PCRS-UK News

What a superb conference! On the 11th October, 389 attendees gathered in Telford for the PCRS-UK National Primary Care Respiratory Conference, the premier primary care respiratory event in the UK. There was a packed programme featuring keynote speakers such as Mike Morgan, Respiratory National Clinical Director, really informative clinical update sessions, an excellent Grand Round session on challenges and dilemmas in respiratory diagnosis on the Saturday morning, and really well attended cutting edge research presentations and poster displays throughout the two days. There was the usual mix of old friends and new, stimulating discussion, chances to network, and a great atmosphere, all of which culminated in the conference dinner. Feedback has been excellent, and a great time was had by all!

To hear more about the PCRS-UK conference, visit our website at http://www.pcrs-uk.org/pcrs-uk-annual-conference. Don't forget to save the date for next year's conference on 26th/27th September 2014. Watch out for special early bird rates in the New Year.

PCRS-UK Annual General Meeting

As usual, the PCRS-UK Annual General Meeting (AGM), chaired by Dr Patrick White, Chair of Trustees, was held during the conference. Dr Stephen Gaduzo, the new Chair of the PCRS-UK Executive, presented the Society's key achievements of the year. Patrick White ended the meeting with an excellent speech in which he expressed everyone's appreciation and thanks to Dr Iain Small, the outgoing Chair of the PCRS-UK Executive. He then presented Iain with Honorary Life Membership of the Society. Under Iain's leadership, the size, influence and impact of the Society has grown tremendously. Iain himself is exceptionally well regarded throughout the respiratory community, and he has been a first class ambassador for the PCRS-UK. We all extend our warmest appreciation and best wishes to him as he steps down from his Chairman's role.

[Furthermore, as PCRJ Editors-in-Chief, we are indebted and enormously grateful to Iain for his fantastic support of the PCRJ during his time as PCRS-UK Executive Chairman. We are therefore all the more delighted that he has just been appointed as an Associate Editor of the PCRJ. PSS/AS].

In reply, Iain gave a retirement speech which was very well received. Here is the text of his speech:

Retirement speech from Dr Iain Small, outgoing Chair, PCRS-UK Executive

“The Primary Care Respiratory Society has become a huge and important part of my life over the last few years. The work that we do and the people who do it are truly remarkable. They remind me that no matter what crises, commissions, strategies and structural changes may come our way, the people who care about what they do remain, they re-group, and they respond with commitment and tenacity.

“Many of those people are here at this conference and in this room. You are a remarkable bunch — from founder members of the GPIAG, to former and current Executive Committee members, Professors and past Chairs, and the nurses who broke into the “Doctors club” and helped turn the PCRS-UK into a Professional Society whose opinion is now always sought and whose approval is deemed necessary before NICE will standardise and Government will strategise.

“There is no doubt in my mind that without this Group and Society there would be no Primary Care Respiratory Journal, no International Primary Care Respiratory Group, no Respiratory Alliance. Guidelines would blithely ignore the need to describe how to help real patients in real clinical settings, and journals would struggle to understand the true value of real-life research.

“And all of this happens because of the work done on committees and working groups, because of writers who compile opinion sheets and quick guides, because of the editors and reviewers from home and abroad who support our journal; and supporting all of them, our Trustees, who keep a watchful eye on probity, risk and financial stability.

“But if there is one thing that my years as PCRS-UK Chair have taught me, it is that none of it could happen without the selfless passion and dedication of Tricia Bryant and her team from Red Hot Irons, the drive and persistence of Anne Smith our Chief Executive, and the skill and commitment of Sara Askew. At this point I also want to acknowledge the debt of gratitude I owe to Neil Kendle and Patrick White, and my two immediate past chairs Steve Holmes and John Haughney.

“One winter evening years ago, a smooth-talking, slick and persuasive David Price came to Aberdeen to talk at an evening clinical meeting. “Why don't you get more involved with the GPIAG?” he asked. “Being on the Committee only involves 3–4 days a year, and I'm sure you'd enjoy it”. Thanks David! And thank you all. So far it's been an absolute blast!

“And so to the future… It's a great pleasure to see the Primary Care Respiratory Society moving on, with Stephen Gaduzo as our new Chair. It will be my pleasure to support him in any way I can, although his track record leaves me in no doubt as to his ability. As well as the Society continuing to deliver the high quality, practical and useful clinical material we have prided ourselves on producing for more than 20 years, I look forward to supporting his vision for our future in an ever-changing and ever-challenging environment.

