Minutes of the ACTA Committee Meeting.
Park Plaza Hotel, Cardiff, Thursday 15th of November 2007.
ACTION
ACTA Committee
Dr JP van Besouw [JPvB] Chair
Dr P. Alston [PA]
Dr D. Greenhalgh [DG]
Dr J. MacKay [JM]
Dr A. Macfie [AM]
Dr R Gill [RG]
1.
Apologies
Dr S Bennett previous chair
2.
Welcome to new Committee Members
a.
JPvB welcomed the new ACTA committee members (AM and RG).
The new committee structure was discussed and agreed. This will be as
follows:
JPvB
PA
AM
DG
RG
JM
b.
Chair and ACCEA
Editor ACTA News and Web Manager
Secretary and Thoracic Sub-committee
TOE Sub-committee and Perfusion.
Meetings Secretary and Paediatric Liason
Treasurer, Membership Secretary
Report on Election Process
ACTA
JM reported that the election process was very successful this year. It was
administered by the Beth Doyle at the Royal College of Anaesthetists.
There was a record number of ballot papers received (170). There were
seven applicants and three successful candidates. Alistair Macfie and
Ravi Gill were elected for a first term and JPvB was reelected for a second
term. The good response was thought to be partly due to the provision of
stamped addressed envelopes.
EACTA
John Gothard has been appointed to the Directory Board of EACTA.
David Smith was succesful by one vote in securing the UK representative
position on the EACTA Committee.
3.
Minutes from previous meeting: Cambridge, 2007.
These were approved without alteration.
4.
Matters Arising (JPvB)
a.
Cardiothoracic anaesthetic audit
Discussions are ongoing in the development of a UK audit of cardiac and
thoracic surgical activity and outcomes.
b.
The Companies ACT 2006 and Charities Act 2008
JPvB explained the implications for ACTA of the Companies Act 2006
and the Charities Act 2008. The implications had been discussed at the
SpecSoc meeting at the Association of Anaesthetists. The main points
were that the Companies Act removed the requirement for an annual
meeting. A show of hands was not a an acceptable way to make decisions
Legal advice
to be taken
from the
lawyers that
drew up
and where the membership require consultation, a ballot of all members is
required. To make a change, 50% of the membership is needed to support
the proposal. To change the standing orders, 75% support is required.
The Charities Act requires that registered charities such as ACTA act
predominantly for the good of the general public not their members. It is
possible that charging differential rates for membership or meeting
registration is not permissible. Benefits from charitable status include not
paying VAT on income and tax on interest. After discussion of the isssues
it was agreed that a legal opinion from the lawyers that drew up the
articles of ACTA should be saught. [AM]. This requirement has to be met
by October 2008. Directors are liable for not meeting these regulations.
c.
Joint Meeting with SCTS
A joint meeting with the SCTS has been requested by the SCTS. This
received the unanimous support of the committee as this represents an
excellent educational opportunity . Sean Bennett has suggested that the
first joint meeting could be the Hull meeting in 2009. It was agreed that
terms of reference for the meeting would be agreed in advance with SCTS
to ensure that financial issues and responsibilities are clarified. The size of
the meeting may have implications for the venue.
ACTA’s
articles. AM
RG to take
forward
d
Perfusionists prescribing meeting.
A group has been convened to draw up guidelines on perfusionists
prescribing which is currently a ‘grey area’. Department of health has
JPvB to write
expressed concerns. Fiona Gibson was attending these meetings and it was to FG and
decided that DG would stand in for FG until FG had recovered from
DS
illness. The committee gave Fiona Gibson it’s best wishes and hoped she
would make a speedy recovery.
5.
Educational awards
No educational grant was awarded in 2006. There were two applicants but
the required criteria were not met. These criteria are available on the
website under the letters section. Applications should be submitted by the
end of December 2007. It is a requirement of these awards that normally a
written report is submitted. JPvB noted that he had not received a report
from either of the awards made in the previous year.
PA to coordinate for
2007
Meetings Update (JM)
6.
CTA and World Congress Satellite meeting in South Africa
This meeting takes place from 25th-27th February. An invited faculty have
been confirmed. A number of faculty members are also scheduled to
speak at the WFSA.
The Spring ACTA 25th meeting is being organised by Dr Mathew
Barnard and will be in London on the 6th of June 2007: venue to be
confirmed. The 3rd ACTA-ECHO meeting will take place in London on
the day before the ACTA 25th Spring meeting. The meeting will be hosted
by St George’s Hospital in the RSM and organised by Dr Nick Fletcher.
The Autumn ACTA meeting organised by Mike Cross will be on the 14th
of November 2008 in Harogate. This will be preceeded by an AAGBI
sponsored Cardiac ICU meeting organised by Tim Strang on the 13th of
November 2008.
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The Spring ACTA 2009
The spring ACTA meeting 2009 will be in Cambridge.
The Autumn ACTA 2009 meeting will be in Hull. A joint meeting with
the SCTS has been requested by the SCTS. This received the unanimous
support of the committee. Sean Bennett has suggested that this could be
the Hull meeting in 2009. It was agreed that terms of reference for the
meeting should be agreed in advance and financial issues clarified. The
impact of a joint meeting on the size and therefore venue of the meeting
have to be considered.
