Your Society Update - March 2023

YourSociety Update

StateoftheArtisjustaroundthecorner!

We're now just 14 weeks away from getting together in Birmingham for our annual Congress, State of the Art (SOA), andwecan'twaittowelcomeeveryonetotheeventoftheyear!

Our team, particularly our Head of Communications, Alex Day and Head of Events, Mani Rai, have been busily working to bring youanotherfantasticeventthisyear Theyvebeencollaborating with our Congress Director Shondipon Laha and Programme Director Parjam (PJ) Zolfaghari to develop an excellent programme of learning and socialising You can read more fromPJonpage12abouthisroleandwhathe'slookingforward tomostaboutthisyear'sevent

Each year SOA unites intensive care professionals from across the globe to facilitate a multi-purpose environment where the ICU community can learn, network, and discover the latest advancementsincriticalcare,clinicalresearchandinnovation

As our Physio PAG member Zoe van Willigen says "if we learn together as a team we will work well together as a team out in clinical practice," so we ' re looking forward to welcoming so manydelegatesfromacrossthemulti-professionalteam!

SOA is now the largest event for critical care in the UK and one of the largest multi-professional meetings In Europe Year-onyear we work hard to evolve the Congress to bring you a fresh experience every time, and we pride ourselves on delivering a Congress that not only provides relevant, interactive, exciting and thought-provoking sessions across multiple streams but alsooffersaspacetore-connectandnetwork

This year, we return to the ICC in Birmingham from 27 - 29 June, for three days of interactive learning across three streams and multipleopportunitiestocatchupwitholdfriendsandmakenew ones

We've got some great networking and social events planned, so itllbetheperfecttimetocatchupwithcolleagues,debriefabout whatyouvelearned,andgettoknowcolleaguesfromacrossthe country and beyond But if you can't join us in Birmingham that doesn't mean you need to miss out on all the Congress has to offer

#SOA23 is fully hybrid, so you can attend both in person and virtually All tickets also come with an additional six months ondemand access, allowing you to go back and catch up on the sessionsyoumissedorthoseyoujustfancywatchingagain

We have over 100 global speakers talking across the 40 planned sessions with guaranteed content that is relevant to the entire multi-professional critical care team Lots of our speakers are nowlistedonourwebsite,socancheckthemoutnow

You can also take advantage of one of our three full day workshops on critical care airways leadership or ultrasound (FUSIC) being held on 26 June 2023 Early bird discounts end on 30 April 2023, so get booking now and join us at SOA23, you will notregretit!

Bookyourspotnowatbitly/SOA23Reg

AmessagefromourCEO, SandyMatherand President,SteveMathieu Ontheinsidelookingout...

Aswewritethisblogthelatestnewsalertbeepsonthephoneto tell us that the next junior doctors strike will be 11-14 April, 2023 So,thenegotiationshavestalled

Meantime, we wait with bated breath to hear the outcome of votesbyotherhealthcareprofessionstodecidewhethertheywill accept the deal that has been put to them We know it’s complicated but if only the powers that be could recognise this is all about staff needing the basic core conditions to thrive at work so that they can deliver the best quality of care for those whoneedit,whentheyneedit Becausewhicheverlensyoulook through we mustn’t forget that patient safety, outcomes and experienceareattheheartofwhatwedo

How far can any reasonable person stretch before they snap? How much longer can we draw on the good will of health care professionals to go the extra mile, for free, in an underresourcedsystem?

The continued life of the NHS as we know it is not sustainable without adequately valuing all the skills and experience that a multi-professional team can bring to the holistic care of a patient Staff need opportunities to train and develop in their roles and not be expected to pay for courses and training themselves as many of our AHP, pharmacy and nursing colleagues do There needs to be a positive work environment and investment in the professions that deliver the care The NHS needs to create the core conditions to thrive at work to retain experienced staff This will also create an environment that encourages new generations of staff to want to train in healthcareandworkintheNHS

This week we launched an exciting new partnership with Health Education England NHS England and NHS Elect to help to developtheAHPcriticalcareworkforce

Weve been enthused by the engagement across social media with so many different professionals The AHP capability framework will build on the work the Society has done with the AHP Professional Development Framework and leverage a once in a lifetime opportunity to improve career progression opportunities for AHPs in critical care enabling their continuing professionaldevelopment

In project, we are focusing on dietitians, occupational therapists, operating department practitioners physiotherapists and speechandlanguagetherapists

You can read all the details and the full role profile at bitly/AHPRoleProf

We launched the second year of work with our All-Party Parliamentary Group in Intensive Care in January We always planned to focus on workforce this year after last year focusing on patients, relatives and rehabilitation pathways We ran an interactive workshop at Westminster with Parliamentarians and benefitted from two engaging presentations by Michaela Jones (Matron and elected Chair of the Society’s Nurses Professional Advisory Group) and Paul Dean (Consultant Intensivist and the SocietyselectedHonorarySecretary)

We also spent some time explaining the pensions precipice facing our more senior colleagues in the critical care team and the impact of pension thresholds causing experienced professionals to leave earlier than they would otherwise Following this APPG, the co-chair tabled eight Parliamentary Questions about critical care and workforce We would like to thinkourAPPGdiscussionsaboutpensionsatWestminsterledto the recent budget decision and hope it will help to retain many ofourseniorandexperiencedcolleagues

Finally,wewantedtoshareourthoughtsaboutasixmonthpiece of work that did not end as we had hoped We gathered together a multi-professional working group including legal advisors to help us to develop an application to be a Core Participant in the Covid-19 Inquiry We felt we had a very strong case – being the only membership organisation representing thewholemulti-professionalteamandyouruniquevoice

