ANNUAL REPORT

President's Report

This is a report on the activities and services provided by the Haemophilia Foundation ACT Incorporated (HFACT) for the year ended June 2008.

Membership

The HFACT welcomes a number of new members that have come to our notice during the year. The task of educating and supporting these new members is an ongoing responsibility of the committee and the older membership.

Activities

The main event of the year was the 14th National Conference on Haemophilia which was held in Canberra in October 2007. The conference brought together patients, clinicians, scientists and care providers to share the latest in research and treatment practices. There were also opportunities for networking with people who have an interest in Haemophilia from all over Australia.

This was the first time that the national conference was held in Canberra. While it was organised by the HFA it also relied on the support of volunteers from HFACT. Thank you to everybody who helped to make the conference the success that it was.

The group also hosted a number of other events aimed at keeping the membership informed. In August 2007, Dr Sue Russell, paediatrician from the Westmead Children’s Hospital, gave a presentation on the Changes and Developments in the care of Patients with Haemophilia. In May 2008, Dr Angela McKenzie gave a seminar on “Helping children cope with medical procedures : ‘The Friendly Approach’”. This seminar was held at the Canberra Hospital and was attended, not only my members of the Haemophilia community, but also by staff from many areas of the hospital.

In addition to these important educational events, the group also celebrated World Haemophilia Day (April 17) with a tour of the John Curtin School of Medical Research.

These events were all written up in the HFACT newsletter.

Services

The HFACT continues to provide support services to persons with haemophilia through our counsellor, Clare Reeves.

As well as being available at the Haemophilia Centre each Thursday morning, Clare also provides direct support and counselling through personal contact with all members.

More than 700 hours of support and care was provided by Clare throughout the year.

I would like to take this opportunity to express the gratitude of the committee to Clare for her dedication during what has been, once again, a very busy year.

Informal support groups

This year has seen the establishment of two informal groups to enable members to get together and share their experiences. The first, is a men’s group who meet for a breakfast every now and then. The second, is a women’s group called “Women’s Wisdom” who also get together from time to time.

Both these groups take me back to the reason why we first formed an association and that is to provide mutual support for people with haemophilia and their families. Sometimes that kind of support can only come from others who have had the same experiences.

Advocacy

The committee has an important role in representing the concerns of members in relation to the provision of optimal health care for haemophilia. The committee meets occasionally with the management of the Haemophilia Treatment Centre to make sure that issues are dealt with in a satisfactory manner.

During the year, a number of issues of concern to patients have been taken up with the management of the Haemophilia Treatment Centre in an endeavour to achieve a satisfactory outcome.

Communication

Four newsletters were produced and distributed during the year. The HFACT also maintains a website for the benefit of members and interested parties. My thanks go to Ron Lees as who gathered, edited and formatted the material.

Government funding

We are grateful for the ongoing financial support of the ACT Government through a service contract with the ACT Health. It is through this contract that we are able to provide the counselling and support services to the haemophilia community.

Thanks

My thanks go to the committee for their efforts during the year. It has been a really big year once again, with lots of gatherings and many issues to handle. I think that we have really achieved quite a lot.

Particular thanks go to Clare, for her work with the 14th National Haemophilia Conference, the Seminar on Helping children cope with medical procedures, and the establishment of our informal support groups.

Challenges ahead

The next year provides us with continuing challenges:

Fred Wensing

(President)

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Treasurer's Report

The finances of the HFACT during 2007/08 were very similar to that of previous years.

The main source of income during the year was $32,656 received through a service contract with ACT Health. These funds, provided 98% of the income for HFACT during 2007/08. The remaining income comes from subscriptions and donations.

As in previous years, the major expenses of the HFACT are associated with the provision of a counselling and support service to persons with haemophilia. Direct costs (wages, superannuation, transport) amounted to $24,394 which is 10% more than for the previous year. The main reason for this increase has been the many activities that the group has had this year. Administrative on-costs for the provision of the counselling and support service (including insurance) amounted to $7,547 which was around the same level as in the previous year.

The total expenses of the HFACT during 2007/08 was $33,658. While this was 15% lower than the previous year, it should be noted that there had been additional expenditure the previous year resulting from the need to spend carry-over funds from the service contract.

The financial outcome for HFACT for the year was a small loss of $326 which was caused mainly by need to account for depreciation ($446).

The net assets of HFACT as at 30 June was $5,092 which is 6% less than the previous year.

Stephen Wells

(Treasurer)

Financial Statements

See: Financial statements document.