At BIRD we do hope you are all keeping well. We are all working from home now and testing out all sorts of new systems. As we do our best to continue to provide you with information on rheumatic diseases during this difficult and exceptional time, we have been working on bringing you alternative and innovative ways of accessing it without the risks currently associated with social gatherings. Celia Mead, BIRD’s Executive Director says:

“We must protect all our patients and event attendees from exposure to the Coronavirus as far as possible. In fact, we have wanted to be able to provide our information to patients who aren’t able to attend our well established Information Events for a long time as we know that not everyone is able to attend live events. Now we are working as fast as possible to produce interesting and informative methods of getting these messages to you without personal contact. We will learn as we develop these methods, so we will want to hear what you think about them. We live in times when innovation and research are of the greatest importance and feel proud that BIRD is a small part of the wider field of medical research. “

We are starting with ‘Podcasts’ which are a way of listening to information via your computer, mobile phone or tablet. We have created a public profile for BIRD with a small ‘trailer’ – it’s our new online venue that you can visit and listen to PPE podcasts! You can try it out here: https://anchor.fm/bird-ppepodcasts. We would love to hear what you think as this is a very new area for us and one we hope to build on going forward. Please email Mel ppe@birdbath.org.uk with comments and suggestions. Also, on the podcast page is a link to a feedback survey for the very first official Information ‘Myositis’ talk.

Later in the year we are planning to set up and host ‘webinars’ which are interactive, online ‘meetings’ but more on that later! Also please share our links and keep a check on the news section here.

All our other dates (April, May, June) for the information days are cancelled. We will continue to monitor the situation regarding the Ankylosing Spondylitis and PsA Information Days planned for later in the year. Please do keep an eye on our website for news and we will keep you updated by email, The timing of the new podcasts may vary widely as it’s very much dependant on availability of consultants and other staff who are facing unprecedented demands.

We do hope you all keep safe and well in the coming weeks.

Our very best wishes
The BIRD PPE Team