Despiteseekingareconsideration(essentiallyanappeal)ofthe initial determination by the Chair of the Inquiry she retained her decision not to confer Core Participant status on the Intensive Care Society We have considered our next steps carefully with both our Council and our Trustee Board as well as the multiprofessional working group and our senior management team and have decided that we will now take up a role as observers andperhapscommentatorsontheInquiry

However we will remain open to assisting the Chair and the Inquiry should they wish to approach us directly While were on the inside looking out on most things, for the Inquiry we ’ re on the outsidelookingin

Until the next newsletter please feel free to email us at the Society or contact us via twitter where you will see we always enjoyahealthydebateanddiscussion

You can find Steve at @stevemathieu75, or contact Sandy at @sanmather

APPGonintensivecare

In November 2021, we established the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Intensive Care with chair Sir Gary Street MP ConservativeMPforSouthwestDevon

Sir Gary has led the work of the AAPG expertly and after a 30yearcareerrepresentinghisconstituency,SirGaryannouncedhis planstoretireafterthenextelection AttheAGMJanuary2023,it was confirmed that Rachael Maskell MP would be the APPGs cochair offering the group additional expertise, leadership, and successionplans

InadditiontotheMPforSouthWestDevonandLabourMPforYork

Central the APPG has the support of Baroness Ilora Finlay Lord WigleyandBaronessWatson

Baroness Masham of Ilton, who was a founding member and a keen supporter, sadly passed away in March 2023 Baroness Masham was a Paralympian competing in the inaugural Paralympics in Rome and the longest serving female peer in the House of Lords having been made a life peer in 1970 In addition to the APPG on Intensive Care, she founded the Spinal Injuries Association in 1974 and had a keen interest in health services, medicineandsocialcare

The APPG helps to build parliamentarians' understanding of the scope of work that the multi-professional team in Intensive Care conductbothinthewallsoftheICUandbeyond

We’ve been privileged so far to host expert speakers in nursing, outreach physiotherapy medicine and speech and language therapy

Similarly, weve gratefully received presentations from those with lived experience of intensive care both from the patient perspective (pre-COVID-19 and during the pandemic) and from the loved ones perspective

Sharing the lived experiences of staff, patients and families as to how things work best practice examples and areas for improvement is integral Wewillalwaysseektoincorporatetheseexperiencesintothe keypolicymessagesthatareputforwardtotheAPPG

InyearoneoftheAPPG’sfoundation,weheldtwokeyareasoffocusrehabilitationpostintensivecareandworkforce

Inyeartwo,workforcesitscentraltoourprogramme Ourworkin2021 and 2022 has been against a backdrop of widespread industrial action,transport,costoflivingandaworkforceretentioncrisis

As referenced in the the Societys strategy 2023-2027, workforce continues to be a key priority and will underpin our interactions with decision makers the delivery of our educational offers and grant making

MedicineforIntensiveCareStudyDay

More than 100 people attended our first Medicine for Intensive Care session in January getting this year ’ s programme of study days off toastrongstart

ChairedbyGemmaTalling(Cheltenham)andSarahBurgess(Royal Marsden), delegates heard a range of speakers present on topics covering oncology ophthalmology toxicology respiratory conditions cardiology,liverconditionsandneurology

The focus was on conditions in each category that can result in admissiontoICU,subsequentconditionsthatcanoccurwhileonICU, andadviceonwhenurgentreviewisrequired

To start the day, James Ferguson and Melanie Hingorani took us though liver conditions and keeping the eyes safe in the ICU We were then joined by Dhruv Parekh and Manish Kalla who explored respiratory and cardiology conditions that take patients to intensive care

In the last half of the day, Paul Dargan guided us through toxicology andSeanBrownilluminated‘OncologyfortheIntensivitst’

Finally, to close out, Ed Needham broke down neurology and its links toICU

Each talk sparked discussion with delegates having the opportunity toaskquestionsandexplorethefindings

We had a fantastic response from those who attended with delegatespraisingthe“excellentspeakers,interestingtopics,andwell organised” day, which "covered so many topics and dealt with the mostfrequentlyaskedquestions”

Wealsoreceivedgreatfeedbackonhowtopicswereapproached

“Thevarietyoftopicscoveredwasgreat,"saidonedelegate "Itwas interesting and useful to discuss eye care on ICU as this is somethingoftennotcovered

Anothertoldus"thecombinationofmultiplespecialiststofocuson diagnosticsaswellasmanagementwasasuccess"

As study days are also recorded all delegates had access to the learning post event, and one respondent told us they very much valuedthataccess "AsIcouldnotjointhelinkonthedayduetoan emergency,Iappreciatedbeingabletowatchtherecordinginfull

Co-chair Gemma Talling said she was delighted to read all the positive feedback received from attendees It was a highly insightful day and I personally learnt a great deal from attending I am very much looking forward to working with Sarah to produce theAutumnsequel"

The day wouldn't have been possible without our Education and Events Coordinator Rachel Green whos already organising our programmeofeventsfortherestoftheyear

The second Medicine for Intensive Care study day is to be held on Thursday5October

The programme is set to cover another set of topical conditions such as dermatology, rheumatology, endocrine & metabolic, haematology renal ENT infectionandtropicaldiseases

Registrationisopennowatbitly/ICSEvents

TAGfortheyearahead

Our2023PodcastSeries

This year, weve re-introduced the Intensive Care Society Podcast to help you get to know your colleagues better and learn more about thethingsthatmattertoyou

