Geriatric medicine: identifying deteriorating health and approaching last months of life for adults with advanced illness
Dr Amit Arora FRCP
Consultant geriatrician, University Hospitals of North Midlands and Midland Partnership Foundation Trust
Dr Amit Arora has been a consultant geriatrician in the North Midlands since 2004. He is currently the president elect of the British Geriatrics Society and a clinical director for the emergency care improvement support team of NHS England. He is a member of many national committees, advisory bodies and working groups at NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care.
Amit has chaired the quality review service for people living with dementia and frailty, advising commissioners and provider organisations nationally.
He is also the clinical lead for the National Institute for Health and Care Research RDN: Ageing for West Midlands.
He has a keen interest in national and international health policy and quality for the ageing population and has contributed internationally.
He has over 100 publications, including invited book chapters, editorials, reviews and college reports.
In 2016, he coined the term deconditioning syndrome as a medical entity and developed the ‘National deconditioning awareness and prevention campaign: Sit Up Get Dressed Keep Moving’ and deconditioning is now internationally recognised as an avoidable harm, especially in older people.
In 2018 he established the National Frailty Academy, which provides free frailty training to all grades of health and social care staff.
In 2022–23, he conceptualised and led the national mission to recondition the nation, commonly known as the Reconditioning Games; which awarded 1,500 medals across the 31 integrated care systems and 100 organisations across the country and established a network of over 500 reconditioning ambassadors.
He has won multiple awards from the Health Service Journal, BMJ, Skills for Health and the Royal College of Physicians for his work over the years.
Dr Amit Arora FRCP
Consultant geriatrician, University Hospitals of North Midlands and Midland Partnership Foundation Trust
Dr Amit Arora has been a consultant geriatrician in the North Midlands since 2004. He is currently the president elect of the British Geriatrics Society and a clinical director for the emergency care improvement support team of NHS England. He is a member of many national committees, advisory bodies and working groups at NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care.
Amit has chaired the quality review service for people living with dementia and frailty, advising commissioners and provider organisations nationally.
He is also the clinical lead for the National Institute for Health and Care Research RDN: Ageing for West Midlands.
He has a keen interest in national and international health policy and quality for the ageing population and has contributed internationally.
He has over 100 publications, including invited book chapters, editorials, reviews and college reports.
In 2016, he coined the term deconditioning syndrome as a medical entity and developed the ‘National deconditioning awareness and prevention campaign: Sit Up Get Dressed Keep Moving’ and deconditioning is now internationally recognised as an avoidable harm, especially in older people.
In 2018 he established the National Frailty Academy, which provides free frailty training to all grades of health and social care staff.
In 2022–23, he conceptualised and led the national mission to recondition the nation, commonly known as the Reconditioning Games; which awarded 1,500 medals across the 31 integrated care systems and 100 organisations across the country and established a network of over 500 reconditioning ambassadors.
He has won multiple awards from the Health Service Journal, BMJ, Skills for Health and the Royal College of Physicians for his work over the years.
What can we do about deconditioning and reconditioning in hospitals?
Professor Alasdair MacLullich
Professor of geriatric medicine, University of Edinburgh
Alasdair MacLullich is professor of geriatric medicine at the University of Edinburgh. His clinical and research work focuses on delirium and hip fracture care in older adults. Alasdair developed the 4AT – a 2-minute delirium and cognitive screen, recommended internationally by NICE, the Australian Delirium Clinical Care Standard and the American Psychiatric Association. The 4AT and supporting materials are available at www.the4AT.com.
Alasdair co-chaired the 2019 SIGN delirium guideline and chairs the Scottish Hip Fracture Audit (Scottish Government funded). He also chairs the World Delirium Guideline initiative and is editor of the open-access journal Delirium. Alasdair co-founded the European Delirium Association (2006) and World Delirium Awareness Day (2016).
Current research spans delirium detection and monitoring, peri-operative delirium, links between delirium and later dementia risk, and delirium treatment.
He is author of Delirium (Acute confusion): A family guide to sudden changes in thinking and memory (2025).
What can we do about delirium in hospitals?
Dr Manju Paul
Consultant dermatologist, University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust
Dr Manju Paul is a consultant dermatologist and specialty lead for dermatology at the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, where she has been based since 2016. Manju’s areas of interest are medical dermatology, skin cancers, cutaneous allergy and genital dermatology. She enjoys teaching postgraduates as well as medical students from Keele Medical School. She has publications and has presented at national and international meetings. She is a member of the British Association of Dermatologists.
She graduated from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, India. She undertook higher training in dermatology at Christian Medical College, Vellore, India, obtaining an MD Dermatology in 2003. Her thesis was on the clinicopathological study of cutaneous lymphoma.
