A message from our CEO and President - December 2023

With the end of 2023 in sight, we can now look back on the year we shared and contemplate what next year will bring for the Intensive Care Society.

First of all, and most importantly, we can’t express enough how grateful we are to each of you for the compassion, and dedication you bring to your work and to the Society as well.

2023 has been a tough year for us all. We have seen significant operational and financial pressures in the NHS which impacts on our ability to deliver the quality care we all expect to deliver.

At times many of us have found it difficult to maintain our own wellbeing, and some of the challenges we continue to face have tested our commitment. But we know that as ever your patients have always been your priority. Whilst you care for your patients we are also here to listen, care for and to support you.

We want to work hand in hand with you to build an intensive care fit for the future and that we can all be proud of. We continue to educate parliamentarians through our All-Party Parliamentary Group to help them better understand the practice and importance of intensive care and importantly your value, your professionalism, your brilliance. Each of these meetings has seen representation from our elected members of Council and Professional Advisory Groups ensuring all professions within our community have their voices heard.

We have this week submitted our 60 page statement to the chair of the Covid-19 inquiry to ensure that the impact of the pandemic on intensive care services, our teams and our patients is recorded accurately in history. We are incredibly proud to have this responsibility and will not let you down.

When we return in the new year we have lots of important work to get stuck into. We’ll be planning to welcome you to Liverpool for State of the Art 2024 (17-20 June), continuing our EDI and sustainability work, supporting education, ultrasound accreditation (FUSIC™), research and hosting our third Leadership Programme cohort, LeaP3.

We’ll be continuing to work towards achieving our new strategy. We’ve already made a great deal of progress, but there is still much to do and we’re looking forward to getting started on another year of important work with you and on your behalf.

The Society only thrives thanks to your collective contributions which help us take the big steps we need to advance intensive care for our members.

We thank you again for all you do and your endless support for the Society – we are nothing without our members.

We wish you all a very merry Christmas, and a safe and happy new year. We can’t wait to work with each and every one of you in 2024.