My name is Fran and I am the chair of the Trainee Advisory Group (TAG), the group representing intensive care medicine trainees as part of the Society’s seven professional advisorygroups

In March, we ran elections to join our Group so I’d like to tell you about what we have worked on recently and what is coming up in the nextyear

I’m new to the chair role taking over from the brilliant Emma Jackson who has recently completed training As well as getting to grips with the job, Im working with the rest of the TAGtoproduceanothergreatABCofICMsessionforthe2023

State of the Art Congress in June I’ve also recently joined the editorial board for GPICS v3 which is an exciting and farreaching project- one I’m looking forward to being involved in forthenextfewyears

As TAG Chair, Im co-opted onto the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine(FICM)StRcommitteesothatwecansharepriorities andchallengesacrossboththerepresentativegroupsworking for ICM trainees across the UK We are looking to produce guidanceonstage3trainingthisyeartohelppeoplenavigate thischallengingtimeintraining

I’m also working internationally with trainee representatives from all over the world to share projects opportunities and learning, with an international FICM Trainee Eye magazine to bepublishedlateronthisyear

Our TAG members are also involved in the Society’s working groups and committees Our education and learning representatives, Sarah Burgess and Sara Scott worked hard in 2022 to bring you a range of educational events targeted to trainees including the successful Hidden Curriculum Study Day

In 2023, they are working with the Society’s Learning team to produce educational days In January, we had ‘Medicine for Intensive Care

focusing on what brings medical patients to ICU followedbyadayonMaternalCriticalCareinMarch

Were represented on the Society's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Sustainability Working Groups and on the Standards and Guidelines Committee, helping to steer the Societyswork

I am very fortunate to work with a group of motivated inspiring and friendly intensive care medicine trainees who really showcase what a brilliant group the ICM trainees in the UK are I think I speak for everyone on the committee in saying that being part of this group and working on meaningful projects outside of training gives purpose and reward We're really glad to be welcoming new members this year, and would love to hear from any of our trainee members about yourideasforhowwecansupportyou

Youcangetintouchatcommunicationsteam@icsacuk

Weve had some great guests so far with appearances from two of our Professional Advisory Groups (PAGs) and a team of authors whove recently been published in the Journal of the Intensive Care Society(JICS)

As we focus our efforts on workforce challenges this year, we thought it was a good time to help you get to know our PAGs and workinggroupsandlearnwhatthey’llbeuptoin2023

January

As we kicked off nominations for our Trainee Advisory Group (TAG) in January, we invited members of the TAG to join us for the first episode of our 2023 podcast series Fran Tait Sarah Burgess and Sekina Bakare got together to chat about how they came to be trainees in intensive care, what drew them to the TAG in the first place, and what they think are the biggest challenges facing their specialty Covering everything from patient experience to work-life balance and raising children while working in ICU it was a fascinating conversation We even had a guest appearance from Sarahstoddler,Alex!

February

With the tricky task of following our TAG our Physiotherapy PAG got togetherinFebruarytochatallthingsphysioinICU AllainaEden,Zoe van Willigen and Ema Swingwood joined us to talk about how they came to be ICU physios, the role their colleagues play within the multi-professional team and why physiotherapy is so much more thanhelpingpatientsoutofbed

From research to ward rounds, they made an excellent case for the inclusion of our vastly talented physiotherapists in all aspects of intensive care and their vision for the ICU physiotherapy of the future

March

In March, we invited Luke Flower, Kamilla Kamaruddin, Alice Humphreys and Stuart Edwardson to speak to us about their recent articleinJICSonthecareoftransgenderpatientsinICU

They chatted about the writing of the article, what we can do to make sure all patients get the best possible care no matter their gender identity, and what they'd like to see in the ICU of the future Youcanreadmoreabouttheirarticleonpageeight

You can find all our podcasts at bitly/ICS Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, so stay tuned in the coming months to hear frommoreofourPAGsandworkinggroups Or,ifyou’vegotanidea you think would make a great episode you can get in touch at communicationsteam@icsacuk

Luke,Alice,StuartandKamillarecording ourMarchpodcastwiththeSociety

SOA is now the largest event for intensive care in the UK and one of the largestmulti-professionalmeetinginEurope.

Below are just a few of the exciting sessions we have planned for our programme:

Tuesday27June2023

ARDS:Fromoldfriendstonewhorizons

Wednesday28June2023

NeurosciencesintheICUincollaboration withNACCS

Thursday29June2023

To kick off our fundraising update I wanted to introduce myself, I’m Richard Ainsworth, Fundraising ManagerfortheIntensiveCareSocietyandhavebeenontheteamforalmosttwoyearsnow OneofmybiggestachievementssofaristheZermatttoVerbierfundraisingchallengeandI’dliketo tellyouhowitstartedandhowyoucangetinvolved

One of Birmingham’s finest Gary Pittaway approached the Society in 2021 as he wanted to do something for our intensive care community, and asked if wed like to get involved in a fundraising challenge Alongsideanothercharity,wejumpedatthechanceandroughlyayearlater,ourfearless teamhiked climbed andpushedthemselvesacrossthePatrouilledesGlacierswhilstraisingroughly £90,000intheprocess

During that year we saw the team take on an intense training regime, hike many hilltops and fundraise with corporate sponsors, events, cycle challenges and the classic JustGiving fundraising portal They each pushed themselves further than ever before and faced the fundraising commitmentwithsimilarvigour,exceedingeveryone’swildestexpectations

Although I wasn’t with the team in Switzerland, I’ve been fortunate to hear their incredible stories –the highs and lows, the smelly huts and best tasting beer after the longest day Its an experience that no of them will forget and we owe a massive thank you to Sarah Sarah Debbie Gary Nick David,MikeandAJNSteelstockforpullingittogether

