Page 99 - BHTA 100 years

DG change, sad news, focus on children’s equipment...
It was all change at the top in BHTA in 2015 as Tracey Lloyd, who had been Commercial Director, became Director General when Ray Hodgkinson stepped down after many years in the role.
Ray said at the time: “I have always looked at the job as a form of guardianship and tried to ensure that the outside world has con dence in our decisions, respecting the membership’s ethical standing and commitment to act in the public interest rst.” He described his role as DG as being ‘challenging and satisfying’. Ray moved into the role of Director of Public Affairs.
There was particularly sad news early in 2015 as the BHTA lost one of its most in uential, well-respected and well-liked members. Phil Isherwood, who had been a past Chairman and who was President of the Association at the time, passed away after a short illness. Tracey commented: “Phil, who was also Chief Executive of NRS Healthcare Ltd, was a passionate advocate for our industry and the BHTA and will be sorely missed.”
Also in 2015, BHTA and the Children’s Equipment section commissioned new research by the Centre of Economics and Business Research which set out the potential bene ts of improving the provision of specialist children’s equipment.
The report suggested that more than one in twenty children (5.7%) in the UK was disabled in some way and that the failure to provide equipment was worsening existing conditions and leading to complications which necessitate additional medical intervention. The report also found that it would cost £0.5 billion a year to provide every disabled child with all the equipment they needed.
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