Firstly, I want to thank Pete for the tremendous job he has done as SRP President in such unprecedented times!  The last year and a half have been an extraordinary challenge for the Society, and the fact that we have come out of it every bit as strong, and indeed stronger than before, is a great credit to Pete and his leadership. 

The fact that SRP has continued to provide meetings and seminars (albeit virtually), to respond to Government and other stakeholder requests for consultations and to provide support to its membership also reflects on the continuing extraordinary commitment of all the SRP volunteers – those who have put themselves forward to sit on the various committees and working groups of the Society.  I must take the opportunity at this point to encourage all of you to consider becoming more involved in the Society, to put yourself forward for committee membership.  I personally have always seen my SRP work as of benefit not just to me and the Society, but also to my employer.  The relationships and networking that come with such involvement with fellow radiation protection professionals from other sectors, be it nuclear, industrial or higher education, gives me such a wider appreciation of the range of possible solutions to the radiation protection problems I find in my hospital.

Looking at Pete’s review of the past year, his Presidency and the core themes and objectives he set, it is clear that those must be considered to be ongoing.  We must continue to strive for the sustainability of our profession by continuing to encourage students to study STEM, to become interested in ionising and non-ionising radiation physics and specifically radiation safety as a profession, and of course to become members of SRP.  We must forge closer ties with other organisations so that both flourish through the exchanges of ideas that come from such synergy, and we must continue to develop better strategies for communicating with all our stakeholders including the public.

Next year marks the end of the cycle of the Society’s five year Strategic Plan, and we must now think about what we consider to be our priorities over the next five years.  With that in mind I propose to hold a consultation exercise for the second half of this year with the SRP membership and with our key stakeholders, to get all views on what is seen as important for the future of the Society.  However, I will say that I will look to ensure that better engagement with the membership, and inclusivity and diversity both in Society membership and in Committee and working group membership, are two of the key themes for the next Plan.

I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible and engaging in dialogue with you over the coming months so that, as a Society, we strive to address what is of most concern to the membership.

Jim Thurston CRadP FSRP
president@srp-uk.org