I am very sorry to report that this conference has been cancelled. This is due to low levels of registration which, in turn, seem likely to be due to our lack of publicity at a key time (I was away and unable to expedite this – see link), and current pressures on clinical staff to meet necessary targets. The Trust is working hard to deliver complex services to a population of around 1.5 million people, and the present climate is not an easy one within which to operate flexibly. Front-line staff probably feel this more than any of us.

Hopefully, we will be back next year. Two guaranteed invitations to present will go to successful submissions from Jo Lee and Corrie Neilson. Jo is a senior physiotherapist with the Brighton & Hove Learning Disability team. Her paper, titled Passive Therapeutic Standing in the Neurologically Impaired Population, is a part of her Master’s dissertation with the University of Brighton, for which she earned a Distinction. Corrie’s paper,  An exploration into Second Life use with a Facially Disfigured Avatar, describes the research component of her Master’s in Foundations of Clinical Psychology & Mental Health from the University of Sussex, for which she too received a Distinction. Corrie has been a volunteer with Trust learning disability services and a care worker for adults with challenging behaviour in community services. She hopes to undertake Doctoral training in clinical psychology.

These are high quality pieces of work delivered by professional/aspirational clinicians at an early stage in their experience as researchers. The future of NHS innovation would seem to be in good hands.