She moved to the UK in 2004 and later completed her dermatology training in the West Midlands.
Common skin conditions in older people
Dr Inderpal Singh FRCP
Consultant geriatrician, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Dr Inderpal Singh is a consultant geriatrician at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and honorary senior lecturer at Cardiff University. His qualifications include MBBS, MD, MRCP (UK), MSc (ageing, health and disease), and FRCP.
Inderpal is the national clinical lead for bone health in Wales. He provides strategic leadership in bone health policy and service development, driving improvements in fracture prevention and osteoporosis care. He is spearheading the national implementation of Welsh government quality statement on bone health and osteoporosis, including universal fracture liaison services throughout Wales.
An update on bone health and osteoporosis care plan
Professor Andrew Clegg FRCP
Professor of geriatric medicine, University of Leeds | Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Electronic frailty index 2: supporting delivery of the 10 year plan
Non site specific pathway – is this good general medicine?
Professor Thida Win
Consultant respiratory and general physician, East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust
Non site specific pathway overview
Rebecca Coles
Clinical nurse specialist for UGI/CUP, East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust
Rebecca Coles is a nurse at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, where she has worked for 17 years.
For 10 years this has been ward based in orthopaedics/minor surgery. Rebecca progressed to a band 6 on a gastro/bowel surgery ward and, for the last 7 years, has been a band 7 clinical nurse specialist working in oncology, working in upper gastrointestinal cancers/cancer (UGI) of unknown primary work and the non-specific symptoms pathway (NSSP). Since the dissolvement of the NSSP service, she now works in UGI/CUP.
The role of the clinical nurse in non-site-specific pathway
Dr Deena Neriman
Role of radiologist in non site specific pathway
Dr Deepak Jain FRCP
Consultant physician, East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust
Interesting non site specific pathway cases
Haematology
Dr Catherine Booth
Consultant haematologist, NHS Blood and Transplant
Dr Catherine Booth is a consultant in haematology and transfusion medicine and took up a joint post between NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) and Barts Health NHS Trust in November 2019. Catherine’s NHSBT role includes patient blood management and red cell immunology. This combines well with working at a trust that is the highest user of blood products in the country, and that deals with the challenges of managing transfusion in patients with haemoglobinopathies, major trauma, cardiac surgery and stem cell transplants. Her particular interests include the education of haematology trainees, clinicians from all specialties and allied health professionals, as well as patient and public engagement and information.
Appropriate use of blood and patient blood management
Dr Chloe Merrion
Haematology registrar, Whittington Health NHS Trust
Sickle cell emergencies
Dr Maryam Subhan
Consultant haematologist, University College London Hospital
Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP)
Neurology
Dr Gash Mbizo
Fits, faints and funny turns
Dr Khalid Ali
Consultant neurologist, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Dr Khalid Ali is a consultant neurologist based in South Wales. He graduated from Baghdad University in 1999 with first class honours and trained in neurology in Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and Southampton. He also completed his stroke clinical fellowship in South Wales. Khalid is the RCP tutor for The Grange University Hospital and the lead college tutor for Wales.
Acute neurological weakness, practical approach
Professor Camille Carroll
Professor of clinical neuroscience, Newcastle University
Professor Camille Carroll is a professor of clinical neuroscience at Newcastle University. Her research is focused on disease modification and the use of digital health technologies for monitoring and personalised care in Parkinson’s. Camille is co-chief investigator of the Edmond J Safra ACT-PD multi-arm, multi-stage platform trial for disease modifying interventions in Parkinson’s and has led the development of a national web-based research registry for Parkinson’s disease. She co-chairs the international Linked Clinical Trials Committee, prioritising repurposed drugs for disease modification trials in Parkinson’s. She is the joint clinical director of the Parkinson’s Excellence Network in the UK. Additionally, she is co-chair of the international Movement Disorders Society Patient and Carer Committee, deputy chair of the Parkinson's Disease Clinical Studies Group, and member of the EAN/MDS-ES Parkinson's Disease Guidelines Task Force and Association of British Neurologists Movement Disorders Advisory Group.
Parkinson's disease
Sports and exercise medicine
Dr Rick Seah FRCP
Consultant in sport, exercise and musculoskeletal medicine, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust
Dr Rick Seah is a consultant in sport, exercise and musculoskeletal medicine at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) NHS Trust in Stanmore, North London. He is an honorary associate professor at the Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Science, University College London.
He qualified in medicine from Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals Medical School, King’s College London, and completed a master's degree with distinction in sport and exercise medicine (SEM) at University College London.
