Christmas message and reflections on 2022 from our Chief Executive

We’re coming to the end of a busy year, after a tough few months for us all. I hope you’re looking forward to having a break over Christmas break and spending some time with loved ones.
As we approach the end of 2022 I wanted to share a few reflections. It has been a year of significant development on all fronts at Fifth Sense, whilst building solid foundations from which we can grow and develop the charity and our work in the new year.
We’ve worked to ensure that the needs of people affected by smell and taste disorders are represented, for example getting the Food Standards Agency to update their guidance and ensure that retailers don’t advise customers to rely on a sniff test for detecting out of date food. We also successfully lobbied the General Medical Council to add anosmia to the topics on which medical trainees are assessed in the UK.
We have increased the scope of our support and information services, with the aim of ensuring that everyone with a smell or taste disorder feels represented and included. We have been holding regular meetings for people with congenital anosmia alongside our Parosmia Network and Acquired Anosmia sessions, all of which feature contributions from members of our Ambassador team. We also launched a parents support group early in the year to assist parents whose children were struggling with post-Covid parosmia. We continue to receive positive feedback on our sessions, with people really valuing the sense of community and opportunity to share experiences.
We have also responded to the increase in demand for our education and training work too; we’ve delivered sessions for NHS Post-Covid Services, ENT registrars, community nurses, community pharmacists and other health and social care professionals to help them understand the consequences of smell and taste dysfunction and what can be done to help and support those affected. We also worked with the University of East Anglia to hold a successful symposium on smell and taste disorders for researchers and healthcare professionals which will be back in 2023.
In May we launched the Fifth Sense Research Hub to take forward the outcomes of our Priority Setting Partnership, and since then Prof Philpott and I have been working with the Research Hub team and our advisory board members to identify opportunities to take forward our research plans.
There has been a great deal of development within the Fifth Sense team too, starting with a major achievement for Dan, who completed his Marketing Apprenticeship and was awarded a distinction. A great result on the back of a lot of hard work and I’m sure you’ll join me in congratulating Dan. In September we welcomed Sarah Pearce to the team, and I’d like to take the opportunity to personally thank Sarah for the significant contribution she is making. It’s been a time of development for me personally too, in my new role of CEO, and I’ve been working closely with Robert Meadowcroft, who is enjoying his first year as Chair.
Finally I would like to highlight how we have grown as a community, without the restrictions imposed on us by Covid. Our recent event in Cheltenham, in partnership with Mr Okonkwo’s new clinic, was a huge success, and followed closely by our inaugural Volunteer Forum to recognise the contribution made by our volunteers. At both events I was struck by the keenness of so many people to play an active role with Fifth Sense, whether through fundraising, awareness-raising activities, or providing much-needed support to others.
It has been a busy year, and I’m incredibly proud of what we are achieving together, thanks to the hard work, commitment and determination of our small staff team and volunteers. Many thanks to you all for your support and do please get in touch if you would like to get involved, and please do consider making a regular donation to help us grow, develop and do more.
We’re planning on making even bigger strides forward in 2023 and I will look forward to sharing further details on our plans. In the meantime myself, Sarah and Dan are looking forward to Christmas with our families. We hope you enjoy the Christmas break and wish you all the very best for the new year.
Duncan Boak
Chief Executive and founder
