BRITISH SOCIETY FOR COLPOSCOPY
AND CERVICAL PATHOLOGY
Charity Number 296198
ANNUAL REPORT
YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014
BRITISH SOCIETY FOR COLPOSCOPY AND CERVICAL PATHOLOGY
YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014
CHARITY INFORMATION
Charity Number: 296198
Objects of Charity: To facilitate the interchange of information on colposcopy and cervical pathology between the members of the Society and between the Society and those in other countries.
Address: Birmingham Women’s Hospital
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TG
Bankers: Barclays Bank
54 High Street
Worcester
WR1 2QQ
Legal Advisers: Pearson Rowe
53 St Paul’s Square
Birmingham
B3 1QS
Auditors: BDO LLP
125 Colmore Row
Birmingham
B3 3SD
BRITISH SOCIETY FOR COLPOSCOPY AND CERVICAL PATHOLOGY
YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014
TRUSTEES AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS REPORT
CONTENTS PAGES
TRUSTEES' AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS REPORT 1 - 5
STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES 6
AUDITOR’S REPORT 7 - 8
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES 9
BALANCE SHEET 10
NOTES AND ACCOUNTING POLICIES 11 - 15
BRITISH SOCIETY FOR COLPOSCOPY AND CERVICAL PATHOLOGY
YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2014
TRUSTEES AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS REPORT
On behalf of the Trustees I have pleasure in submitting our annual report in respect of the year ended 31 December 2014.
The charity is governed by a trust deed dated 1 June 1985, as amended.
Trustees and Executive Officers
The Trustees and Executive Officers, who are appointed by members of the society, are:
Trustees: Mr J Jordan
Professor A Singer
Professor H Kitchener – resigned 28.05.2014
Mr Patrick Walker – appointed 28.05.2014
Past President: Mr M Shafi
Executive Officers: Dr M Cruickshank – President
Mr J Tidy – President Elect
Mr P Martin-Hirsch – Secretary
Miss T Freeman-Wang – Treasurer
Mr N Myerson – Chair CTC
The Executive Officers are appointed on a three year term by a ballot of the members. The Treasurer has the power to deal with the finances and the Secretary has limited power with the approval of the Treasurer with regard to the finances.
The Executive Committee consists of the Trustees, Past President, the Executive Officers and area representatives. Area representatives do not have any powers and are elected for three years by a ballot of members in the relevant region. Area representatives are as follows:
Mr J BradyDr J Palmer
Dr E Crosbie
Mr A Oladipo
Dr D Lyons
Dr M Nathan
Mrs V Coneley / Mr M Hannemann
Mr S China
Mr N Pisal
Dr Camille Busby Earle (appointed 28.05.2014)
Dr G Dorman (appointed 28.05.2014)
Dr L Pickford
Election and Training of Trustees
Trustees shall be individuals whose qualifications and motivation would be of value to the BSCCP in promoting its goals within the rules of its charitable status. Trustees attend regular meetings where they are kept up-dated on the finances and the day to day functioning of the Society.
Mr Patrick Walker, a past BSCCP President, took up his position of Trustee at the BSCCP AGM in London on 28th May 2014 replacing Prof Kitchener who stood down at the same AGM after as second term of office.
Governance and management
The Board of Trustees and Executive Officers meet via a teleconference once a year and a further two times a year with the area representatives.
The IT subcommittee meet twice a year to discuss management and future development of the BSCCP website and makes reports to the Executive Officers with its recommendations.
The Certification and Training subcommittee meets twice a year and oversees the management of all education issues including examinations, courses and re-certification of colposcopists and makes recommendations to the main Executive Officers.
There is a research subcommittee which reviews BSCCP UK research awards and scholarships.
The day to day management of the charity is carried out by the Society Co-ordinators, Sharon Parisi and Elaine Radford who work closely with the Executive Officers.
Volunteers
The society is supported by its members and they contribute in a number of ways to promote education and training in cervical screening /colposcopy on a voluntary basis. Both doctor and nurse colposcopists help with the regular examinations assessing the competency of trainee colposcopists, lecture on courses and help organise the annual conferences as part of their commitment to the societyin this way.
The trustees and Executive Officers are extremely grateful for the assistance of these members and the vital role they play in the success of the Society.