See above
RG is the new Meetings secretary. He will review the current ACTA ‘how
to run a meeting’ pamphlet.
EACTA 2010
The venue for the EACTA 2010 will be Edinburgh. Consequent to this
decision ACTA will not be holding a meeting in the Spring of 2010 - as
had been the case when the EACTA meeting was held in London in 2004.
Dr Peter Alston will be responsible for co-ordinating the organisation of
the event
7.
Website and ACTA News (PA)
ACTA News
The latest issue was send out by the College and the distribution went
well. Interesting articles are requested and photographs are appreciated. It
will be distributed one month before the next meeting. The website E mail
shot facility has been useful for publicising meetings.
Website
The website is functioning well. There is some tidying up in progress. The
committee members have been updated and linkman are encouraged to
update their personal information and that of their unit.
8.
ACCEA 2007/8 (JPvB)
The Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards (ACCEA) in
England and Wales accepts citations of support from specialist societies
on behalf of applicants for ACCEA awards. ACTA is registered as a
specialist society with ACCEA. Last year ten people were nominated for
bronze awards and six silver and gold. Two nominations were supported
in Scotland which has a separate process.
Nominations for this year should be received by the end of November
2007. A committee with the appropriate representation has been
assembled similar to last year. Applicants are ranked according to
standard ACTA criteria.
9.
PA to
facilitate
JPvB to coordinate
timetable for
2008 round
Echocardiography Update (DG)
The Manchester ‘Ischaemic Mitral Enigma’ meeting was successful.
Nick Fletcher is organising the London Echo meeting on the 5th of June
2008. It will have presentations on 3D Echo for aortic disease and case
presentations. ACTA were asked if the case reports and sample loops
could be placed on the website and Pete Alston confirmed that this should
be possible.
There will be an Echo Subcommittee meeting at the Satellite meeting at
the World Congress in South Africa.
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The BSE TOE exam remains popular and at the BSE meeting this year
there were 54 candidates, of these 15 failed. The BSE meeting in
Edinburgh was well attended.
DG is to attend a meeting in December 2007 with surgeons and
cardiologists to consider how to set standards for echocardiography for
mitral vave repair. The concern is that intraoperative findings and decision
making should be of a high and consistant standard.
10.
Thoracic Issues (AM)
There were no developments to report. AM is to chair the ACTA
subcommittee on thoracic issues. There was a thoracic satellite meeting
proceeding ACTA in Cardiff which was well attended.
11.
Finance and Accounts
A small surplus was made and it was decided that subscriptions would be
held at £40 per annum. No bills have been received from Company House
and JM is checking the billing address. The accounts were reviewed and
discussed in detail. The trainee discount may not be allowed under the
new regulations defined by the Charities Act. This will be explored with
ACTA’s legal advisors.
12.
AOCB
Currently there are five honorary members and it has been proposed that
recommendations are sought for additional suitable individuals for the 25th
anniversary year of ACTA. An E Mail request will be made to the
membership.
Beverly Hunt (Professor of Haematology) is chairing a group on behalf of
the Department of Health to investigate the use of clotting products. It was
agreed that Ravi Gill should represent ACTA on this group should a
request be made.
Charles Gilbe, Rob Feneck and John Simpson have £2,500 from an ACTA
meeting they organised a number of years ago which they would like to
donate to ACTA to support a prize. The details have not been confirmed
but this may be a Brompton Echo Prize.
The NHRA and FDA recommendations on Aprotinin were discussed. A
lively e mail debate had preceded the Cardiff meeting. It was concluded
that the recommendations already on the ACTA website would stand but
with updated information and links to the NHRA and FDA websites
provided. The final analysis of the BART trial data is awaited but could
take several months. Problems with the supply of tranexamic acid in the
UK are likely.
PA to revise.
EACTA are changing to the North American Red Elsevier 'Journal of
Cardiothoracic & Vascular Anesthesia' from January 2008. JM explained
that a deal has been agreed with EACTA regarding the failure of delivery
of the EJA to ACTA members with a linked EACTA subscription since
June 2006. In lieu of missing 18 months EJA , EACTA has agreed to
supply EACTA-ACTA members with 12 months JTCVA from JanuaryDecember 2008 without charge. In return, ACTA have agreed to move
the collection date of both ACTA & EACTA subs back from May to
November 2008 to synchronise subscription years and facilitate bulk
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ordering of JCTVA on a calendar year basis. Because JCTVA is ~50%
more expensive than the EJA, ACTA will need to increase EACTA
subscriptions from £50 to £75 in November 2008.
EACTA will also be offering a discounted 3-year on-line subscription rate
to ACTA members who choose to join EACTA directly. JM to email
linked members and include this information in the Spring 2008
Newsletter.
13.
In Scotland a Health Technology assessment of the use of TEG is
underway.
DOTNM
Royal Society of Medicine, London ,5th of June 2008; 18.00-20.00
Alistair Macfie
Secretary ACTA
November 2007
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