Looking ahead to 2024, were currently building our brilliant new team which Im excited to say have thesameenthusiasmandeagernesstotakeonthatmountainrangeheadon

If you ’ re interested in getting involved or would like to support our 2024 team, get in touch at fundraising@icsacuk

AnupdatefromourFundraisingManager TowardsNetZero

Atthebeginningof2022,weestablishedourSustainabilityWorkingGrouptohelpusprioritiseourimmediateclimatestrategyandwork towards our climate goals Since then, we ’ ve been busy working on new projects and establishing channels to help us work with our peerstomakemeaningfulchange

In July together with the British Association of Critical Care Nurses (BACCN) we endorsed the Centre for Sustainable Healthcares (CSH) Critical Care Susnet - a network where intensive care professionals can share their sustainability projects This sharing of ideas helpsusdrawontheinnovationhappeninginourcommunityanddoourparttotackleclimatechange

“Giventheurgencytoreachnetzero,wemustallbeworkingtowardsthesamegoalwithintheICMcommunity,”saysourSustainability WorkingGroupCo-Chair EleanorDamm

“Thisnetworkprovidesaplatformtobuildandnurtureacommunityencompassingtheentiremulti-professionalintensivecareteam;to allowthesharingofideasandlessonslearnt,andtocreatearesourcelibrary”

Alongside the Susnet weve also been co-hosting bi-monthly sustainability

Sharing Hours chaired by the brilliant Heather Baid The eventsseeHeatherjoinedbygueststodiscusstheirsustainabilityworkandtakequestionsfromtheaudience,andthenextone,on29 Marchwillbethefourthintheseriessofar

At the most recent Sharing Hour in early February, Heather was joined by Steph Ireland and ICU Consultant and founder of Healthcare Ocean, Richard Hixon They took questions from the audience about sustainable healthcare practice and their ideas forthefuture

Keep your eyes peeled for more information about joining our nextsessionorheadtobitly/CC SusnettojointheSusnet

Our2023AutumnEducation Programme

Joinusforoneormoreofourstudydays,startingthisautumn,aimedatengaging ourcommunityonavarietyoftopicsrelatingtoyourworkinICU

We'll be joined by expert speakers throughout the second half of the year, to help youstrengthenyourknowledgeandexperience

MedicineforIntensiveCare

Thursday5October2023

Chairs:SarahBurgessandGemmaTalling

Thursday19October2023

Chair:DeborahHorner

Thriving at Work is our workforce wellbeing programme which has been an ongoing project over many years now During this time it has evolved from a “burnout working group ” to a “wellbeing and resilience through education” project to its name in the past year of Thriving at Work That evolution of name marks the evolution of thinking in the Society as we recognisethatweshouldbepromotingthecoreconditionstothriveatwork,ratherthanjust focusing on the consequences of poor working conditions However, we recognise the latest winterpressuresandindustrialactionmayleavemanyfeelingtheyarejustaboutsurviving

In our first quarter of 2023, we delivered a trainee exclusive event to help them navigate the stressors of training It was a successful eventwhichparticipantsrespondedwellto WearenowlookingtotakeoursuccessfulPeerSupportprogrammeandpilotaprogramme oftraineepeersupportacrosstheUK,andwehostedatraineepeersupporterseventinearlyMarch

Inparallel weranatraineeandSASsurveytoaskthemwhattheyfeeliskeytoenablethemtothriveintheirroles Wewillbepresenting totheTraineeandSpecialtyDoctorProfessionalAdvisoryGroups(PAGs)soon,andthensubmittingthedataforpublication togiveyou a preview the data is overwhelmingly in support of the practicalities of working including rota and pay and access to basic systems from the start of working, such as electronic systems and ID badges Overall, we have found there were no differences between SAS doctorsandtrainees

Our other key activity this quarter has been leadership; following a successful inaugural leadership programme, LeaP1, which was supported by a grant from the Covid-19 Healthcare Support Appeal we have decided to continue the programme into 2023 LeaP2 will followasimilarhybridformat,andpromisestobeamixtureofintensivecareprofessionalsfromallareasoftheUK Theprogrammewas a great success, and our LeaP1 delegates gave us excellent feedback All delegates rated the programme overall as ‘excellent’ and all saidtheywouldrecommendittoafriendorcolleague

"This has not only helped shape my role as a leader but it has given me a significant amount of skills that I hope to keep improving on throughoutmyleadershipjourney,"onedelegatetoldus "IhaveenjoyedwhatIhavelearnt,andthissupporthasbeenparamountinmy learning"

Anothersaid"almosteverythingwasnewtome Itwasafantasticexperience"

We'relookingforwardtomeetingourLeap2cohortverysoon,sostaytunedtohearmoreabouttheirprogress

MeetournewChairoftheResearchDivision

I am Louise Rose and I have recently been appointed as Chair of the ICS Research Division I am a Professor of Critical Care Nursing and Research Division Head at King’s College London I am also an honorary Professor in Critical Care at the Lane Fox Respiratory Unit at St Thomas’ Since starting my career, I have been awarded more than 100 peer reviewed research grants and more than 215 peer reviewed publications During the pandemic I co-founded Life Lines – a philanthropic initiative that provided over 1400 4G enabled tablets with a bespoke ICU virtual visiting solution to over 180 NHS hospitalsenablingover135,000virtualvisitsacrosstheUK

