News

In an effort to further address the unmet medical need in viral hepatitis, Gilead Sciences is launching a fellowship program.

The programme will support proposals that evaluate existing, or implement and evaluate new, innovative initiatives focussed on increasing appropriate Hepatitis Delta testing utilising electronic healthcare systems (e.g. automated reflex testing or pop-ups).

Applications will be accepted from 16th August and 15th October 2021.

For more information on Gilead Sciences Fellowship program and how to apply, please visit: www.gileadgiving.co.uk .

The IQILS accreditation programme is seeking nurse and medical assessors to conduct accreditation assessments for the programme.

The IQILS programme was launched in 2017 and is designed to support liver services in the UK. Accreditation is a supportive process of evaluating the quality of clinical services against the programme’s established standards.

Successful applicants will undergo a detailed training programme that equips them with the necessary skills and knowledge required to undertake the role. You will be invited to remote training sessions, as well as observe an assessment and receive support from the office team.  If you are interested in becoming an assessor, please contact the IQILS team at askiqils@rcp.ac.uk to further discuss the role.

The tenure of a number of committee member posts will come to an end in September 2021 and BASL are now seeking nominations for the following 3 positions on its Governing Board:

BASL Secretary Elect - elected by the membership and will shadow the BASL Secretary from October 2021, taking up the role of Secretary at the end of the Business Meeting of the Association in September 2022.

The Secretary is the Chief Executive of the Association and serves for up to two years. They are responsible for running the administrative tasks pertaining to his/her function and will work closely with the Secretariat, who are appointed by the Governing Board.

Research Lead - elected by the membership to serve for a period of up to three years and may be re-elected once. The Research Lead is responsible for basic science, research and portfolio development.

Services Lead - elected by the membership to serve for a period of up to three years and may be re-elected once. The Services Lead supports the development and implementation of Clinical Standards and the provision of Clinical Services, including preparation and delivery of advice to national health authorities concerning liver diseases.

The newly elected BASL members will take up their roles at the end of the BASL Annual Business Meeting in September 2021.

All of the above posts, with the exception of the Secretary Elect post, shall be registered with Companies House in the UK as a Director of BASL and registered with the Charities Commission as a Trustee.

BASL is committed to promoting equality and diversity and ensuring equal opportunities and access for all our members. Please consider joining the BASL committee and help to shape the future of BASL.

Nomination Process
Please send your nominations, clearly stating the position that your nomination is for, to the BASL Secretariat at judy@basl.org.uk by the deadline of 23:59 on Wednesday 30th June 2021.

Candidates wishing to be considered for nomination must be a member of BASL and will require one BASL member to propose them and a second BASL member to confirm their suitability for the role in writing. (Proposing and seconding of candidates is by email.)

If more than one candidate is nominated for a particular post, the Secretariat will arrange for an election of all members. He/she will be elected by simple majority of those members voting.

A personal statement, containing no more than approx. 300 words, will be required from the candidate should an election need to take place. Candidates will be contacted by the Secretariat if a personal statement is required.

The newly elected posts will be announced at the next Annual Business Meeting of the Association during BASL2021 which takes place from 21st – 24th September.

If you need any more information on any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact judy@basl.org.uk .

We look forward to hearing from you.

Environmentally Sustainable Hepatology - It’s time to make a start.

The Covid-19 Pandemic has precipitated a rapid re-think of how medical services should be provided in the UK and around the world. This reconfiguring of services is happening in parallel to the run up to the G7 conference in Carbis Bay, Cornwall where Climate is a key item on the agenda. As well as this the UK is hosting the COP26 climate conference later this year, this pivotal meeting taking place at a time when key decisions and investments are being made as part of the recovery from the pandemic. There have been many pleas to place Climate, Planetary and Human Health at the centre of the pandemic recovery.

Over the last few years the majority of us will have noticed gradual steps towards a more sustainable future, in what we eat, how we travel and almost every other aspect of our lives. These changes include a move to a more environmentally sustainable future for healthcare. The NHS is leading this change internationally with plans underway to deliver the world’s first net zero healthcare system [1]. This transformation requires a rethink of every aspect of NHS practice from heating and lighting to changes to the NHS constitution. This transformation delivers the potential to maintain or improve quality of care whilst lessening our impact on the planetary systems and natural world on which we all rely.

