My First AHP Summer Meeting Experience

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My First AHP Summer Meeting Experience

1st August 2023

BCIS AHP Annual Conference — Bournemouth, 26-27 June 2023

Words by Hayley Hill, Nurse Angiographer at University Hospitals Northamptonshire NHS Group

I was surprised and excited when I was invited to join the BCIS Allied Healthcare Professionals Working Group, yet instantly imposter syndrome slowly crept in as dates started appearing in my diary. I need not have worried. On meeting the rest of the team, I realised that though I was surrounded by a group of experts with vast experience, I was essentially surrounded by a group of like-minded individuals whom I felt like I had worked with for years!

The Royal Bournemouth Hotel played its debut in being the venue for the AHP summer meeting, and despite the hot weather, and clearly never having experienced a vast quantity of NHS workers at a buffet, nothing seemed too much effort for them to address. The AHP Working Group had put a lot of thought into the flow of the day, and the use of the different spaces available to accommodate both the lecture and practical elements available. Regardless of whether the teaching was hands-on or more theoretical, the energy to encourage interactive sessions was infectiously positive, and the days whipped by without acknowledging the volume of information inhaled.

After doing a joint talk in the Fundamentals stream on day one, I managed to relax into the role a bit more and attempted to play to my strengths and tried to aid the Millbrook team. Whilst they seemed to make it look effortless in transitioning different groups to different spaces, my attempts came across like a flappy chicken herding cats, so I was in total awe of their unflappable stature.

To sum it all up; alongside this being a resource rich conference with multiple modalities, and both clinical and industry experts at the attendee’s disposal, I personally enjoyed the ethos and culture of sharing experiences and knowledge, and having time to meet AHPs from across the nation. In so many ways this gave me confidence in knowing my own centre was in line with others, in terms of safety and evidence, and re-fuelled my passion for everything cath lab, with ideas to adopt to improve both my team and patient experience.

AHP 4th Meeting 2014: Report

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AHP 4th Meeting 2014: Report

9th June 2014

AHP 4th Meeting 2014: Report

Following much discussion regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the second 2 day March AHPs’ meeting in Manchester, we all suggested ways in which it could be improved for Glasgow in 2015. It was agreed to change the running order and to include some recorded live cases to illustrate practice to less experienced colleagues.

There was also discussion of the AHPs’ section of the annual ACI meeting in London during January 2015. The group made many suggestions as to how this meeting too could be improved for AHPs.

The final item of note was a discussion of a plan to have open days at various catheter laboratories throughout the UK. Each would be open for one visit each year to around 4-5 visitors.

Bryan Walker

Radiographer Representative

BCIS Working Group

Clinical Lead Radiographer Manchester Royal Infirmary, Catheter Labs

AHP 3rd Meeting 2013: Report

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AHP 3rd Meeting 2013: Report

9th January 2014

Report: Allied Health Professionals Working Group – 3rd meeting, 11 November 2013

It was the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. With appropriate solemnity, the BCIS AHP Working Group met for the 3rd time in the Heart Centre of Manchester Royal Infirmary.

Unusually, there was a full-house and only I was late (having travelled about 100 yards).

There was a full programme of business to attend to.

Dr Fraser started the meeting off by thanking everyone for their efforts in attending and welcoming two new faces. Alison Brown, Clinical Educator, Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Glasgow had been officially appointed to the committee and she was accompanied by her colleague Murray Jummun who would be helping her to organise the proposed 2015 AHPs’ meeting in Glasgow.

The first agenda item was to organise the AHPs’ sessions for ACI in 2014. Discussion around this topic was lengthy and terminated only by our first tea and biscuits break.

With this settled (check out the details on the ACI 2014 website), we turned our attention to the organisation of our up-coming catheter lab basics course in March 2014. It was agreed that we should keep the general format the same (as what is basic does not change) and fine-tune areas that the committee felt needed to be altered.

Sarah Carson proposed that colleagues at Bristol would be interested in hosting the 2016 course.