“With that future in mind, and with apologies to all of you who love clinical audit, I want to finish with the words of that wonderful poet, the late E.A. Fanthorpe,

So we celebrate at the wrong midnight. Does it matter? Only dull science expects An accurate audit. The economy of Heaven Looks for Fiestas and fireworks every day. Every day.

Be realistic says Heaven… expect a miracle Thank you all very much indeed.”

Becoming a member of PCRS-UK

Whether you're a primary care nurse searching for tried and tested protocols, a GP looking for guidance on COPD diagnosis and management, or a respiratory specialist interested in the latest research, it pays to become a member of the Primary Care Respiratory Society UK. And with our new contemporary website offering new and improved functionality later in the year there's never been a better time to join.

As a member you'll have unlimited access to a wealth of specialist respiratory care information including newly published resources such as our new opinion sheets on tailoring inhaler choice and cost-effective prescribing.

Join today and get the support of the UK's leading respiratory-care specialists

Membership packages available from as little as £27.00 per year

Great reasons to join PCRS-UK today

  • Make life easier. Become a PCRS-UK member and discover a wealth of credible respiratory care information and resources all in one place

  • Keep pace with developments. From COPD guideline changes to managing asthma, there's a best practice resource waiting for you

  • Get help with professional development. Save time. It's ready to download and share with your practice staff

  • Benefit from expert advice. From managing allergic rhinitis to using spirometry, you'll find a range of concise, easy-to follow Opinion Sheets available free exclusively to members of the society via our website

  • Hard copy of the Primary Care Respiratory Journal. As the flagship publication of the PCRS-UK, this international academic journal provides all the latest primary care respiratory research and top class editorial comment, discussion and educational articles

  • Read regular e-alerts. Get the latest respiratory information, news and updates, sent direct to your inbox.

IPCRG News

IPCRG working locally, collaborating globally

7th World International Primary Care Respiratory Group Conference Athens 21st-24th May 2014 www.ipcrg2014.org

We encourage you to book flights and hotels early to take advantage of the best deals.

UNLOCK

We will be hosting a meeting of the UNLOCK Group at the end of November. Due to a new grant from Novartis, if you now have primary care datasets in COPD and/or asthma that meet our minimum inclusion criteria and you wish to participate in UNLOCK studies please post a comment on the UNLOCK space on our web platform: http://www.theipcrg.org/display/RESUNL/About+UNLOCK

Minimum inclusion criteria:

  • Have an independently managed COPD or asthma dataset that is funded

  • The dataset is from a primary care population that has given informed consent as locally appropriate

  • Is longitudinal in nature

  • The dataset includes a minimum set of variables including

    • Symptoms

    • Lung function and

    • Quality of life

FRESH AIR Uganda

Take a look at our video documentary of FRESH AIR Uganda. It's a fantastic illustration of how to get research started in low income countries, the impact on local people when they become informed about obstructive lung disease, and the impact of smoke on their, and their children's, health.

See http://www.theipcrg.org/display/RESFAU/About+FRESH+AIR+Uganda for the video and Letter Number 7.

Difficult to manage asthma

A whole package of free resources is now available, including the Desktop Helper in nine languages, a video describing how to use SIMPLES and the position paper that opens with “What action would you take to stop 10 jumbo jets crashing every week of the year, to prevent the deaths of nearly 700 people on board each time, when regular systematic checks of each aircraft could virtually eliminate the problem?” http://www.theipcrg.org/display/DIFFMANAST/Home+-+Difficult+to+manage+asthma

Flu At@Glance

We are pleased to offer you Flu At@Glance, a series of flu abstracts to motivate clinicians to influence their patients to be vaccinated against flu. We will load a new abstract to the Headline on our home page www.theipcrg.org every week and tweet the link. For an example of the first, see Flu At@Glance webpage

It is now in its second year in Israel, supported by the Israeli Ministry of Health, leading to an acceleration in vaccination rates. It builds on our tried and tested format of Respiratory At@Glance. Each abstract is reviewed by an IPCRG team before publication.

We appreciate it is only useful for the northern hemisphere at this time of year, but hope for those who find it useful you will circulate to colleagues.

