BSACI Annual Conference
Allergy Update
BSACI Annual Conference: meeting face-to-face again A
s we leave the 2021 BSACI Meeting in Harrogate behind us, we can now reflect on what has been a challenging but ultimately very successful undertaking. This Meeting was one of the first completely face-to-face conferences of a major scientific society, so we were treading on uncharted territory. However, we knew that, as we slowly return Dr Georgios to normality after the pandemic, Gkimpas most people are eager to see their Consultant colleagues and friends in person, Allergist, Royal and this was indeed demonstrated Preston Hospital by the Meeting’s success, both in the number of delegates that it BSACI 2021 Meeting Scientific attracted, and in their experience. In an environment where everybody’s Program Lead safety was the main priority, we worked closely with the conference centre and delivered an event where delegates and speakers enjoyed the rich programme and the social interaction that has been missed for too long. The 2021 Conference focused on the development and presentation of allergy throughout life, and further touched upon Transition and unified practice issues for paediatric and adult allergy. The opening plenary set the stage of what was to follow, with powerful talks by Dr Andrew Whyte discussing our COVID experience throughout this last difficult year, Professor Graham Roberts, BSACI President, detailing his view
of how we can establish seamless Transition practices, and Professor Sir Stephen Holgate, sharing his experience of working with and supporting Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, the coFounder of the Ella Roberta Family Foundation and mother of nine-year-old Ella who was the first person in the UK whose death certificate listed air pollution to be a contributory factor to their death. Rosamund herself closed the plenary with a powerful and moving talk about her struggles trying to navigate the system to investigate the cause of Ella’s passing, which triggered a several-minute-long standing ovation by all attendees. This year, Allergy Education was also celebrated in a novel session that included showcasing educational projects across the UK, and an expert panel discussing their implementation. Very worthy projects were presented and discussed in this session which took place in the memory of our greatly missed colleague, Professor Tony Frew, and the top project was selected and awarded the Education Award by his wife Professor Helen Smith. Professor Krishna, TK, delivered an outstanding Jack Pepys Lecture, Dr Nandinee Patel was Speaker’s Corner
Sandie Campbell, Fiona Rayner and Ben King
BSACI were awarded a Business Events Domestic Support Grant for the BSACI 2021 Meeting from Visit Britain.
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