular Society and are keen to continue the development of the joint Societies.
Gail Curran
SVN President
Vascular Specialist Nurse
Peterborough Hospital NWAFT
Society for Vascular Technology of Great Britain and Ireland (SVT)
www.svtgbi.org.uk | @svtgbi
The Society for Vascular Technology of Great Britain and Ireland was established in March of 1992 with aims to promote and advance education, training, and research in the field of vascular science for the benefit of the public.
At this time, duplex vascular imaging in its infancy had no professional training pathway to deliver a workforce or standardisation for imaging guidelines or reporting of disease.
The society set up three committees to tackle these issues: an education committee, a professional standards committee, and an executive committee, from these committees a national standardised professional training and accreditation scheme was developed.
The Accreditation certification (AVS) provides employers and patients with confidence in the standards an individual has reached to gain accreditation, and the standards for maintenance of accreditation through continued professional development that is monitored and approved by the Education Committee.
In April 2016 the SVT Research committee was set up to provide information and support to SVT members taking part in or setting up research projects. The research committee develops and facilitates research collaborations with external bodies (e.g., Vascular Society, Vascular and Endovascular Research Network etc on behalf of the SVT membership.
The SVT offers Research Grants of up to £4000 per project to both ordinary members and special interest groups. The Research/Innovation award is to enable Vascular Scientists to conduct small-scale studies such as pilot or feasibility studies, with the hope that larger grants will be applied for at a later date. There is a total of £10,000 available per year, with a maximum of £4,000 per award.
Our quarterly newsletter is an essential communication tool providing the membership with updates from committees, educational content, access to up-to-date information within the profession and CPD opportunities. This year we have launched a new virtual newsletter utilising mail chimp and have received good feedback on its refreshed look and easy to access content which is embedded within our website. The SVT website has also had updates to our Education and Research sections which has increased traffic to our website, increasing engagement with our membership and allowing for wider dissemination of information.
Due to the ongoing impact of COVID, our fundamental training days for trainee vascular scientists preparing for their AVS exams, moved to webinar format and saw a big uptake in attendance. Following this success, a follow-up revision day workshop was hosted virtually in April with white board facilities and break out rooms for tutor – student Q&A. We hope to keep this format going forward to facilitate wider participation in the UK and Ireland.
This year the SVT launched a new award initiative for Accredited Vascular Scientists looking to undertake equivalence to the AHCS STP qualification leading to registration with the HCPC. This award will continue to run in 2023 and the Education committee wish to offer additional educational grants to all members to improve access to training and development.
This year will be the 30th anniversary of the SVT, a huge achievement and one we have been celebrating with news articles and other activities throughout the year. We are planning a big celebration at this year’s ASM 2022 and would like to congratulate the Circulation Foundation as it is also their 30th anniversary.
The achievements of the SVT this year as with all other years are down to the hard work of our committees, and in a time of unprecedented pressure within the NHS we are perpetually grateful to our exceptional volunteers for their time and efforts.
Ms Emma Waldegrave
President of the SVT GB&I
Vascular Anaesthesia Society of Great Britain & Ireland (VASGBI)
www.vasgbi.com | @vasgbi
The Vascular Anaesthesia Society of Great Britain & Ireland (VASGBI) promotes best practice in the perioperative care and anaesthetic management of vascular surgical patients.
VASGBI collaborates with The Vascular Society and continue to work with the National Vascular Registry (NVR) to amend the data fields to make them more suitable for vascular anaesthesia-related audit and research and to publish the annual NVR report for vascular anaesthetists. https://vasgbi.com/research-audit/nvr-summary-for-anaesthetists/
The Society supports research in vascular anaesthesia. A joint VASGBI/ACTACC Research Grant to the value of £70,000 was advertised in 2022. The VASGBI Trainee Research Development grants continue to be a great success and 11 grants have been awarded since 2016 to foster trainee research in vascular anaesthesia and perioperative care.
VASGBI also collaborates closely with the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) and are involved in the Centre for Perioperative Care (CPOC), the new Training Curriculum; Consultants CPD framework; the Quality Improvement booklet; NAP 7 and the National Institute for Academic Anaesthesia. Patients are at the centre of the existence of VASGBI and we have co-authored the patient information leaflet “Your Anaesthetic for Vascular Surgery” in conjunction with the RCoA.
https://rcoa.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/2022-06/14-VascularSurgery2020web.pdf
VASGBI’s flagship Annual Scientific Meeting will be in Brighton on 11/12th September 2023. We are proud of the significant cross-specialty collaboration that is reflected in all recent and forthcoming conference programmes and joint sessions that include surgeons, interventional radiologists, cardiologists and allied health professionals.
The VASGBI website provides a wealth of information on everything related to vascular anaesthesia and the activities of the Society. There are up to date educational and training resources, guidelines, quality improvement projects and much more.
