Dear Member,
We hope this finds you well and that you have had a successful year making a difference to the lives of so many people. We are proud at BAPO of all our members’ achievements and celebrate your incredible work.
Thank you for continuing to be a member of BAPO this year, your support is greatly valued. Your professional body has also had a busy year. In March we started working on the NHSE-commissioned programme of work which is the largest programme of work BAPO has undertaken. It includes projects covering a wide range of areas including pre-registration curriculum, practice-based placements, simulation, the support workforce, preceptorship and foundation support, the educator workforce, career resources and information, EDI, apprenticeships, embedding education and training into commissioning, and job planning. You will seen several resources BAPO has launched from this programme of work, and you will see many more over the coming months.
As well as this important work we have also been busy with events and courses. We held regional conferences in Cardiff and Tamworth both of which were sell-out successes. A huge thank you to everyone who attended and contributed and to our exhibitors who made it possible for us to hold these events.
We also held our inaugural BAPO P&O Awards in September and we had a wonderful evening celebrating the profession and presenting a Lifetime Achievement Award to the inspirational Lynne Rowley who will be sadly missed by all who knew her. Our Patron, Alex Brooker, also made an appearance by video to present the BAPO Hero Award to Sandra Sexton. We hope to see you at the awards in 2025.
You will have seen from the weekly newsletter that our offering of education courses has increased and in 2025 we are taking this to a new level when members will have the opportunity to attend a wider range of courses. As well as the very popular KAFO and MSK courses, we will deliver an Anatomy course and Going Digital & 3D Printing. We are also developing courses on X-ray/Imaging, OA/Knee and Clinical Note Keeping with many more under discussion. Keep an eye on the newsletter for more information and please book quickly as the courses sell out. We deliver these courses with the support of OETT for which we are very grateful.
However, it is also that time of the year again when memberships are renewed. Inflation affects all organisations and BAPO is no different, so our Executive Committee has reluctantly agreed on a small increase in membership fees of 2%. For a full member, this is approximately £7 per year, or 60p per month so we feel this still represents great value for money. As ever we are working to control our costs so that we pass on as little as possible to our members.
To help with affordability you can of course pay by monthly Direct Debit if you don’t already do so, and if you email us we will send you the mandate form. To ensure you receive all our communications and membership benefits it is important that the information we hold for you is accurate. Please log in to BAPOnline to pay for your 2025 subscription and update your details. This information will help us continue to develop the services we offer to members. If you have any problems logging in we are here to help so please email enquiries@bapo.com or call us on 0141 561 7217.
Once you have your renewal confirmation you will be able to access your member discounts and member areas of the website.
The Executive Committee thanks you for your ongoing support. The community that you are part of is unique and changes so many lives for the better, and BAPO will continue to shine a light on the issues that matter to you and the great work that you do.