Society for Computing & Technology in Anaesthesia

As outlined in my email, the possibilities that the committee have considered are

*having a one -day meeting timed to allow delegates to attend for just the day , obviating an overnight stay.
*having a SCATA session as part of other meetings ( eg AAGBI ASM/WSM) , either as a parallel session or an early morning or evening event
*having a weekend (Fri/Sat/Sun) meeting which has a more prominent social program and can include families.

Comments, suggestions and ideas will be gratefully received.

Another option to consider is having a meeting centred on a sepcific topic e.g. Electronic Anaesthesia Record (eAR) systems and perhaps invite some of our colleagues from industry to contribute. It would be better if we had it in the format of a seminar/debate around interoperability rather than as a marketing exercise for their products.

I personally would prefer a parallel session within a bigger meeting. This may however, not mean bigger attendances. Most clinicians I meet are only superficially interested in IT and I think it will be hard to find something to engage them. Plus with all the constraints on study leave time and budget, we will all be competing for a diminishing pool of delegates. Perhaps a better option is to have a parallel session within a non-medical meeting, eg an IT show in London? That way, we can mix business and geeky pleasure!