The British Journal of Cardiology is sorry to report the closure of the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society (PCCS), which ceased operating at on the 31st of January 2012. The BJC has been the society’s official journal.
The Society was closed following an Extraordinary General Meetingof the PCCS where there was a unanimous vote in favour of the motion ‘To approve the proposed voluntary winding up of the PCCS, its dissolution and removal from the Central Register of Charities’.
A statement released by the PCCS says “Since the PCCS was established 15 years ago, it has relied heavily on the pharmaceutical industry to support its educational activities. The recession and patentexpiries have had a significant impact on the pharmaceutical industry and the availability of funds for all activities, including the PCCS. This situation is likely to deteriorate rather than improve for the foreseeable future. As the funding model for the PCCS is largely based on income from the industry, its future could not be guaranteed. Although the PCCS is currently solvent, looking forward, with the changes within the major funding sources, remaining solvent would be a challenge.
“The PCCS has been well managed and all financial matters are in order with a small surplus of funds. Once the winding up procedure is completed, the remaining balance will be gifted to a likeminded national Cardiovascular Charity”.Chief Executive and Founder Member of the PCCS Dr Fran Sivers said: “This is a very sad time for all who have been involved with the Society and the closure of the PCCS will leave a major gap in primary care cardiology”.
BJC Editor Dr Henry Purcell said: “We have enjoyed a good working relationship with the PCCS through the years and we are sorry to see the Society close. We will miss the enormous contribution it has made to primary care cardiology. The BJC continues to support primare care cardiology – since the journal’s inception, we have recognised the contribution made to cardiovascular medicine by primary care in the UK and we will continue to fully cover and report on its important developments and achievements.”