Any queries please contact the IPCRG Business Manager BusinessManager@theipcrg.org

Siân Williams

Niels Chavannes

ERS General Practice and Primary Care Group 1.6 news

ERS Congress, Barcelona, 7th–11th September 2013

Primary Care Day

Our Primary Care Day on the Saturday morning, 7th September, entitled ‘Asthma management in clinical practice’, was a great success and was really well attended. There were even lots of secondary care delegates in attendance! The programme included a practical overview of telemonitoring, monitoring and achieving asthma control, and self-management. It was indeed an excellent session!

PCRJ Award for the best quality abstract submitted to Group 1.6

As in earlier ERS congresses Primary Care delegates contributed in Barcelona with many excellent abstracts, presented as posters and as oral presentations. Worth €500, and kindly funded by the Primary Care Respiratory Journal, the PCRJ Award was once again awarded to the best primary care abstract submitted to Group 1.6 for the 2013 ERS Congress in Barcelona. The award is particularly aimed at encouraging young researchers to submit their work. Six abstracts were shortlisted for the PCRJ Award. These were:

  1. 1

    Real-life COPD patients compared to large trial populations: An UNLOCK external validity study

    Annemarije Kruis*, Bjorn Ställberg, Rupert Jones, loanna Tsiligianni, Jan Willem Kocks, Thys van der Molen and Niels Chavannes

  2. 2

    Metrics of salbutamol use as predictors of future adverse outcomes in asthma

    Mark Weatherall*, Mitesh Patel, Janine Pilcher, Helen Reddel, Dominick Shaw and Richard Beasley.

  3. 3

    Asthma control, symptoms and exacerbations across treatment levels in patients with asthma

    Thys van der Molen*, Monica Fletcher and David Price.

  4. 4

    A comparison of multi-component indices of COPD severity in primary care: An UNLOCK study from the IPCRG

    Rupert Jones*, David Price, Niels Chavannes, Amanda Lee, Elizabeth Gabe-Thomas, Bjorn Stallberg, Karin Lisspers and Josefin Sundh.

  5. 5

    A cluster randomized trial comparing strict, partial, and FeNO-guided asthma control strategies in primary care

    Persijn Honkoop*, Rik Loijmans, Evelien Termeer, Jiska Snoeck-Stroband, Pim Assendelft, Peter Sterk, Gerben ter Riet, Tjard Schermer, Jacob Sont and The ACCURATE Study Group.

  6. 6

    A follow-up of patients with a new diagnosis of asthma -characteristics, prognosis and risk factors

    Karin Lisspers*, Christer Janson, Josefin Sundh, Scott Montgomery, Mary Kämpe, Eva Österlund Efraimsson, Anna Ericson and Bjorn Stallberg.

Dr Paul Stephenson (Joint Editor-in-Chief) and Professor Chris Griffiths (Assistant editor) made the presentation. They highlighted what a tough decision it had been to select a winner from six very high quality abstracts. However, after considerable discussion, the PCRJ editors reached a unanimous decision. The winner was:

A cluster randomized trial comparing strict, partial, and FeNO-guided asthma control strategies in primary care. Persijn Honkoop*, Rik Loijmans, Evelien Termeer, Jiska Snoeck-Stroband, Pim Assendelft, Peter Sterk, Gerben ter Riet, Tjard Schermer, Jacob Sont and The ACCURATE Study Group.

Our warmest congratulations to Dr Honkoop and colleagues! The other 5 abstracts all received a ‘Highly commended’ certificate.

ERS Congress, Munich, 6th — 10th September 2014

Abstract submission

Online submission for abstracts will be open mid-December 2013. Last day for submission of an abstract to ERS is 20th February 2014. You are allowed to submit the same abstract to both the IPCRG Conference in Athens in May and to the ERS congress in September. If you submit an abstract select Abstract Group 1.6 as your preference. You will find all information about the abstract system at the ERS website, www.ersnet.org.

There will also be a Primary Care Day on Saturday 6th September on “Management of COPD and other respiratory conditions in clinical practice”.

Joining the ERS

Are you an ERS member? If you're not and you regularly attend the ERS Congress, why not join the ERS and receive all the membership benefits? If you are thinking of joining, please ensure that you join Group 1.6, the General Practice and Primary Care Group.

Bjorn Stallberg, Chair Group 1.6 Hilary Pinnock, Secretary Group 1.6