Minutes of the CSH Conference 22.10.2023

At the scheduled start of the conference at 9:30, Chairman Martin Bohůn welcomed those present. Given the number of members present – 26 out of a total of 272 CSH members – the conference did not have a quorum, as a majority of all members was not in attendance. The conference was therefore adjourned and reconvened for 10:00. At that point, the conference had a quorum with a majority of votes of members present, numbering 28 at the time of the opening. Martin Bohůn expressed his disappointment at the non-attendance of some members at the conference who had participated in the Intergenerational Meeting in Jihlava.

The conference programme was subsequently approved by a unanimous vote of all present. The vote on the proposed roles for this conference ended with the result of 26 in favour, 2 abstentions, and none against. Michal Skořepa was thus elected recording secretary, Marek Šimoník as minutes verifier, and Silvie Bereňová and Břetislav Velner as approvers. The conference programme was as follows:

1. Activity report
2. Financial report
3. Audit committee report
4. Activity plan for 2024
5. Discussion
6. Conclusion

Martin Bohůn presented the activity report for the period from 28 November 2021 to 22 October 2023. From the floor, a request was made for an explanation of the rejection of the Ministry of Health grant application for 2023. Marek Šimoník, who had prepared the applications, provided the explanation. A formal error occurred that was not entirely on CSH's side; however, given that grants are non-entitlement based, it was not possible to challenge the decision in any way.

On behalf of the absent association accountant, Mrs Alena Skořepová, Michal Skořepa presented the financial report. A key point of discussion was the information about the continuously increasing costs of children's rehabilitation stays. The CSH Council is aware that these costs cannot continue to rise, and a more economical option has already been prepared for next year.

The audit committee report was read by its chairman, Mr Břetislav Velner. He had no fundamental objections to the association's activities and finances; he only pointed out that the CSH annual report and financial statements for 2022 need to be published in the appropriate places as soon as possible.

Before the final discussion, Michal Skořepa informed those present about the result of the vote for the CSH Annual Award for 2022. The laureate for that year is Mgr. Marie Roušarová. Among Mrs Roušarová's main contributions to the haemophilia community are the development of rehabilitation care for haemophilia patients, particularly in the early 1990s. During this period, Mrs Roušarová also organised summer haemophilia camps and was also involved in the establishment of rehabilitation stays for adult haemophilia patients at the beginning of the current century.

The discussion opened with a debate on the payment discipline of membership fees, which is poor among our members. Conference participants called on the Council to make every effort to collect them, even at the cost of expelling some members from our ranks. One way to improve discipline is the loss of member benefits for events organised by the association.

The association chairman also informed about a planned online meeting of the CSH Council with the EHC leadership, which is gradually meeting with all member countries and monitoring the situation in each country through discussions with their leadership.

The need to amend the CSH bylaws was also identified.

Subsequently, Martin Bohůn proposed increasing membership fees to CZK 300. A counter-proposal from the floor to increase them to CZK 500 was generally accepted.

After the conclusion, Michal Skořepa read the conference resolution:

The Hemophilia Society Conference

• approves the CSH activity report for the period 2022–2023,
• approves the financial report for the years 2021–2023,
• approves the audit committee report for the years 2021–2023,
• takes note of the CSH Council's decision on the Annual Award laureate for 2022,
• instructs the CSH Council to prepare new bylaws by the next annual conference, which shall include a provision that CSH members who do not regularly pay membership fees will lose the benefits of regular members for events organised by the association,
• approves the increase of the minimum membership fee to CZK 500 from 2024.

The vote on the resolution proceeded as follows: 24 members present voted in favour, 2 abstained, and none voted against. Two participants left the conference before the vote on the resolution. The resolution was thus adopted by a majority of members present.

Following the above proceedings, the chairman thanked those present for their attendance and closed the conference.