Trustees Annual Report 2024
A statement from our President and President-elect
As we reflect on 2024, we are incredibly grateful to our members, staff, partners and volunteers whose dedication and expertise have been fundamental to the Society’s success this year.
Over the past year, the Society has continued to work tirelessly to support our members and the wider intensive care community across the United Kingdom. It has been both a challenging and rewarding period, marked by ongoing recovery following the pandemic and a renewed focus on collaboration, innovation and professional development. We remain committed to promoting excellence in patient care and ensuring that the voices of our multi-professional membership are represented in national discussions about the future of healthcare.
As you’ll read throughout this Trustees’ Annual Report, we have made great progress this year and are looking forward to continuing this in the years to come. As ever, we are focussed on our charitable objective to advance and promote the 4 care and safety of critically ill patients, which we feel is underpinned by our five strategic priorities and two critical enablers.
A significant milestone during this period was our participation in the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. We were honoured to provide oral evidence during Module 3 on behalf of the intensive care community, and to highlight the extraordinary efforts made by our members and colleagues during the pandemic. It was particularly reassuring to hear that the Society’s work was acknowledged and referenced by others giving evidence, and we are proud that our contribution helped to shape the Inquiry’s understanding of the role of intensive care in supporting patients, families and health services throughout this unprecedented period.
In addition, we have strengthened our programme of education and accreditation and demonstrated our leadership through the ongoing development of important guidelines. We were delighted to award five ‘Road to Research Awards’ to provide support and access for clinicians new to research to conduct small research projects that contribute to the evidence base for our specialty.
A highlight of the year was SOA24, our annual Congress. With over 1,300 delegates, 270 poster presentations, 110 speakers and 40 sponsors, it was a busy and rewarding three days full of connections, scientific insight and the latest updates from the intensive care community.
Looking ahead, we will continue to champion the voice of the multi-professional intensive care community and advocate for investment in critical care services across the UK. Our priorities are clear: to continue advocating for our patients and workforce, to promote the best quality care, safety and research, and to ensure our Society remains a trusted, inclusive, and forward-thinking organisation.
With thanks and commitment,
Dr Steve Mathieu, President
Professor Shondipon Laha, President-Elect