Ourplansfor2023

The Society's Research Division has two very exciting awards prepared for this year Firstly the joint NIHR and ICS award is planned to open for applications soon, this award is designed to recognise critical careresearchacrosstheUK Weunderstandthatthereisavastamountofcrucialresearchundertaken intheUKandtheSocietyandtheNIHRstrivetochampionthisgreatworkthroughthisaward

Secondly,wearepleasedtoannouncethattheSocietysNewInvestigatorAward(NIA)willbereturningin2023,followinganextremely successful NIA process in 2021 which saw a vast array of high quality applications This award is designed to support new and upcomingcriticalcareresearchersandisscheduledtobeopenforapplicationsinquartertwoofthisyear

All of the Societys awards are open to all members and we very much look forward to receiving your applications We recommend keepinganeyeonourwebsitewhereinformationonopeningandclosingdatesandapplicationguidancewillbefound

TreatmentofTransgenderPatientsinICU

In December last year, our Journal of the Intensive Care Society (JICS) published an article by Luke Flower, Alice Humphreys, Kamilla Kamaruddin,StuartEdwardsonandothersaboutthemanagementoftransgenderpatientsincriticalcare Itwasthefirstarticleonthesubject toappearinJICSandwasfollowedbyaneditorialbyLuke,AliceandStuartinFebruaryandapodcastepisodereleasedinlateMarch

Theyd seen a knowledge gap in clinicians treating transgender patients in critical care, had noticed how interested their colleagues were in learningmore,andrealisedtheyhadthecapacitytohelpfillit SoLukebroughtthegrouptogetherandtheysettowork

Itwasseeingthatappetiteandseeingtheknowledgegapthatexistedthatreallykindofmadeusthinkmaybethisissomethingwecanbuild on,somethingworthwritingaboutandgettingoutthere, hesays

For Stuart, it was also about helping his colleagues feel more confident in this aspect of their work so they can provide better care to trans patients “When people educate themselves they feel far less stressed or anxious and therefore actually are able to just look after people far better So Ithinkitsallaboutspreadingknowledgeandmakingthatcarebetter”hesays

Asbothdoctorsandtransgenderwomen AliceandKamillahavetakenonrolesadvocatingforthemselvesandothertranspeople particularly when it comes to patient care Both came out at work and had quite positive experiences but these also confirmed gaps in our knowledge on thesubject “Everyonewasverysupportiveandverycurious”saysAlice soshesalwaysendeavouredtoanswerasmanyquestionsasshecan “Thelessstrangeitisthelessscaryitseems”

For Kamilla coming out while working as a GP highlighted the lack of guidance available With 30 or 40 patients coming to see her each day herstaffweren’tsurewhattotellthem “Isuddenlyrealisedtherewasnoguideline”shesays “soImadeuponemyself”

Their article covers many aspects of caring for trans patients like the potential effects of gender affirming surgery on airways and medical gender affirmation therapies During the recording of our podcast, they dived a little deeper into hormone therapy, how it should be continued for critical care patients, and the dangers of assuming that all symptoms a transgender patient is experiencing are the result of these affirmationtherapies

Overall,theirmessageissimple;themoreinformationwehaveabouttreatingtransgenderpatients,thebettercarewecanprovide “Wedothe basicsonITUsowellnormally,itwouldntseemtoomuchofapushforustojustbeawareofthesethings,”saysLuke

Kamillaechoesthatidea “Wereinaprofessionofcaringandwecliniciansshouldbeabletoprovideinclusiveandperson-centriccaretotrans patients,”shesays “Wejustwanttobetreatedwithdignityandwejustwanttobetreatedlikeeveryoneelse”

You can find their full article at bitly/3LsVaKb, the editorial at bitly/40deEXb, or catch up on the podcast if you haven’t already at bitly/MarchPod

LukeFlower

AliceHumphreys

KamillaKamaruddin

StuartEdwardson

YourSocietyUpdate

OurnewestLEAGmembers

At the end of January we opened up applications for new members of our Legal and Ethical Advisory Group(LEAG)

Our LEAG was established in 2019 to bring together legal advisors and clinicians to consider legal and ethicaldecisionsrelevanttocriticalcareandprovideadviceandguidancetothepublicandthewider multi-professionalcommunity

Any members with experience or qualifications in medical ethics or law were welcome to apply and whenthetimecametointerviewcandidates,wehadanexcitingnumbertochoosefrom

We’reexcitedtobeabletoannouncethatLuigiCamporotaandPrashanthNandhabalanwillbejoining theGroupthisyear Bothbringwiththemawealthofexperienceandexpertiseandwereexcitedtobe workingwiththem

Prashanth is a Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine and Anaesthesia at the Royal Free Hospital in LondonwherehealsositsontheTrust’sClinicalEthicsCommittee HehasaMaster’sDegreeinMedical EthicsandLawandhasfiveyears experienceonaregionalResearchEthicsCommittee

Luigi is a Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine at St Thomas Hospital in London where he is also clinical service lead for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) He has experience coordinatingmediationandhasalsotrainedasanexpertwitness

We’re looking forward to working closely with both Prashanth and Luigi and know they’ll make excellent additionstothegroup PrashanthNandhabalan

OurEquality,Diversityand Inclusionsurvey

The first phase of the Intensive Care Equality, Diversity and InclusionCensusisnowcomplete!

