Those of you who were not at the AGM at the Novotel in London would, I’m sure, like to join me in thanking Prof Cameron Swift for his excellent stewardship of the Society during his tenure as President. Cameron represented us through a crucial time for the Society and for Older People’s services, with his tireless work, especially around the NSF. The links that he has strengthened with other organisations such as the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of General Practioners, to name just two, will continue to bear fruit for many years to come. His strategic review gave us a new impetus in reorganizing the Society. We are all most grateful for all his hard work and I, for one, will miss him.

Join me also to welcome on board our new President, Prof Bob Stout. Bob will no doubt stamp his personal style on the running of our Society. I look forward very much to working with him. He will be ably supported by Dr Jeremy Playfer, our President-Elect and Dr Margot Gosney, our new Deputy Treasurer.

Autumn meeting
Once again we have a packed Newsletter. Much is happening within the Society and in the UK generally, regarding older people’s services. The Autumn meeting was a great success, thanks to our Autumn Meetings Secretary, Janice O’Connell and her various partners in crime! I am indebted to Roger Lewis for being so prompt with his report of the meeting.

BGS Standards of Care
You will also see in this issue, a brief résumé provided by Gill Turner on behalf of the Policy committee of the Society’s ‘Standards of Care for Older People’. It is an excellent document and I would commend it to you, suggesting that you disseminate it locally to your managers and PCT. It may well help you with your local negotiations and service development.

National Service Framework
We also have two excellent articles from the NSF focus group. Ian Hastie’s article on workforce issues and Finnbarr Martin’s on the work of the group, both containing much useful information, not just for our England colleagues but also for those of you north and west of the borders.

On-line BGS newsletter
Our attempt at on-line publication of the Newsletter was a measured success. There have been 612 visits, at the date of writing. While these visitors may be outside the Society’s membership, the BGS website in its various forms continues to raise the profile of the Society and has been responsible for attracting new overseas members over the years. Our thanks to those of you who visited the site. You will note that most of the notices on meetings etc will be published on the site only. So let me encourage you to visit the site, and of course do feed back to us any views you may have.

2003 Spring Meeting - Aberdeen
And finally a date for your diary. It is never too early to plan to be at the BGS Spring meeting to be held at Aberdeen, April 10 – 12 2003. The venue is delightful and the programme promising. So be there or be square!

Chandi Vellodi
Editor