Objectives and activities for public benefit
The objects of the charity are to promote high standards of colposcopy and facilitate the interchange of information on colposcopy and cervical pathology between the members of the Society and between the Society and those in other countries.
In setting and reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives, and in planning future activities and setting grant-making policies, the trustees confirm that they have considered and complied with the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit. Public benefit is achieved through ensuring high consistent standards of colposcopy across the country.
The BSCCP provides Education for professionals who provide care for women with cervical and lower tract pre-malignant conditions and who are suffering from cervical cancer, and publishes information on the BSCCP website for those women. They have an interest and involvement in cervical cancer research and collaborate with all the relevant organisations who have an interest and who conduct research into finding a cure or new treatment for cervical cancer. The society is foremost in the education of people who treat women with cervical cancer and works closely with the authorities, such as the NHS, who write the guidelines for hospitals and primary care units.
The BSCCP continues to be active in promoting research into screening for diagnosis and prevention of cervical cancer. It is committed to the international approach to the disease and continues to remain active in Europe and worldwide, keeping abreast of developments.
Review of Activities
Membership
The total membership of the Society at the present time stands at 2350 members. This includes approx. 1625 accredited colposcopists and 400 members who are undergoing the BSCCP Training Programme.
Certification and Training Programme
This is a structured training programme, which aims to impart competency in diagnostic colposcopy. Successful completion of the programme leads to the award of the RCOG/BSCCP Certificate in Colposcopy. The Diagnostic training programme is a trainer–led competency based structured theoretical and practical programme concluded with the Colposcopy Objectively Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
In 2014 a total of 96 BSCCP trainee members sat the BSCCP OSCE. In 2013 there were 82 candidates who sat the exam. The OSCE exam undergoes reliability tests and has been proven to be a successful and accurate method of assessing the trainee colposcopist written and interactive skills.
The Society also held 2 OSCE Preparation Courses and a 3 day Basic Colposcopy Course and a Trainer’s seminar and Training the Trainers day in London
Joint BSCCP/IFCPC 15th IFCPC World Congress of Cervical Pathology & Colposcopy
In 2014 the BSCCP Annual Scientific Meeting was held jointly in London with the IFCPC (International Federation for Cervical Pathology & Colposcopy). It was very well attended by an international audience. 425 delegates attended the pre & post congress courses, 885 delegates attended the main congress and there were 110 day registrations.
Up-to-date information was disseminated, thus giving practicing colposcopists from the UK, Republic of Ireland and overseas the chance to share knowledge. This was filmed to enable the lecture resources to be available to members on the BSCCP website. www.bsccp.org.uk
BSCCP Awards and Scholarships 2014
Following the success of the London Congress £40,428 (10% of the 2014 World Congress Registration Fees) was paid to the IFCPC and the final surplus figure retained by the BSCCP was £42,510 which was distributed as follows:
EFC – European Federation for Colposcopy (Pre-congress workshop)
£7,500 was awarded to EFC who ran a Basic Colposcopy Course
ISSVD – International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease (Pre-congress workshop)
£7,500 was awarded to ISSVD who ran a Vulval Workshop
Oral, Poster and OSCE Prizes
5 prizes of £300 each were awarded for best oral papers and poster presentations £150 was awarded to the highest scoring OSCE exam candidate
Travel Bursaries
£13,000 was awarded in the form of 64 travel bursaries to
a) overseas delegates from low and middle income countries
b) BSCCP nurse colposcopists
c) BSCCP members who submitted an abstract
Jordan Singer Prize
The Society invited applications for the Jordan/Singer Research Prize which is awarded to a doctor to conduct research or to acquire additional clinical skills in colposcopy. The value of the award is up-to £25,000 and is awarded every 2 years. The BSCCP Executive committee accepted the recommendations of the research committee to fund Maria Kyrgiou’s application for £25,000 for her study on “Increased risk of preterm birth after treatment for cervical precancer: an assessment of mechanical, immunological and metabolic mechanisms”
NHSCSP Audits
The Society continues to support and collaborate with the Public Health England Cervical Screening Service with on-going national audits and the Executive has continued to give valuable advice to the NHS Cervical Screening Programme with regard to HPV matters and the current roll-out of HPV triage and test of cure throughout the UK.
