Elections for AUGIS Nurse/AHP council member

I am approaching my final year as AUGIS Nurse/AHP council member and I will be handing over the reigns to my successor in September 2013. If you are full of ideas and inspiration to further develop and raise the profile of AUGIS nurses/AHPs members please contact me for further details.

Wonderful nursing representation at the DDF

Congratulations to Consultant Nurse Irene Dunkley for organising a very successful nursing symposium at the DDF conference. The session was well attended by nurses and AHPs (despite taking place on Sunday!) The presentations covered a variety of topics relating to GI disease and provoked lively debate and discussion. It was a unique opportunity to be able to link with a number of other associations and learn from others. The presentation from Dr Alison Leary was of particular interest to specialist nurses illustrating a tool to measure the ‘value’ of the nurse specialist role. Dr Leary is an independent healthcare consultant and researcher with a background in nursing. She developed the SQL database Pandora which articulates the work of nurse specialists and Cassandra - a free tool to help show nurse specialist activities - is invaluable information for managers! See www.alisonleary.co.uk and click on the resources section for the Cassandra tool. There is still an opportunity to claim a bursary to reimburse the expenses of attending the DDF conference. Please contact Nichola Coates nichola@augis.org for further information.

Plenty for AHPs at the DDF!

I have been looking at the schedule for the DDF in Liverpool - and I'm impressed! It really does promise to be a world-class event and there will be plenty for AHPS to get their teeth into. As well as the excellent scientific content, the DDF will be prove to be a great opportunity for networking and making new contacts. I'm looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible in Liverpool, so don't forget to register.

GBIHPBA website is launched

Affiliates with an interest in hepato-pancreator-billiary surgery will be pleased to hear that there is now a dedicated website for this specialism, under the AUGIS umbrella. The website can be found at http://www.gbihpba.org.uk/ and is well worth bookmarking.

Register now for the DDF

The Early Bird Registration Deadline for the DDF is March 22; to register you will need your AUGIS registration number which is 208974.

It is vitally important you register as an AUGIS member, as a proportion of the profit from the conference is directly dependant on the number of AUGIS registrations.

Please ensure you tick the AUGIS box when completing the online registration form.

Be Clear on Cancer Campaign targets oesophagogastric cancer in April 2012

The Government has highlighted the need to improve cancer survival rates as outlined in the Improving Outcomes – a Strategy for Cancer, published in January of this year, aiming to

save 5,000 lives per year by 2014/15, to bring us in line with the European average in terms of cancer survival rates.

It is generally agreed that the main reason for poorer survival rates in England is that more cancers are diagnosed at a later stage, when curative treatment is no longer possible. Therefore, the focus is on earlier detection of the disease.

Following on from the success of the pilot of ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ campaigns launched in January 2011focusing on the three big killers: breast cancer, bowel cancer and lung cancer,

the bowel cancer campaign will be the first of the tumour sites to be rolled

out nationally this year.

Oesophagogastric cancer will be one of the next cancer sites to be targeted.

There will be seven PCT-led projects that will trial local public awareness campaigns focusing on oesophagogastric cancer in April.

Campaigns will be promoted under the Department of Health Be Clear on Cancer brand with the aim of raising public awareness of the signs and symptoms of oesophagogastric cancer

and encouraging people who have the relevant symptoms to see their GP.

The objectives are:

• Increase public awareness of the symptoms of oesophagogastric cancers and encourage people with these symptoms to present earlier to their GP

• Improve the number of oesophagogastric cancers diagnosed and at an earlier stage.

The oesophagogastric campaigns will also help to:

• Raise GPs awareness so they are more aware of the relevant symptoms and referral pathways

• Recruit community cancer champions to take campaign messages direct to the target audience

• Learn if the Be Clear on Cancer brand can be used for less common cancers such as oesophagogastric cancer

The seven funded OG projects are taking place at:

• Dudley

• County Durham and Darlington

• Sandwell and Wolverhampton

• Wandsworth

• Newcastle, North Tyneside,

Northumberland, North Cumbria,

South Tyneside, Gateshead,

Sunderland, Hartlepool,

Middlesbrough, Redcar, Cleveland

and Stockton-on-Tees

• Anglia Cancer Network -

Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire,

Peterborough, Suffolk, Norfolk,

Great Yarmouth and Waveney

• Mount Vernon Cancer Network -

Hertfordshire, Luton and South

Bedfordshire

If the projects are being carried out in your area, it is an ideal chance to get involved and take part in promoting awareness of OG cancers in April 2012.

Merry Christmas!

I want to wish all Nurses / AHPs a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! It looks as if 2012 is going to be an interesting - and busy - year for us all. I look forward to meeting many of you during the course of the year but feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions or are planning any events.