"It is not enough for the NHS to treat the problems caused by air pollution and climate change - from asthma to heart attacks and strokes - we need to play our part in tackling them at source."
NHS Chief Executive Simon Stevens

A number of specialities including Anaesthetics, Surgery and Nephrology are making progress with a move to more sustainable healthcare models, with help from organisation such as https://sustainablehealthcare.org.uk . Our Gastroenterology colleagues are also making progress with the recent appointment of a Fellow in Sustainable Endoscopy and an expanding international coalition: ‘The Green Endoscopy Network’ (Twitter @GreenEndoscopy).

It is overdue for Hepatology to start a journey towards a more sustainable future rather than be left on the sidelines at this time.

What is Sustainable Healthcare?
A sustainable healthcare system is achieved by delivery high-quality care and improved public health without exhausting natural resources and living within the ecological boundaries of our planet.

The 4 main domains of sustainable healthcare are set out below adapted from Mortimer et al.

How do we make a start on Sustainable Hepatology?
Maybe the best way to start is by recognising that some current practices already fit within the sphere of sustainable hepatology within one of the domains above. For instance non-invasive assessment of hepatic fibrosis whether it be by ELF test or FibroScan represent low carbon modalities of assessing severity of liver disease. Other more sustainable practices underway, such as telephone and video appointments where appropriate, represent a change to lean services delivery and such practices should be embedded where appropriate and feasible. These may sound like small steps, however with an increasing burden of liver disease they are significant and represent a beginning.

Where else might Sustainable Hepatology lead and what might be the next steps?

The next step may be to consider embedding sustainability in quality improvement framework (SusQI) and into the outcomes of a service measured against environmental, economic, and social cost to determine its sustainability value. This framework was developed by the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare with partners including the Royal College of Physicians [2]. This might lead to a new focus on healthcare preventive measures such as minimum unit pricing of alcohol or a greater focus on preventing metabolic liver disease both within childhood and adult services.

We might also consider:
• Form a multi-disciplinary group of interested others to define what Sustainable Hepatology should be.
• Consulting with https://sustainablehealthcare.org.uk at an early stage.
• Educate ourselves, our association, colleagues, departments and others where appropriate on climate, health and liver disease.
• Incorporate talks on climate and sustainability into gastroenterology and hepatology training and relevant meetings.
• The principles of sustainable quality improvement (SusQI) have been developed by a group including the Royal College of Physicians. These principles could be incorporated into guideline development and quality improvement in Hepatology.
• Appoint Fellows in Sustainable Hepatology (as is taking place in Endoscopy, Anaesthetics, Surgery, Dentistry and Psychiatry).
• A move to more sustainable Hepatology conferences.

In our opinion it is time for hepatology to look to a more sustainable future and we welcome the thoughts and opinions of colleagues in the UK around the world as to how to make this happen.

Join BASL’s Sustainable Hepatology Working Group
BASL is committed to being an inclusive organisation, offering equal opportunity for members to be involved in the work of the association. If you are interested in being part of a working group to develop ideas for Sustainable Hepatology and work with others to promote thinking about this is our future research and service developments, please contact our lead, Dr William Stableforth, by emailing william.stableforth@nhs.net .

References
1. https://www.england.nhs.uk/greenernhs/wp-content/uploads/sites/51/2020/10/delivering-a-net-zero-national-health-service.pdf 
2. https://sustainablehealthcare.org.uk/susqi

The Andy Burroughs Young Investigator Award was set up in honour of the late Professor Andrew Burroughs.

Professor Burroughs was an eminent and world renowned Professor of Hepatology and Consultant Physician/Hepatologist and among his many achievements including his wide area of expertise in cirrhosis and portal hypertension and significant contribution to liver Transplantation.

Eligibility
This prize is awarded to young investigators who have contributed to clinical or translational research related to liver disorders who are in training or within 2 years of taking up consultant positions (or equivalent); this year the winner will receive free registration to the meeting, an award and a prize of £1,000 and an invite to deliver the prize lecture and present their research at the BASL Annual Meeting.

To apply, please send one A4 sheet outlining the research and another A4 sheet listing up to 5 related publications.

Please send submissions to steve@basl.org.uk before the deadline of 09:00hrs on Monday 2nd August 2021

You must be a BASL member to apply.