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.