Forthcoming Events

Another twelve months have passed, and once more it was time for GUCH'S Annual General Meeting in the picturesque town of Stratford Upon Avon

Those who wanted to make more of a weekend of our AGM started to arrive on Friday, in the late afternoon. The Hotel was lovely and it seemed to cater for all of the needs of GUCH. Once Steven and I were settled in we came to the bar, the obvious place to greet old and new friends. By the end of the evening, and that is about 10.30pm for me these days, there had been much drinking, laughing and catching up with other GUCHs.

By 10.00am on Saturday many more people had arrived, old and new faces some with their partners or parents. Richard Bird, Chairman of the Patient Representative Group, officially welcomed everyone and opened our AGM. This was followed by a speech from Michael Cumper, Chairman of the Trustees.

We then welcomed Dr Sara Thorne GUCH Consultant for Birmingham, who gave an excellent talk on GUCH medicine in the 21st century.

After much needed refreshments, Dr Paul Clift, also a GUCH consultant from Birmingham, gave a very interesting talk on our heart and lungs. In this he clearly explained several conditions that GUCHs can suffer from. Everyone I have since spoken to, whether they were a GUCH or not felt that this was one of the best talks that had ever been given, in a way that everyone could understand. Later Sue Hawksford, a specialist nurse, gave an interesting talk on Lifestyle Issues.

After lunch we had an audience participation session, where various questions were answered, helping many GUCHs solve some of our queries. We then were guided to the one workshop that we had previously booked for. The choices were: Cardiac Health Exercises and Relaxation Techniques, given by Shirley Hall, Mental Health Exercises and Coping Strategies, given by Paula Banda from GUCH and How to manage your Care and Expectations given by Shelagh Eaton, a Patients Representative Group member.

The AGM drew to a close at 4.00pm, and after having a much needed rest many of us stayed at the hotel for a very enjoyable meal and a lot of social laughter and chat.

On Sunday morning many of us had a lovely cruise down the River Avon on a boat specially hired by GUCH. We then exchanged our contact details and said our goodbyes for another year.

Many thanks to all that were involved in making our Stratford AGM one of the best yet!