The 2016 BASL Annual Meeting in Manchester was very successful.  We await the formal assessments from delegates with interest. You will need to complete these to receive your CPD certification.

The presentations throughout were of the highest calibre and it would be wrong to pick a highlight from such a strong field. But a special thanks are due to Prof Michael Lucey, Dr Ali Darcy and Dr Ramon Bataller for taking time to travel to the UK to support our meeting.

The venue was amongst the best we have ever had for BASL with plenty of space and time to mingle, gossip and of course network. The evening at the football museum was fun and revealed that hepatologists have the strongest competitive streak imaginable. Pictures to follow!

Our congratulations to Drs Roger Chapman, Alexander Gimson and James Dooley on their awards for their contributions to UK Hepatology, all very well deserved. Congratulations also to Drs Ian Rowe and Jude Heaney who won the 2016 Dame Sheila Sherlock and Foundation for Liver Research awards respectively. The BLT lecture by Prof Nick Sheron on the politics of alcohol was brilliant and delivered in a sharp and direct manner, as only he can, while Dr Roger Chapman who delivered the Ralph Wright lecture on PSC revealed just how central he has been to clinical research in this area.

Finally thanks to Dr David Patch for putting such a strong faculty together and to EBS for a smooth and trouble free week in Manchester.

Warwick next year with dinner at the castle. Put the date in your diary: 20th to 22nd September 2017.

Graeme Alexander, President

Due to the current post holder having served their tenure, BASL are seeking nominations / expressions of interest for the British Viral Hepatitis Group (BVHG) Committee Chair.

The post is commissioned by the Governing Board to:

• a) promote research and the exchange of scientific information concerning viral hepatitis;
• b) foster multicentre scientific studies pertaining to viral hepatitis within the UK;
• c) promote education of physicians, surgeons, clinical nurse specialists and scientists with regard to viral hepatitides and their management;
• d) Promote interaction between clinical disciplines to promote good care of patients and foster research and clinical trials.

Nomination Process
Candidates wishing to be considered for election will require one BASL member to propose them and a second member to confirm their suitability for the role in writing.

Please email Judy Hawksworth at the Secretariat; Judith@execbs.com with your nominations by 17:00 on Monday 3rd October 2016. Following this time, candidate statements will be sought and voting will take place if necessary.

The theme for the BVHG November meeting is Viral Hepatitis: State of the Art Review on Hepatitis C.

The meeting is taking place at the Hallam Conference Centre in London. 

The BVHG meeting is FREE to BASL / BVHG Members. 

To find out more information and to view a draft programme and to book your place click > HERE. 

The BASL School of Viral Hepatology is aimed at Nurses / SpRs / Doctors in Training.

It is taking place at the Hallam Conference Centre in London and runs in parallel with the main BVHG Meeting until 12:00 noon, when it joins with the BVHG meeting. 

The School of Viral Hepatology is FREE to BASL Members.

To find out more information and to view a draft programme and book your place click > HERE.

As some will know, there has been recent difficulty prescribing Trientine following a price hike by Univar.  BASL drew attention to this earlier in the summer.  It is still to be hoped that the price will fall.

The change in price has caused both patients and physicians difficulties with access to therapy in situations where the increased cost can no longer be met locally.

It is not clear what implications there are nationally for managing patients with Wilson’s disease since the number of patients treated in the UK is unknown. Nor is it known how such patients are managed, although it is likely there is considerable variation.

As a consequence BASL would like to obtain a picture of Wilson’s disease in UK Hepatology and invite you to complete the short survey by clicking on the link > HERE. 

The data will be considered confidential.

Emmanouil Tsochatzis, James Dooley & Graeme Alexander

Trientine is supplied by UNIVAR for the treatment of patients with Wilson’s disease. The only licensed indication for Trientine is intolerance of D-Penicillamine. However, a number of patients may already be treated with Trientine for other reasons, including patient and/or physician preference.

The list price for Trientine was increased around four-fold in April and it is possible indeed likely, that when prescriptions are next re-newed that this may cause significant difficulty.

The arrangements for paying for Trientine are not uniform across the country and as a result, treatment costs may not be fully covered in some parts of the UK.
Negotiations between UNIVAR and various NHS funding bodies are continuing.

If clinical difficulties are encountered as a direct result of the price increase in Trientine resulting in treatment being modified, then BASL would like to be kept informed.

As part of its mission to increase awareness of liver disease amongst parliamentarians and policy makers the Lancet Commission for Liver Disease has been working with Incisive Health to produce profiles of the burden of liver disease across England. The profiles have been customised to show data including Years of Life Lost, Mortality Rate and Hospital Admissions that is specific to each of the 533 parliamentary constituencies in England.

To view the profiles for your area please visit the Foundation for Liver Research website - click > here for A - S and click > here for T-Z.  

The details of MP's and the name of their parliamentary constituency in your place of residence or work can be located by visiting the parliament uk website - click > here.   

BASL members are encouraged to use these profiles to secure a meeting with their local MP in order to continue to raise the profile of liver disease across parliament.

The BJN Hepatology/Liver Nurse of the Year award will recognise nurses who care for and treat very unwell patients with a range of life-altering conditions and diseases. The important work within this specialty should be recognised and any nurse who has made a special impact on hepatology/liver nursing should apply or be nominated.

Many people's lives are touched by these conditions and diseases, and whether they practice in hospitals or the community, nurses will find themselves caring at some stage for such patients.

This Award will recognise an individual or team who have made a demonstrable improvement to the delivery of excellent patient care.

Enter or nominate a colleague today by visiting the BJN website by clicking > HERE.

For 20 years The PBC Foundation has been supporting people diagnosed and living with Primary Biliary Cholangitis.

After BASL 2016 from 9th –11th September PBC members and supporters were involved in the 'three peaks in three days challenge' climbing Scafell, Snowdon and Ben Nevis.

There are some pictures on the BASL website of some of those that took part > HERE. 

Visit the PBC Foundation website > HERE to found out more about the foundation.