Friday 13th March
BSH cancels 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting
Following the recent developments in the COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation, we have taken the difficult decision to cancel our Annual Scientific Meeting which was due to take place in Birmingham on 26-29 April 2020.
As demands on the health service may increase significantly over the next few months, we do not feel it is appropriate for us to run large-scale events that will take haematology professionals away from providing care for their patients, many of whom may be vulnerable due to suppressed immune systems. Our conference also brings together health professionals from all around the world, and our Board of Trustees is keen to avoid the risk of transmission to our delegates.
BSH President Professor Cheng-Hock Toh said “In these increasingly uncertain times over COVID-19, the BSH Board is certain that our Annual Scientific Meeting cannot go ahead in April 2020. I am disappointed but as BSH President, I lead the Board in responsible decision making, however difficult that might be. BSH must always do its very best for you and help support your own responsibilities to your family and patients.”
We realise you may have several questions as a result of this decision. If you were booked to attend the conference in April, as a speaker, delegate or exhibitor, or if you are in receipt of one of our travel grants, we will email you within the next week with information on how this decision will affect you, as well as providing regular updates on the website .
If you have any additional queries, please contact [email protected]
We do appreciate the many knock on effects from this decision for our members and delegates, and we ask for your patience. We would like to reassure you that we will be exploring all opportunities to share our educational content online, and we do hope to see many of you at our next Annual Scientific Meeting in Liverpool on 25 –27 April 2021.
We would like to thank all the volunteers, speakers, sponsors and staff and those who have submitted abstracts who worked so hard to put together the April 2020 programme.
We can also reassure our members that our Board of Trustees has the appropriate reserves policy in place so that we are able to absorb the financial costs we will incur as a result of this decision, without jeopardising the Society’s ongoing support for members or our long-term financial viability.