It has been another challenging year for the NHS, overshadowed by the impact of industrial action and a significant lack of workforce and resource on the health service, cancer services, clinical practice, and professional education. We can, however, be proud of maintaining the delivery of care, meeting the complex needs of our patient groups, maintaining morale and supporting our colleagues.
The Lead AHP/Nurse Committee is in place, and we are developing a strategy for the year ahead and beyond. We are proud to sit on the AUGIS Council and are keen to raise the profile of Nurses and AHPs within AUGIS. We recognise that there are many challenges ahead, which require a high level of commitment within our own busy working and personal lives.
One of the more pressing issues has been to look at ways to improve overall membership of Nurses and AHPs to AUGIS. How do we engage new members? How can we be more inclusive and how can we look at ways to improve AUGIS so that everyone wants to join? We are proud to have a growing membership of Dietitians, Nurses and other AHPs.
We have been fortunate to recruit several AHPs and Nurses to vacancies for regional representatives on the AHP/CNS Sub-Committee with the aim of representing our professions in the regions and nationally. We still have vacancies for Scotland and Ireland, and we welcome enquiries from interested Nurses and AHPs. We would like to see an emphasis on collaboration with AUGIS members at local and national level, whereby the Regional Specialist Nurse and AHP representatives work closely together with the Regional Council representatives and Roux Club (surgical trainee) representatives. We share a common interest in improving patient services and providing professional support across all members of AUGIS with the very clear aim of promoting excellence in our field through collaboration and education. We are also delighted that the overall membership of Nurses and AHPs has doubled in number. We ask you, as members of AUGIS, to encourage your colleagues to join, as together we are stronger in our influence, and to inform the Sub-Committee about what we could be doing to be more inclusive and relevant to all involved in the care of UGI patients.
The Committee is in the process of reviewing the Mission Statement and the Terms of Reference for Committee members. We have looked at the benefits of membership and we are pleased to be able to offer a range of opportunities for our members. Membership fees remain considerably reduced, in addition to members’ preferential rates for the Annual Scientific meeting.
We are delighted to announce that AUGIS has agreed to offer awards for several training and travel Fellowships for AHPs and Nurses, who are members of AUGIS. The criteria are being defined and will be announced in the near future. This is an exciting move on behalf of AUGIS and we hope these fellowships will inspire and provide support in maintaining excellence in clinical practice and research.
For Nurses and AHPs, identifying their educational needs is vital. The Committee are working hard to develop and to provide an Educational Calendar, opportunities for networking, mentorship, and peer support. We welcome ideas for webinars and courses, the educational events programme and also for the Annual Scientific Meeting. This remains a “work in progress”. We hope to establish a specialist course encompassing aspects of UGI surgery, oncology and endoscopy, which will appeal to new and experienced Nurses and AHPs alike.
A review of the website is still planned to provide an up-to-date forum for sharing information and best practice. We would like to include an Educational Calendar and a Webinar Platform, together with an archive of presentations and links to other educational establishments, societies, and patient groups for AUGIS members.
The 26th Annual Scientific Meeting was held in the historic city of Oxford in 2023 and it was a tremendous success. This high-quality meeting had an excellent range of expert speakers, many of whom had published research. The affiliate programme was well-attended, and it also attracted many of our surgical colleagues to the point where there was “standing room only”! Over 100 delegates enjoyed excellent presentations on digital prehabilitation, the future of endoscopic treatments, Type 3 Diabetes, the future of oncological treatments for GOJ and HPB cancers, managing post-surgical fall-out via a Nurse- and Dietitian-led clinics and a superb presentation by a patient on “What does the patient want to know?”.
This year, we are excited to host the 27th AUGIS Annual Scientific Meeting in Manchester. The affiliate Programme is being finalised and we are fortunate that we have already secured several impressive local and national speakers to speak on the optimisation of the frail patient, cachexia in patients with UGI cancers, managing immunotherapy- and chemotherapy-related toxicities, a Cytosponge service and an anti-reflux surgery, in addition to presentations on nutrition amongst other presentations (to be confirmed). The programme should complement the main programme extremely well and, importantly, allow opportunities for networking professionally and socially. We do encourage members to come with their teams – it is a valuable opportunity for team building.
It is a great honour for us to represent the interests of the nursing profession and the allied health professions within AUGIS. We aim to inspire motivation, excellence and collaboration, in addition to raising the profile for Nurses and our AHPs.
Anne-Margrethe Phillips, Liz Ward, Fiona Huddy and Rebecca Bidmead
Leads for the Allied Health Professionals and Specialist Nurses Committee