Having partaken of a more than adequate finger-buffet, we addressed the AHPs’ element of the BCIS website. It was agreed that this was growing satisfactorily, but more educational materials were to be encouraged. Chris Loder offered a piece that would assist anyone wishing to write an abstract for a publication. It was agreed that this would be a welcome addition.

Once again, Dr Fraser asked all the group members to find and provide a photograph for the website front page. Cue the squirming from the usual quarters. It was proposed that the website should also have a feedback box, which would email directly to bcis@bcis.com. It was also decided to ask former committee members for any standard operating protocols that could be added to the site. Finally, a research page was proposed and I agreed to help put this in place.

The next agenda item was the election of new members. The committee had no physiologist member and this had to be addressed along with two more nursing representatives who had yet to be replaced.

The final item discussed was communication with other groups. Sarah Carson had been invited to join a EuroPCR AHPs’ committee. Chris Loder had attended a recent TCT conference. It was reiterated that on each of these occasions, representatives should be seeking opportunities to share learning and practice.

The meeting ended and everyone was escorted to the local taxi rank to return to Piccadilly Railway station.

Bryan Walker

Radiographer Representative

BCIS Working Group

Clinical Lead Radiographer Manchester Royal Infirmary, Catheter Labs

3 January 2014

BCIS AHP 2nd meeting 2012: REPORT

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BCIS AHP 2nd meeting 2012: REPORT

9th January 2012

BCIS AHP 2nd meeting 2012: REPORT

6 people set off to BCIS HQ in London for the second meeting of the AHPs group. Due to transport and work problems only four of us made it. The upside of this was more biscuits and sandwiches for those who got there.

Our meeting had been organised to take forward the agenda for AHPs development under the umbrella of BCIS. The first item discussed was our own internal communications, which had been difficult due to the geographic spread of the members. This was increasingly important in the run up to our first AHPs course in March.

Doug Fraser, group chair, gave an update of what had been going on within BCIS since our last meeting and how AHPs would be represented within the BCIS Training and Education Group. The colleague to undertake this role was yet to be finalised.

The AHPs section of the BCIS website was our next focus. This was now live and would be continually developing. It was clear that the most tangible development of our committee was the upcoming Catheter Lab Basics course in March. We were all delighted to note the number of protocols and operational policies that had already been placed on the website to help colleagues to develop their practice. More were sought and there were some patient satisfaction surveys expected soon. There was also going to be a research area, which Karen Wilson would be providing.

The next area that came to light was a vacancy in our committee for a cardiac physiologist since the resignation of Joel Rankin. It was agreed to seek permission from the BCIS Administration Group to recruit a new member. The meeting chair clarified that each committee member is each elected for a period of 2 years, which may be extended by a further 2 years on application. The existing members are therefore up for re-application in May 2014.

We then discussed communications with other groups. Colleagues had been finding it difficult to get funding to attend courses, especially overseas. It was decided to look into potential funding from BCIS for an AHP representative to attend a European meeting.

The AHPs session at ACI in January was our next focus. Dr Fraser would be cochairing the session on the Friday afternoon (25th January) with Sam Chapman. The committee was confident that the line-up this year was as strong and interesting as ever. This led to our final point, which was to arrange our next meeting, which would be at 7.30am on that Friday morning. We were all understandably excited about such an early start.

We agreed that a report of each of these regular meetings would be shared on the website… and here it is!

Straight after the meeting, Chris Loder, Doug and I set off for the Royal Free Hospital to view the planned venue for the March course, but once again time and traffic beat us. We had to abandon this trip in order to get to Euston in time for our train back to the frozen north.

That we all lived for another day is heartening, especially as the preparatory work for the March course goes on. Remember 18 – 19 March 2013. Be there or be square!

Bryan Walker

Radiography representative, BCIS AHP Working Group

Clinical Lead Radiographer Manchester Royal Infirmary, Catheter Labs January 2013