Dear all,
This cheerful caricature of your new BSH President was drawn during the social event at the recent BSH Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) in Liverpool, which also happens to be my hometown. I was smiling because the ASM was getting such positive feedback, but this grin is now harder to maintain with the increasing duties as BSH President! Charlie Craddock is a class act to follow. He is a formidably effective leader. I would like to thank Charlie for his commitment to BSH over many years.
As I begin my two-year stint as BSH President, I will be focused on ensuring that we project the enormous value that haematology has to offer the NHS and society. I wish to celebrate the diversity of our specialisms, the diversity of our workforce and our diverse reach into many other fields of medicine. As so many patients are affected by the quality of haematology care, I am very keen to remind commissioners of our central role in the delivery of healthcare.
I would therefore like you to be an ambassador for BSH. Tell your colleagues about the inspiring 2018 ASM on Better Science, Better Treatment. Over the next few years, BSH also wants as many of your colleagues from nursing and allied health professional backgrounds to join our vibrant community and to strengthen the voice of Haematology.
I will ensure that this spirit of inclusivity extends beyond the Liverpool ASM on to Glasgow in 2019 and Birmingham in 2020. Given our ambition that the BSH ASM should become your ‘go-to meeting’, I promise to grin and bear it as and when Glasgow trounces Liverpool in a year’s time!
With my best and warmest wishes to you all,
Cheng Hock
Professor Cheng-Hock Toh, MBChB, MD, FRCP, FRCPath
President – British Society for Haematology