Dr Ronelle Mouton
VASGBI Chair
The Vascular and Endovascular Research Network (VERN)
www.vascular-research.net | @VascResearchNet
Executive Committee Update
Authors: The Vascular and Endovascular Research Network Executive Committee*
The Vascular and Endovascular Research Network (VERN) has had a busy year. This year we have completed the COVER, PERCEIVE and DEFINITE projects. COVER (Covid Vascular service) involved 52 centres in 19 countries and reported the impact of COVID-19 on vascular services, outcomes and the management of vascular patients during the pandemic.1-3 PERCEIVE compared clinicians to risk prediction tools performance at predicting outcomes following major lower limb amputation in over 500 patients in 41 centres.4,5 DEFINITE outlined the contemporary surgical management of diabetic foot complications in over 700 patients.6
Ongoing projects include FrAiLTi, CAASP and VISTA. FrAiLTi, investigating the prevalence and short-term impact of frailty in chronic limb threatening ischaemia, is active in 7 centres. CAASP, a joint initiative with the IR trainee’s collaborative, is investigating the diagnostic pathways in acute aortic syndrome, is underway in 17 centres.
In December 2021 VERN hosted Dragons’ Den at the Annual Vascular Societies Meeting, supported by the Circulation Foundation. The winner, Katherine Hurndall, now leads the VISTA project, investigating the management and outcomes in vascular trauma. The project is currently active in 26 Major Trauma Centres in the UK. The Dragons will re-emerge again at this year’s Annual Vascular Societies Meeting to judge a new batch of applicants.
At the beginning of the year Graeme Amber was inaugurated as the new VERN president. VERN has also welcomed the two newly appointed Associated Surgical Specialty Leads onto the committee, Nina Al-Saadi and Lauren Shelmerdine.
The VERN Executive Committee would like to thank all the collaborators who have made this amazing work possible, driving improvements in the care of people with vascular diseases. In the new year VERN looks forward to collaborating on a new series of projects and continuing to deliver high-quality vascular research.
Contact us at: Twitter: @VascResearchNet
Email: [email protected]
*The Vascular and Endovascular Research Network Executive Committee: Graeme Ambler, Louise Hitchman, Panagiota Birmpili, Aminder Singh, Brenig Gwilym, Matthew Machin, Robert Blair, Katherine Hurndall, Nina Al-Saadi, Lauren Shelmerdine, Sandip Nandhra, Ruth Benson, Sarah Onida, Nikesh Dattani, Dave Bosanquet, Joseph Shalhoub, Athanasios Saratzis
References:
1. The Vascular and Endovascular Research Network COVER Study Collaborative and The Vascular and Endovascular Research Network (VERN). Global impact of the first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic wave on vascular services. Br J Surg 2020;107(11):1396-400.
http://doi.org/10.1002/bjs.11961.
2. Benson RA, Nandhra S; The Vascular and Endovascular Research Network (VERN) COVID-19 Vascular Service (COVER) Tier 2 Study. Outcomes of Vascular and Endovascular Interventions Performed During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic. Ann Surg 2021;273(4):630-5. http://doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0000000000004722.
3. The Vascular and Endovascular Research Network COVER Study Collaborative and The Vascular and Endovascular Research Network (VERN). The impact of the COronaVIrus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the clinical management of patients with vascular diseases: findings from Tier 3 of the COVID-19 Vascular sERvice (COVER) Study.
J Vasc Soc GB Irel 2022;2(1):17-25. http://doi.org/10.54522/jvsgbi.2022.045
4. Gwilym BL, Pallmann P, Waldron CA, et al. Short-term risk prediction after major lower limb amputation: PERCEIVE study. Br J Surg 2022.
http://doi.org/10.1093/bjs/znac309. Online ahead of print.
5. Gwilym BL, Waldron CA, Thomas-Jones E, et al. The PERCEIVE quantitative study: Prediction of Risk and Communication of outcome following major lower-limb amputation: protocol for a collaborative study. BJS Open 2021;5(6). http://doi.org/10.1093/bjsopen/zrab118.
6. The Vascular and Endovascular Research Network Executive Committee. The DEFINITE Audit - A Prospective Audit of Diabetic Foot Debridement in Theatre: A Protocol. J Vasc Soc GB Irel 2022; [Accepted; in press]
The Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland
www.vascularsociety.org.uk | @VSGBI
Vascular Society Update
This year has seen the Society’s Council, under the Presidency of Jon Boyle, transition from a focus on the recovery of vascular services affected by Covid-19 to tackling two fundamental issues faced by UK and Irish vascular units. The first, are the workforce concerns highlighted by the Vascular Society Workforce Survey (2021) led by Denis Harkin. The second, is the report of unprofessional behaviour persisting in the workplace from the Rouleaux Club members survey (2021). Work in these two areas has been the focus of the Workforce Committee chaired by Ciaran McDonnell. This committee is working with the Rouleaux Club, the Federation of Surgical Speciality Associations (FSSA) and the Royal College of Surgeons of England, to promote better understanding of the vascular Consultant workforce and achieve a culture change of ‘zero tolerance’ for unprofessional behaviour. This work is essential for the future of the vascular speciality and to ensure its multidisciplinary teams deliver safe, high quality, patient care.