We're proud to not only represent the entire multi-professional community but to also support the diversity of those that work in criticalcare

In 2022 we launched our Equality Diversity and Inclusion Group Chaired by Aoife Abbey, which is comprised of 15 individuals committedtoimprovingvisibility promotingbetterunderstanding providing education and implementing sustainable improvementstosupportEDIwithinourcommunity

However,werecognisedthatinordertouseournationalinfluence to support and lead strategies which promote EDI in the workforce, we needed more data to better understand the intensivecarecommunityandtheirneeds

In order to obtain this information, we devised a 62 open ended question census that incorporated sections that covered all protectedcharacteristicsasoutlinedintheEqualitiesAct2010

This census enabled our community to give as little or as much detail as they were comfortable with We also made sure that it did not have any identifiable elements to protect the anonymity ofallourrespondents

Wereceived352responseswithgoodcoveragefromallintensive care professions including those in non-clinical roles, and from acrosseachofthedevolvednations

To ensure we analysed the data correctly we commissioned Enventure Research, a professional organisation dedicated generateanswerstoimportanceanswers

WereceivedtheirreportinDecember2022whichhasenabledus toformabetterpictureoftheareasofworkweneedtofocuson and we are excited to publish these findings at the Equality DiversityandInclusionsessionatourannualCongress,SOA23

Youcanbookyourticketstoattendeitherin-personorvirtuallyat bitly/SOA23Reg so make sure you don't miss out on learning aboutourcensusfindingsinrealtime

Our EDI group has also been busy with other projects over the pastfewmonths,likerecordingtheMarchepisodeofourpodcast which you can read about on page eight They've also played a big role in our Black History Month and Pride celebrations, and havelotsinstoreforthefuture

Toseetheotherworkthey'vebeenuptooverthepast16months, headtoourwebsiteatbitly/ICSEDI

BiketoBirmingham

Injustafewmonths,wellbepackingourbagsandheadingtoBirminghamforourAnnualStateoftheArtCongress-thehighlightofthe intensivecarecalendar Thebigquestionremains–howareweallgoingtogetthere?

Latelastyear welaunchedourBiketoBirminghamchallengeandwe’vebeenbusilyrecruitingcyclistsreadytopushthemselvesthisJune whilegettingtoknowtheircolleaguesbetterandenjoyingthecountrysideenroutetoSOA23

With three pelotons already established it’s time to meet some of the cyclists wholl be leading the pack in making their way across the countryto#SOA23

Ifyourethinkingaboutridingfromasimilarlocationtooneofourpelotonleaders-letusknowsowecanputyouintouch!

Justheadtobitly/ICS B2BtofindouthowyoucanjoinapelotonorstartoneyourselfandmeetusinBirminghamforStateoftheArt

AndrewBates

Andrew is an intensive care nurse and NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellow Hes mostly a keen mountain biker and a Brompton fan but he enjoys road cycling too and will be bringing his road bike along onthetriptoBirmingham

Andrew’sroute:

Andrew will be riding up from Bournemouth in two stages, stopping in Gloucestershire overnight to stay with his parents before heading the rest of the way on to Birmingham

RichardKirkdale

Richard is an ST5 intensive care and anaesthetics trainee in Nottingham where he lives with his young family Hes also a verykeencyclist!

Richard’sroute:

Richard will be setting off from his home in Nottingham and cycling past as many hospitals as he can on his way into Birmingham for the Congress! He’ll be collecting peloton members along the way so if youre on his route hed love to have youjoinhim

ZudinPuthucheary

ZudinisanintensivecareConsultantbased in London and a member of the Societys Council He also chairs the National Rehabilitation Collaborative and has been instrumentalinthedevelopmentofthePost ICUPresentationScreen(PICUPS)Tool

Zudin’sroute:

Zudin will be cycling from his home near Peterborough, through Leicester and on to Birmingham

AndrewBates

RichardKirkdale

IntroducingourPhysiotherapyPillar

In early March, we launched the Physio Pillar, a supplementary resource to the AHP Critical Care Professional Development Framework (CCPDF) It’s designed to be used alongside the Framework to provide tangible examples of its value to the professional developmentofphysiotherapistsacrosstheUK

Led by Chair Rebekah Haylett, our Physiotherapy Professional Advisory Group (PAG) began their work on the Pillar in 2022, presenting a first draft to the Society in July They’veworkedcloselywithourStandardsandGuidelinesteaminthemonthssinceon theprocessofreview update design endorsementandpublicationwhichhasresulted inadocumentwehopewillbeinvaluabletophysiosworkinginintensivecare

“We are passionate about our profession remaining adaptable innovative and able to support patient care across the continuum of criticalillness Wearehighlymotivatedtosupportphysiotherapists’developmentinallpillarsofpracticetobeabletodothis,”PhysioPAG ChairRebekahHaylettsaid

TheAHPCCPDFwasreleasedin2020tohelpguidethecareerdevelopmentofourAHPcollegesacrosstheNHS

Weve since launched the Speech and Language Therapy, Dietetic, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy Pillars to provide profession specificexamplesoftheFrameworkinpractice

YoucanfindtheCCPDFandassociatedPillarsonourwebsiteatbitly/PDFrameworks

OurPhysioPAGin2023

My name is Zoe van Willigen, and I’m one of the 10 membersofthePhysiotherapy Professional Advisory Group (PPAG) We were elected back in 2022 so we wanted to give you an update about what weve been working on sincethen,andwhatourplans areforthecomingyear

Firstly, Id like to tell you a bit ab g p p much of the incredible breadth of physiotherapy expertise within critical care Between us we have roles as clinical academics, researchers university lecturers practice educators POCUS mentors,clinicalleaders,publishedauthors,advancedclinicaland consultant practitioners with a whopping 157 years of combined critical care experience! We have a range of specialist skills as a group, including ECMO, SIM training, ventilation and weaning, tracheostomy care complex airway clearance non-medical prescribing,andrehabilitationaftercriticalillness Manyofusalso hold positions within other key stakeholder groups such as BTS, NCEPOD NHSE/PHE NICE CSPandACPRC