Future Plans
In 2015 the BSCCP Annual Scientific Meeting will be held in Nottingham. Exhibition stands will be offered to Jo’s Trust and ISSVD free of charge
It has been agreed that the overseas scholarship award will be increased to £2,000 and travel bursaries to attend meetings abroad would be increased to £750.
Applications have been invited for a new agreed one off award up to the value of £10,000 to be awarded as a “Recognition of IFCPC 15th World Congress Prize”. Applications received will be considered during 2015.
From 2015 new yearly funding will be available for up to 10 regions to conduct regional educational meetings with a value of up to £1,000 per region.
In 2015 the Society will be running 2 further OSCE exams and 2 OSCE preparation courses a
1 day advanced course and a Trainer’s seminar in London.
The online presence of the society has been transformed with the new BSCCP website and membership and content management system. The website was successfully launched in September 2013 and it provides a rich resource of online content to the membership and the general public. The website will continue to be the nucleus of the society.
The Executive Officers continue to make a major contribution to colposcopy nationally by working closely with the Royal College of Obstetrics & Gynaecology (RCOG) and the NHS Cervical Screening Programme (NHSCSP). Members of the BSCCP Executive are on committees within both organisations and are involved in the drafting and up-dating of many publications which are distributed to Colposcopy Units throughout the country. In 2015 the BSCCP will continue to work closely with both of these organizations.
The Society will also continue to work with other organizations overseas to facilitate the transfer of technical knowledge and to decrease the disease burden from cervical cancer. The BSCCP has several representatives on both the committees of the International Federation for Colposcopy and the European Federation for Colposcopy who assists and advises on all aspects of colposcopy overseas.
The Society will continue to maintain and improve its website. There is a News section on the website so that BSCCP members can easily access news and information. A new online voting process will also be developed to replace the current postal ballot system.
Summary
The BSCCP continues to be active in promoting high standards of colposcopy and research into screening for diagnosis and prevention of cervical cancer. It is committed to the international approach to the disease and continues to remain active in Europe and worldwide, keeping abreast of developments.
The Society maintains its close association with the RCOG, and the NHSCSP National Quality Assurance Working Group and continues to oversee colposcopy training and the BSCCP registered colposcopists, who are currently practising to ensure they maintain their competence.
Risk Statement and reserves policy
The Trustees have considered the risks associated with the BSCCP and conclude that the key risks are:
1) That if any of the future planned conferences do not go ahead or are the subject of an event beyond the control of the charity, the charity could be left having to fund a substantial loss.
2) With the impact of HPV vaccination which began in 2008, there may well be a significant drop in colposcopy activity in the UK, and this may impact on the size of the Society and its revenue.
The Executive are of the opinion that it is therefore not unreasonable to maintain the equivalent of one year’s expenditure in a reserve fund. The charity currently holds in excess of this and is taking active steps to utilise excess funds in future years by considering commissioning projects of particular relevance to BSCCP activity including worthy research and pilot implementation projects. Discussions regarding these are ongoing with the executive officers and will be further discussed at the executive meetings – see future plans section above.
Investment Policy
The BSCCP has invested money in the COIF Charities Deposit Fund and money is available at short notice without penalties. This account makes a small return for the Society. During the period, £85,000 which was held on a fixed term deposit matured and other options for investing the money were and are being considered by the board.
The Treasurer is reviewing other investment opportunities with a financial advisor and consultation is currently in progress on this matter.
Financial Report
In 2014 the Society made a surplus of £21,302 (2013 - £100,405). The reduced surplus was due to additional grant expenditure of approximately £51k in the period, including additional bursaries and grants from the conference surplus and the awarding of the biennial Jordan Singer prize (see note 2 to the financial statements on page 12). In addition, a full year’s depreciation of the website accounted for a further additional £11k of expenditure and there were additional website hosting and maintenance fees of £5k.
The overall core income levels have remained relatively stable, except for a change in the treatment of conference income. In 2014, the conference was organised by a third party who also acted as principal and all income and expenditure were accounted for by the third party, with the net surplus being paid over to the Society as part of the agreement. In previous years, the Society have acted as principal and contact with suppliers and delegates, so the income and expenditure were recorded gross.