Fantastic progress has been made with engaging our partner Societies through their full participation in the Annual Scientific Meeting (SVN, SVTGBI and BACPAR) and the Journal of the Joint Vascular Societies of Great Britain and Ireland (www.jvsgbi.com). The Council recognises that more needs to be done to make the Society accessible to all vascular specialists working in the UK and Ireland. The Council understands some of the changes needed, as these were highlighted in the Baroness Kennedy report for the Royal College of Surgeons of England. For example, we now have two SAS representatives on Council. Ibrahim Enemosah and Tatiana Martin are leading a drive to engage with SAS vascular doctors. However, only this week it was pointed out that whilst we have a SAS session at the ASM, we do not have a SAS registration category at the ASM for non-members. Rachel Bell will champion wider engagement will all vascular specialists working in the UK during her Presidency. The first step planned for this work is a survey to better understand what the Society is doing well, and where the Society needs to improve.
The Education Committee continue to support the delivery of the highly regarded ASPIRE and ASPIRE Digital Programmes. Patrick Couglin, who takes over as committee chair from Keith Jones at the close of this year’s ASM, has plans to expand the scope of education work to overseas, SAS and consultant education as well as improving links to allied health care groups. Matt Bown will take over as Research Committee from Ian Chetter. The nine vascular specialist interest groups (SIGs) are now well established and Matt plans to use these to develop Research Fellowship posts, core outcome sets, and a national research network. A new website to support this work is under development by two fellows, Penny Bimpilli and Nina Al-Saadi. The Society is indebted to Keith and Ian for the development of the Society’s Educational and Research activity under their tenure. Ian will continue in the role of Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Vascular Societies of Great Britain and Ireland.
The Quality and Audit Committee, chaired by Arun Pherwani with Denis Harkin appointed has his successor from December 2023, has successfully reprocured National Vascular Registry (NVR) delivery for the next three years. The NVR will continue to be run by the Vascular Society and the Clinical Effectiveness Unit of the Royal College of Surgeons of England with input from allied vascular societies (BSIR, VASGBI, SVN and SVT).
The NVR team have been busy with analysing data for the NHS England CLTI CQUIN, analysing aortic medical device data, and reporting on the impact of Covid-19 on vascular services in the UK. Planned international collaborations, with VASCUNET and ICVR, have had to be deferred due to Covid-19. The work of the Committee and the NVR team has been superbly supported by our two PAD-QIF Fellows, Penny Birmpilli and Ellie Atkin.
The Professional Standards Committee has been restructured under Ian Loftus’s leadership. Chris Imray appointed as chair from 2023-26. The reformed committee will have a stronger focus on supporting members than it has in the past. The Workforce Committee Chair, Vice President and Honorary Secretary will sit on the Committee to help embed these changes.
A wide-ranging Annual Scientific Meeting is planned for Brighton. The theme for the meeting is ‘Improving outcomes’ with the President’s symposium encompassing CLTI, teamworking, the National Consultant Information Programme (NCIP), the National Wound Care Strategy Programme (NWCSP), acute aortic dissection management, and a report from the UK-COMPASS study. The Vice-Presidents symposium focuses on vascular networks with the title ‘How big is too big?’. Oliver Lyons, Alison Halliday and Rob Hinchliffe will give their Huntarian lectures. Professor Beck will give the Kinmonth Lecture entitled ‘Registry device capture is good for patients, clinicians and industry’. Professor Kevin Mani will give the Edinburgh Royal College of Surgeons lecture ‘The risks and rewards of the centralization of aortic surgery’.
The Society’s financial position remains strong despite turmoil in the financial markets. The treasurer, Paddy McCleery, is aware of the strain on members, and trainees’, finances, and the need to be fiscally prudent when costing society events and membership. We were delighted to have launched a new paternal leave policy in May and will look to other ways to ensure that no one is excluded from Society membership on financial grounds.
Rachel Bell, with the support of Meryl Davis, have led on reinvigorating the Circulation Foundations fundraising activities. ‘The Body Walk’ is the most successful example of their work. Rachel and Meryl step down from this role after this year’s ASM. Neeraj Bashin will take over as CF chair. In his year as shadow chair, Neeraj has demonstrated his wish to see a more financially independent CF that works with all the UK vascular societies and not just the Vascular Society. We know that Rachel and Meryl will continue to support the CF.
As Honorary Secretary I have led the tender process for a long-overdue update to the Society’s website. This will include improvements to our membership database and the ability to better target news items. The Society aims to launch the new website by the 2023 ASM. I will also be giving members at the AGM a vote on opening the election of the Society President to all ordinary members.
Marcus Brooks
Honorary Secretary
Article DOI:
Journal Reference:
J.Vasc.Soc.G.B.Irel. 2022;2(1):52-56
Publication date:
November 22, 2022
