December 2009 - The British Society for Rheumatology

Committee|Reports
President
2009 seems to have flown past and as this is the last newsletter of the
year, I thought it was a good opportunity to look back at 2009 and to reflect
on the many challenges and opportunities that face us in 2010.
There have been three key reports during the year that are really helping to raise
the profile of rheumatology services. The first, from the King’s Fund, was a
consultancy report for the Rheumatology Futures Group. It looked at how
patients and rheumatologists viewed the services they received or delivered.
The research found that despite the chronic and debilitating nature of the illness,
the availability and take-up of systematic guidance for professionals about the
appropriate care pathway for RA patients remains limited. Patients with RA
struggle to access care and RA is often perceived as being in the shadow of
other more common long-term conditions. In particular, the study revealed
reports of variation in the nature and quality of RA care leading to fifteen
recommendations for action across the RA ‘patient pathway’ in the three
domains of initial contact with the NHS, specialist intervention and ongoing care.
Following closely behind this was the NICE Rheumatoid Arthritis clinical guideline.
This was well received and provides an excellent blue print for the services that
we should be providing for our patients with RA. I am sure this will be a useful
tool for the rheumatology team when looking at the commissioning of services
in the future. In addition, the NICE commissioning guide on the service for the
diagnosis and management of RA in adults should be published by the end of
the year.
The National Audit Office report was a detailed look at services for people with
RA across the country. This report is a real ‘call to arms’ for every rheumatology
team – it gives details of what services should look like and will be a great tool
for us to use to get the services our patients deserve.
Dr Deborah Bax, President, BSR
Treasurer
I am pleased to report that, despite the credit
crunch, our finances are in good shape. Income from
the conference and Journal has been good and we
are on course to break even, or have a small surplus
at the end of the year. The problems with direct debit
subscriptions have been largely solved with only a few
members yet to pay. Membership numbers have not
dropped, despite the inconvenience.
The budget for 2010 has been set with a small deficit
predicted, mainly due to increased resources needed to
implement the Strategic Plan and maintain core activity.
The Finance and General Purpose Committee is in the
process of reorganisation to extend financial projections
over a three year period, to develop and modernise the
risk register and to assess the financial and resource
implications across the organisation of new initiatives
coming from the Standing Committees.
Finally we are seeking nominations for the Assistant
Honorary Treasurer to be elected at the 2010 AGM.
A great opportunity to be involved in the development of
British rheumatology, to work with colleagues from all
over the UK and with an excellent team of professionals
at the BSR office.
Dr Paul Thompson, Treasurer, BSR
This has been a year of change on many fronts. Robert Moots
started as the new editor, joined by seven new associate editors.
Rheumatology’s impact factor has increased from 4.045 to 4.136.
As of 31 October 2009, the Journal received 1,217 manuscripts,
an increase of about 12% compared to this time last year.
We have trialled the broadcasting of podcasts for the first time, publishing
two so far. Each of these has attracted 1,200 downloads per month –
far more than podcasts from other major journals published by Oxford
University Press.
Rheumatology has also undergone a major redesign of the internal
layout, which we hope is contemporary yet clear. The new design will
be launched with the print volume 49, in January 2010.
We have also been commissioning more focused and punchy editorials of
a global and topical scope. The Journal published five issues of an
excerpted English edition version for middle-eastern countries, with plans
to publish another series.
Last but not least, we have issued a call for papers for a special issue
dedicated to registries in rheumatological and musculoskeletal
conditions for print publication of January 2011. We hope that this
issue will stimulate interest from both authors and readers.
Professor Robert Moots, Editor, Rheumatology
New internal layout for Rheumatology
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