Letter from the Chair: Sandra Grieve (Summer 2009)

Changes are afoot and this will be the last newsletter you receive through your letterbox before the Travel Health Forum is merged with four other forums to form one Public Health Forum (PHF). From October 2009 all RCN newsletters will be emailed to members.

Changes are being made to the Congress voting system as well so if you want your vote to count it must be aligned to the forum which is your first choice (currently you can be a member of up to three forums for free, with a fee of £15 for any extra ones). You can check your status on the RCN website at: www.rcn.org.uk/myrcn

The last few years have been busy as we have been striving to keep the specialty of travel health in the main frame and we will continue to do this through the newly formed PHF. Together with the other merging forum chairs, I am moving across to the PHF committee to see the transition through and implemented in October. Elections will take place in 2010 so keep an eye on the RCN website for updates.

I would like to say a big thank you to my fellow THF committee members, to our previous Chair Jane Chiodini for her continued support, and to you the members for your loyalty. We and the specialty have come a long way since the Travel Health Forum was established from the special interest group in 1993 and we hope to continue to fulfil a role within the RCN for the benefit of travel health nurses.