Welcome to the Annual British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) Spring Meeting in Nottingham. I am confident that your decision to attend this meeting will be rewarded by interesting science, healthy debate and sharing good practice with fellow clinicians.

The organising committee has worked tirelessly to ensure that the educational and social programmes run smoothly and meet the high standards of BASHH events. The scientific committee has reviewed and rated your submitted abstracts and designed a programme that is aimed to meet the needs of practising clinicians to improve patient services and deliver innovation based on genuine evaluation. Whether you are presenting or listening, your critical views and questions are essential to make this a vibrant conference. Of particular note this year, we look forward to the innovative joint sessions with the Genitourinary Nurses Association (GUNA) where nursing development and practise can be presented in detail.

BASHH is committed to delivering better services and improving sexual health by increased prevention efforts—our support for the prioritisation given to this by the NHS and the Department of Health will be reinforced throughout this meeting with opportunities for delegates to discuss the practical aspects of turning policy into local action.

Whether your most valuable memories emanate from the conference hall, by the posters or the pharmaceutical stands, over coffee, or in the bar depends on your stamina and interest! From my experience our annual meetings offer a chance to learn, to reflect and to enjoy and I trust you will have ample chance to do all of these during the next three days.