Two major pieces of work over the past year for our PPAG have been collaborating to develop the multi-professional streams of the State of the Art (SOA) Congresses, and writing a supplementary physiotherapy pillar for the Society’s AHP Critical CareProfessionalDevelopmentFramework(CCPDF)

Contributing to SOA has been a fantastic way for us to raise the profile of physiotherapy within the Society and wider critical care audience–oneofthekeyobjectivesforourPAG

Making SOA more accessible for all professions is extremely important to us – if we learn together as a team we will work well together as a team out in clinical practice Ensuring SOA is inclusive of the multi-professional team will only help to increase ourmembershiptoo–anotherkeyobjectiveforus

The AHP CCPDF is a robust piece of work that we wanted to make more user-friendly So rather than create a whole new pillar we have developed supplementary material with case studies and vignettes that critical care physiotherapists can relate to You can readmoreaboutthePillarabove

Our key aim for the forthcoming year is working towards clarifying safe staffing levels for AHPs on critical care We want to provide opportunities to allow AHPs to have access to post graduate learning and have been working with CC3N and HEE on how we achievethis

Workforce remains a significant challenge in the current climate, due not only to the rising complexity of our patients but also to challenges in recruitment and retention of experienced physiotherapists In order to ensure adequate delivery of services in the future we need to increase educational opportunities for physiotherapistsincriticalcare,ensuringthatthereisastructurein place for those who wish to progress their careers clinically We are looking forward to further working with our colleagues across the country to this end and advancing the discussion about how to best quantify physiotherapy demands and the impact of physiotherapistswithincriticalcare

I feel very fortunate to work with such an inspiring group of clinicians both within our PPAG and the Society as a wider multiprofessional team who are all an incredible source of peer support Times might be tough, but as physiotherapists we are trained motivators and our PPAG are excited to continue to motivate not only our patients but also our profession and the Society to keep progressing, developing and achieving We would be really keen to hear from you if you would like to know more aboutthePAG,theworkoftheSociety,orhaveideasastohowwe canbestsupportyou Pleasecontactusviaphysiopag@icsacuk

MeetourCouncilandSpecialistAdvisorswith...

Parjam(PJ)Zolfaghari,StateoftheArt2023ProgrammeDirector

IamanICU&Anaesthesiaconsultantandseniorlecturer

IamanICU&Anaesthesiaconsultantandseniorlecturer attheRoyalLondonhospital andQueenMaryUniversityLondon(QMUL)inEastLondon IruntheCriticalCareMScat QMULandamanassociateeditorofBJAEducation Ofcourse,thisyearIhavetheextra privilegeofbeingtheProgrammeDirectoroftheICSSOA23!

Aftermedicalschool,Istartedtrainingtobeasurgeon

Aftermedicalschool,Istartedtrainingtobeasurgeon whichIenjoyed Butaftera coupleofyears,IrealisedthatwhatIreallywantedtodowastolookafterreallysickpeople andwasexcitedbyhowpatientswerecaredforinanICUwithsuchadiverseandmultiprofessionalteamofclinicalstaff Asaresult,Iswitchedmytrainingtoanaesthesiaand criticalcareandbecameaconsultantin2012aftercompletingmyPhD

Withoutsoundingtoocorny, ThebiggestchallengesIfindaremanagingthebedpressuresinthehospital

Withoutsoundingtoocorny, themostrewardingpartisbeingabletocareforpatientswhoareveryunwellandseeingthemimprove tobeingdischargedfromtheICUandhospital Clearly,mostofthecareisdeliveredbyournurses,juniordoctorsandAHPsandIfind interactionswiththewholeteamoneofthebestpartsofmyjob Ialsoreallyenjoyteachingandastheprogrammedirectorofthecritical careMScatQMUL,Ihavebeenabletodevelopaprogrammetocaterforawidegroupofstudentsandenjoyteaching,supervisingand supportingthem

ThebiggestchallengesIfindaremanagingthebedpressuresinthehospital andensuringflowofpatientsinandoutofcritical careinatimelymanner Ithinkthisissomethingthatisexperiencedinmosthospitalsandisrelentless,takingalotoftimeandthinking spaceofclinicalandmanagerialstaff

Ihaveorganisedmanylocaleducationalevents

Ihaveorganisedmanylocaleducationalevents

andrunaMaster’sprogrammeincriticalcarewhichinvolvesbringingtogetheralot ofdifferentstrands IhaveahugerespectforeverythingtheIntensiveCareSocietyandtheindividualswithinitdoforthespecialty This wasagreatopportunityformetogetinvolvedandbringallthatisgoodacrossthecountryintoameetingwhicheveryonecanenjoyand leavefeelingeducated,challengedandinspired Ialsolikeagoodparty,solookingforwardtothesocialevents!

IenjoyedattendingSOA22inpersonandmeetingoldfriends, IamveryexcitedaboutSOA23andthefantasticlineupofsessionsandspeakers.

IenjoyedattendingSOA22inpersonandmeetingoldfriends , Ihaddefinitelymissedthepersonalface-to-faceinteractionduring thepandemic Thereweresomeoutstandingsessions,tonameafew,end-of-lifeplenarysessionorganisedbyAoifeAbbey,thesession oncardiologyandtheCauldron IalsoreallyenjoyedBelfastandthesocialevents

IamveryexcitedaboutSOA23andthefantasticlineupofsessionsandspeakers Ithinkeveryonewillenjoythisasmuchas,andif notmorethantheyhavethepreviousones!

