Following on from our first international paediatric CAM network meeting in Toronto May 2007, where the North American and UK networks met, the second network meeting was held in Exeter on the 10th December, where Dr Lee (Vice President and Director of Integrated Medicine at Freshwinds) and Dr Shah represented the CCTN. They attended an inspiring International Paediatric CAM Networks/Leaders round table Meeting in Exeter, where other network heads/leaders from Germany, Holland and Israel involved in the provision of integrated medicine services / complementary therapies for children. Dr. Nicola Robinson, Chair of the Research Council for Complementary Medicine Research (RCCM) UK, was also present.

The meeting was set up by Dr Sunita Vohra, director of PedCAM (www.pedcam.ca). Based in Canada, PedCAM is a national paediatric CAM research and education network. PedCAM is currently involved in an initiative to link up all the various paediatric CAM / Integrated Medicine networks and interested people from around the world. This is a process that we have actively joined as representatives / co-ordinators of the CCTN.

Following the meeting on 10th December, representatives of the CCTN also attended the first day of the 14th Annual Symposium on Complementary Health Care in Exeter on the 11th of December (Paediatric Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research Day). This too was an interesting and inspiring day, and we have come back with several ideas on how to further develop the activities / resources of the CCTN.

International Paediatric Network Meeting
Toronto 4-6th May 2007

The CCTN was invited to attend the first joint network meeting with heads of other paediatric CAM networks in Toronto 6th May 2007. Dr Lee and Dr Shah represented the CCTN (UK) network and also attended the SickKIDS foundation annual CAM research conference and the American Academy of Pediatrics Provisional Section on Complementary, Holistic and Integrative Medicine (USA) meeting on the 4th and 5th May at the Toronto Convention Centre. The meeting proved to be a big step towards formalizing working relationships between the networks and joint working opportunities towards research, advocacy, education and clinical practice in Paediatric Integrated Medicine.