Chair's Update February 2021

Dear members,

I hope this update finds you well. We are descending the latest peak in the COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown continues, but it is so encouraging to see the scale and speed of the vaccination programme here in the UK. However, the challenges and work continue, and the latest update of the joint COVID-19 guidance was published on 15^th January 2021 with a review date in May 2021.

Despite all, the BSA Council and Groups are busy working on reviews of our existing activities and resources, and on new initiatives.  Many thanks to all of you who completed our recent member survey; your contributions are so important as we work on the BSA plan for equality, diversity, and inclusiveness. Our review of the BSA Special Interest Groups portfolio is also now complete with recommendations going to Council next month for some changes and additions to what groups we have, and how they work.

In the month ahead, our online learning lead Sara Coulson, with the support of the team at Fitwise will be moving BSA online learning resources to a new platform. So, if you do notice any glitches then bear with us; the new platform will streamline the look and function of our online learning, new learning materials, and our eConferences, which I think in the longer term will be very beneficial to you as members and to the BSA.

Also, this month I’ll be joining a meeting to revisit the proposal for a College of Audiology and the plans for such a College that were set out back in 2019. Now perhaps more than ever there is an appreciation for the strategic importance of joined up working and consistency within Audiology, and so I look forward to re-engaging in these discussions and sharing an update with you very soon.    As always, stay safe and well.