Birminghamisalovelyvenuewithlivelysurrounds Thesessionswillappealtothewholemultiprofessionalteamwithspeakersfromacross thevariousdisciplines

Iamespeciallylookingforwardtotheplenarieshighlightingnewknowledgeaboutlungs,thefutureofworkforce,andrehabilitation These willbehugelyentertaining educationalandprovocative Therewillbesomeexcellenttalksfromsomeoftheupandcomingresearchers andclinicians,aswellastheestablishedonesandafewsuperstars!

Imustalsomentionthethreepre-congresscoursesrunbybrilliantenthusiastswhogiveuptheirtimetoteach Imespeciallyexcited abouttheairwayandbronchoscopycoursewhichbringsacollaborationbetweentheSociety,DifficultAirwaySociety(DAS)andthe BronchoscopyforIntensiveCare(BrIC)courses

WhenI'mnotworkingorhelpingtodeliverSOA23Ienjoyrunningandmountainbiking

WhenImnotworkingorhelpingtodeliverSOA23Ienjoyrunningandmountainbiking intheforestwhichIamjustgettingback todoingafterrupturingmyAchilleslastyear Thekidsalsokeepmebusyandprovidealotofentertainment!

Don'tforget!

You can grab your ticket for this year ' s SOA Congress at bit.ly/SOA23Reg and join us in Birmingham, or virtually,forthreefantasticdaysoflearningdesignedbyPJandouroutstandingCongressteam

Howweareimprovingyourmemberexperience

Your feedback matters and following on from external and internal feedback and a thorough review of the issues members faced in joining, renewing, and booking, we decided that we would need to invest in a CRM (customer relationship management system) and alongsidethat,anewwebsite

WechoseReadyMembershipasitprovidedahighlypersonalisedmemberexperiencewithfunctionalityandsimplenavigation Bynow,youmaybefamiliarwiththenewmemberportalonourwebsite Byloggingintoyouraccount,yougetapersonalised one-stop serviceallowingyouto:

updateyourcontactinformationandcontactpreferences easilymanageyourmembershipsubscriptionandviewyourorderhistory registerontodiscountedeventsandtrainingcourses accessspeciallyselectedLifestyleRewards

And,youcangetintouchwithusmoreeasilytoaccesssupportusingformstotransferenquiriestothemostrelevantteam

Youcannowalsopayforyourmembershiprenewalwithjustafewclicks eitherbyloggingintoyouronlineaccountdirectlyorbyclicking through from the renewal notice We have also moved to paperless Direct Debits, which has removed lengthy delays in processing memberships

Togetthemostfromyourmembershipweareaskingmemberstologintotheiraccountandensuretheirprofileandpreferencesettings areuptodate Allyouneedtodois:

CheckthatyourcontactdetailsarecorrectbyselectingtheEditDetailstabontheEditProfilepage Tellushowyou’dlikeustoengagewithyouandwhichnewslettersyou’dliketosubscribetobyselectingtheContactPreferencestab andtickingtherelevantboxes

Choose what topics you are interested in on the Personalisation tab so that we can send you more tailored content about the things thatmattertoyou

Further improvements to the portal are on the way and we encourage anyone who has a specific request to contact us at membership@icsacuk

WINLifeintheBalancebyJimDown

Following on from his first book in 2021 Life Support Jim Down consultant at UCLH has returned to publishing with a new set of stories exploring life in critical care and the importantworkintensivecarestaffdodayindayouttokeeppatientsalive

The book explores headline-grabbing cases like that of Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned by Russian agents and admitted to the ICU Jim worked on, to the appalling aftermathofatraincrash,andthedailystruggletosimplyfindenoughbeds

Life in the Balance explores intensive care and its immense challenges, guiding readers through the split second decisions that mean life and death – the adverse effects on staff mentalhealthandoverall,itsenormousrewards

It'sevenbeenpraisedbyourveryownTrustee

HughMontgomery

"Jim’sbookisdifferent Hisearisattuned,andhisrecountingconversationsmakesmelive his scenes And he made me think, weep and smile He's a smart, wise and kind doctor in real life, and these characteristics shine through Whoever you are, you should read this book Oneinfiveofyouwill,atsomepoint,needaJim"

To celebrate the release of Jim’s extraordinary new book, Life in the Balance, we are giving away an exclusive copy to a lucky Intensive Care Society member - simply email communicationsteam@icsacukwithyournameandmembershipemailtobeenteredinto the prize draw We will announce the winner later in April and be in touch if you ' re our lucky winner!

Thankyoufromallofus

ThankyouforreadingournewlookIntensiveCareSocietynewsletter!

Each quarter, we will be updating you on all the Society has to offer, and all the interesting things our community has been up to over thepastfewmonths

The newsletter will guide you through the work of our PAGS our working groups and our Council so you can see all the work we undertakeonyourbehalfthroughouttheyear,andalltheworkyoucangetinvolvedin

We hope you'll also see how we are promoting intensive care as a specialty and the work that goes into our fundraising activities and ourothereffortstoboosttheprofileofintensivecare

Theres a lot we have to offer at the Society over the next few months, with learning programmes, study days, exclusive competitions andthechancetoallgatherasacommunityatourexcitingStateoftheArtCongressinJune

Asacommunity,wewanteverymembertobeheardandcelebratedaspartofourcollectiveeffortstoraiseupourdiscipline Andwe'dlovetohearfromyou!Yourstoriesareourfavouritethingstoread,sopleasedogetintouchifyouhavesomethingyou wouldliketoshoutoutaboutforJune'snewsletter Youcancontactusatcommunicationsteam@icsacukataytime