News

AddToAny

Google+ Facebook Twitter Twitter

BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE DAY: AT THE HEART OF HEALTHCARE

July was a month of celebrations and professional promotion, with the second ever Biomedical Science Day and the 70th birthday of the NHS.

Western HSC Trust

Thousands of IBMS members took part in Biomedical Science Day, holding events, taking “lab-selfies” and getting on social media to raise the profile of the profession.

The day took place on 19 July – the birthday of IBMS founder Albert Norman – and was the second-ever Biomedical Science Day.

Members were encouraged to promote the vital role they play in healthcare and to showcase their work to patients and the public. Spanning all biomedical disciplines, the IBMS called on laboratory staff to celebrate their work to help explain what they do and the impact their work has on patients’ healthcare.

The theme for the day was “At the heart of healthcare”, which was used to show how biomedical scientists’ work produces the data on which doctors, consultants and surgeons base their diagnoses to plan treatment.

Spreading the word

There were numerous ways that people got involved on the day, from lab tours and eye-catching hospital displays to members visiting schools and spreading the word with talks and demonstrations.

The IBMS produced a wide range of resources, which could be downloaded from its website. These included posters, leaflets, letter templates and digital imagery and free Biomedical Science Day event packs, which could be ordered online.

The IBMS collated an online collection of activities that members had created and which could be used to promote biomedical science to students of all ages. 

It also ran a series of competitions on the day, encouraging biomedical science staff across the country to showcase their work. It asked members to email in photos from the day, with categories including best workplace photo, best biomedical science-themed cake (which was judged by biomedical scientist and Great British Bake Off star Yan Tsou) best event and best video, among others. The full list of winners has been published on the IBMS website.

 

Alison Geddis, IBMS President, said:

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the response to Biomedical Science Day this year. The profession has really come together. Hundreds of laboratory doors were opened across the country to NHS staff, the public and patients – helping to raise awareness of the important role of biomedical science in healthcare.”


  • 142 NHS hospitals and 14 trusts and accredited universities across the UK took part
  • The IBMS sent out 6,000 posters, 10,000 leaflets and wristbands, 5,000 fuzzy bugs and 30,000 stickers 


Happy Birthday, NHS

Biomedical Science Day came exactly two weeks after a landmark occasion – the 70th birthday of the NHS. There were celebrations across the country, including a ceremony at Westminster Abbey and a choral concert at York Minster. To help mark the occasion, buildings, historic monuments and other high-profile sites across the country were it up blue for the evening of 5 July.

IBMS member Jo Horne celebrated the landmark birthday at 10 Downing Street.

Jo, who is a Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) WISE Fellow, was invited to the drinks reception, which was also attended by Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt. Along with other CSO WISE Fellows, Jo discussed the vital role of biomedical scientists with the then-Health Secretary. She said: “Jeremy gave a short speech – in his first sentence he described the importance of the workforce to the NHS and included scientists in the list of people mentioned. That’s the power of a two-minute conversation.”
 

 

Related Articles

Top