Welcome to the proceedings of our Third National Conference.

Since our last conference in Manchester 18 months ago, our staff and volunteers have achieved great things - here are just a few of them:

We have handled over 7,000 enquiries by phone, by letter and, increasingly by e-mail, including 1,500 from 'first time' callers. Much of this work falls to our Patient Support Administrator, Theresa O'Neill.

We have set up seven new support groups and launched our 38th group in Northampton the week following the conference. The grant secured from the National Lottery Charities Board has enabled us to provide a greater level of support to new and established support groups and the volunteers who run them. Thank you all for your efforts, on our behalf and on behalf of your fellow patients and carers. Thank you too, to Gail Weingartner, Pat McBride and Pat Walmsley, our dedicated National and Regional Co-ordinators.

We have launched a comprehensive website, which is receiving over 600 hits a month. Much of this work was undertaken for us, on a voluntary basis, by one of our members.

We have started our Telephone Buddies scheme, which is again funded by the lottery grant and, to date, have provided training in Core Telephone Helpline Skills to almost 100 members, both patients and carers, who wish to support others.

We estimate that since our launch we have distributed close to 100,000 patient leaflets and have just reprinted and updated three of our patient leaflets. We have also produced a new leaflet entitled 'Hypogonadism and Infertility: A Guide for Men'.

Pituitary News is mailed four times a year and is our main way of communicating with our members. It represents our biggest single cost (salaries apart) but we remain committed to it.

Last summer we undertook a major Membership Survey and have developed a sophisticated new database.

In the last 18 months we have been able to focus for the first time on the specific needs of those of you who care for and support someone with a pituitary problem. Our work was recognised by the Department of Health with a three-year grant to fund a Carer Support Project and this allowed us to appoint Joan Cox as Project Manager. Together with the Carer Sub-committee, she is now developing the project.

We have joined the Long-term Medical Conditions Alliance (LMCA) and hope to become active members of the organisation.

Finally, we have been short-listed for no fewer than three awards.

I think you will agree that this is an impressive list of achievements for such a small organisation. We have just six staff and only one of them, Theresa, works full time. We now have a membership of just over 8,000, but are still only reaching perhaps 15% of all the pituitary patients in the country so we are not complacent and know we have a great deal of work ahead of us. We need to reach more pituitary patients and to reach them earlier in their diagnosis so we can support them through surgery, Radiotherapy and beyond.

During the next five years we would like to double the number of people making use of our services, while at the same time remaining a supportive and caring organisation where the individual's voice can be heard. We are determined to remain a patient-led organisation and amended our governing document last year to ensure this.

So how are we going to achieve our vision? It all comes down to resources, both human and financial. We have a superb team of people behind the Foundation, staff and volunteers alike, but funding is a major concern. It will cost £220,000 to run the Foundation this year. This figure will have to increase if we are to reach more and more patients.

Support comes from a number of sources: the pharmaceutical industry; the National Lottery Charities Board, the Department of Health and a growing number of other grant making trusts; from our Local Support Groups and from our members.

Much of the responsibility for raising funds for our work falls to our Manager, Ann Bailey, as has the planning of this year's conference. She has also played a major part in our rapid growth since she joined us in July 1997. Sadly, Ann left us at the end of June and we thank her for all she has done for the Foundation and wish her a long and busy retirement!

We have appointed Tim Wheadon to take Ann's place. Tim joined us from the Dementia Care Trust in Bristol on 1st June. We welcome Tim aboard and hope he will have a long and happy association with us.

May I also thank each and every one of our speakers who gave so freely of their time and expertise to be with us.

Professor Stafford Lightman
University of Bristol

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