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Newsletter |
| Vol.1, No. 1 May 2003 |
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This is the first newsletter of the World Union of Wound Healing Societies (WUWHS). It is intended to produce a newsletter quarterly. The newsletter will be made available to any society participating in the WUWHS, and it may reprinted in electronic or hard copy and distributed to members of those societies. About the WUWHS The WUWHS was formed in September 2000 at the First World
Wound Healing Congress that was held in Melbourne Australia.
Representatives from 11 societies, with apologies from representatives
of another 3 societies, took the decision to form what was initially
called the International Society of Wound Healing Societies.
The name was subsequently changed to the World Union at a Board
meeting in Cardiff in September 2001. Activities of the WUWHS Contained within the document are a mission statement and objectives of the society, which have been discussed at the meetings in Melbourne and Monte Carlo. From this it can be seen that the WUWHS is planning a global approach to issues in wound healing, thereby not competing with or duplicating the efforts of individual societies. The activities of the WUWHS take a global approach to issues related to education, research, relations with industry, and the delivery of the highest quality of wound healing practice that is aimed at providing the best available care to all patients with wounds. These objectives will be achieved through activities that include the formation of ﾒCommissionsﾓ that are working parties of interested practitioners who will work to address particular problems in wound healing and who will make their outcomes available to societies or individuals within the WUWHS. In addition the WUWHS will also facilitate World Wound Healing Congresses that will be held every 4 years. A website will also be established and it is hoped that this will eventually be in multiple languages and that it will be interactive. Other activities and initiatives will be considered as they arise and are proposed to the Board of the WUWHS. Structure of WUWHS The WUWHS is an affiliation of interested societies involved
in wound healing education research treatment and health delivery.
It is not a formalized society that has ﾒmembersﾓ, and any interested
individual may participate in or avail themselves of its activities
and outputs. In order to direct the functions of the WUWHS, a Board and
several Official positions have been established. The Board consists
of the Office Bearers and two representatives from societies
who wish to participate in the WUWHS. Positions on the Board
are open to any formalized national or multinational society
or association that wishes to be involved. The Board will meet
at each World Wound Healing Congress and intends to also meet
annually, usually in conjunction with an annual conference of
a participating society. Official Positions At the initial meeting that was held in Melbourne, it was determined that the WUWHS would have a Chair, a Deputy Chair and two secretaries. In order to simplify the process of these appointments, it was decided that the position of Chair would be held by the convener of the last World Wound Healing Congress (facilitated by the WUWHS), and this position would be held until the next World Wound Healing Congress. The position of Deputy Chair would be held by the convener of the next World Wound Healing Congress (facilitated by the WUWHS). The Deputy Chair would then take over as Chair at the World Congress convened by them. Two positions of Secretary were also established. One was to be originate from the society of the Chair and one from the Deputy Chair, and these positions would be held for the same durations as the positions of Chair and Deputy Chair. At the meeting of the Board in Monte Carlo it was also determined that a position of Treasurer would be established, and that the Treasurer would be responsible for administering any funds that were raised to support the activities of the WUWHS. These funds would be kept in an open and accountable manner, with an annual presentation of a statement of accounts for the scrutiny of the Board, in accordance with good accounting practice. The current office bearers of the WUWHS are Commissions At the initial meeting in Melbourne, three Commissions were established. These were Education Commission - Chair : Gary Sibbald Industrial liaison Commission - Chair : Keith Harding Wound care in developing countries Commission - Chair : George Cherry Since that time, three more commissions have been proposed. These are Research Commission - Chair : Vincent Falanga Organization of Wound Healing Services Commission - Chair : Finn Gottrup Publication Commission - Chair : Raj Mani The next newsletter will contain an outline of the Terms of Reference, membership and activities of these Commissions. At the Board meeting in Monte Carlo an outline of the management of Commissions was proposed. This is contained in the Structure and Function of the WUWHS document at the end of this newsletter. As a brief outline, a Commission can be proposed into any relevant area or topic in wound healing that has a global perspective and application. Such proposals will then be circulated to the Board and societies through the Newsletter and via the Website. Any individual or Society can comment on the proposal and can express an interest to contribute to the proposed activities. Such comment will be directed to the proposing person or group who will then put a final proposal to the Board. The Board will then determine whether the proposal should become an official Commission of the WUWHS. It is intended that the Commissions will be active and productive, and that they will provide regular reports for inclusion in the Newsletter. A report of activities will also be presented for consideration at meetings of the Board. World Wound Healing Congresses It was decided at the meeting in Melbourne that a World Wound Healing Congress would be held every four years. Prior to each World Wound Healing Congress, the Chair of the WUWHS will call for submissions of interest for societies to be the host society for the following World Congress. Submissions could be made by one society or by several societies jointly. The submissions would contain information relating to the Convener, the location, proposed dates and other information as requested. The proposal would then be considered at a meeting of the Board at the World Congress and the decision announced at that World Congress. The responsibility for organizing and funding the World Congress would then rest with the hosting society or societies, and they would then determine the level of participation and financial commitment of the participating societies. Second World Wound Healing Congress The Second World Healing Congress will be held in Paris in
July 8th - 13th, 2004. The Convener is Luc Teot. The hosting
societies are It is anticipated that this will be the largest Wound Healing meeting that has ever been held, with between 4000 and 8000 registrants. The deadline for abstract submission is February 1st 2004. Further information about the meeting can be obtained by contacting Michael Bia at the Congress Secretariat : MF Congres, email : congres@mfgroupe.com WUWHS Contacts Michael Stacey - mstacey@cyllene.uwa.edu.au |