Rick completed 12 years in postgraduate training and is a GMC-accredited SEM specialist. He is also an experienced musculoskeletal sonographer.
He is current chair of the RCP SEM Committee, as well as College of Sport, Exercise and Musculoskeletal Medicine (CSEM) co-opted council member. Rick is also an RCP Medical Specialties Board member. He was previously an elected FSEM(UK) council member (2020–24) and chair of the FSEM(UK) Communications Committee.
Dr Rebecca Robinson FRCP
Consultant sport and exercise medicine, UK Sports Institute
Dr Rebecca Robinson is a consultant in sport and exercise medicine, having trained at Newcastle University and practiced in hospital medicine. Rebecca specialises in rehabilitation after cancer and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Cumbria. Her clinical work spans elite athletes to people with reduced exercise capacity due to significant illness. She currently practises at Orthteam Manchester and Marylebone Health Group London while working with the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine and the NHS to embed exercise medicine within the health service.
Why exercise is medicine in cancer treatment
Dr Alethea McHardy
Consultant in sport and exercise medicine, Ministry of Defence
Dr Alethea McHardy is a consultant in sport and exercise medicine and clinical lead at the Regional Rehabilitation Unit for Scotland, Ministry of Defence (MoD). Alethea has worked for the MoD for over 10 years. She is an examiner for the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine and sat on council until 2024.
In 2024 she commenced a PhD investigating the health outcomes in ex-servicewomen (musculoskeletal, reproductive, breast and ovarian cancer). She is passionate about shaping policy through evidence-based research and sits on the UK Armed Forces and Veterans Cross Party Working Group embedded in the Scottish government. In February 2025 she was awarded a prestigious PhD fellowship by the Colt Foundation. She will be presenting after speaking at the Canadian Institute for Military Veterans Health Forum in Ottawa, Canada, in October 2025.
Musculoskeletal outcomes of female military veterans
Identifying deteriorating health and approaching last months of life for adults with advanced illness
Dr David Brooks
Professor Fliss Murtagh FRCP
Professor of palliative care, University of Hull
Professor Fliss Murtagh is an NIHR senior investigator. She is a physician by background, having worked for almost 10 years as a general practitioner, and is approaching 20 years as a palliative medicine consultant. Fliss now works as a professor of palliative care at Hull York Medical School at the University of Hull and is a visiting professor of palliative care at the Cicely Saunders Institute, King’s College London. She leads the Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre at the University of Hull – a group of about 40 researchers and one of the larger palliative care research groups in the UK.
Fliss is experienced in providing palliative care to a wide range of people with far advanced disease and their families, and has published extensively (Scopus-indexed publications 234, Scopus H-Index 49) on palliative and end-of-life care needs, especially for older people and those with advanced kidney disease. She is also experienced in research methods: cohort studies and cross-sectional surveys, psychometrics, implementation and use of outcomes, especially the Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale (www.pos-pal.org). Fliss’ publications are available at http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1289-3726.
Facts about last year of life
Dr Sophie Maltas FRCP
Consultant in palliative medicine, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Sophie Maltas has been a palliative care consultant in Bradford since October 2018. She worked at Marie Curie Hospice Bradford inpatient and outpatient units from 2018–20, then moving to Bradford Community Palliative Care Team, supporting patients at home. In May 2025, she moved to work with the Bradford hospital Palliative Care Team where she remains as clinical lead for palliative care in Bradford and education lead for the hospital Palliative Care Team.
Prior to becoming a consultant, she was a registrar in palliative medicine in West Yorkshire.
How to discuss with patients and families – benefits and challenges in communication about deteriorating health
Ms Clare Fuller
Advance care planning advocate, educator and coach, Speak For Me
Ms Clare Fuller is a registered nurse with 30 years’ experience in end-of-life care (EoLC). She has worked in hospices, the community and acute sectors as a clinical nurse specialist, and at a national level as a consultant nurse for the Gold Standards Framework. Clare is a CQC specialist adviser for EoLC and a lasting power of attorney consultant. In 2025, Clare was also a commissioner for the Parliamentary Commission on Palliative and End-of-Life Care. Clare is the owner and director of Speak For Me, which helps organisations to improve EoLC and provides professional and public education about palliative and end-of-life care and advance care planning. Clare campaigns for proactive advance care planning and hosts the podcast Conversations about Advance Care Planning.
Advance care planning: translating preferences into plans
GUM
Dr Claire Dewsnap
Doxy PEP new BASHH guidelines
Stephanie Katiyar
PrEP lead and sexual health pharmacist, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
Stephanie Katiyar is a pharmacist specialising in pre-exposure prohylaxis (PrEP) and sexual health at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, bringing nearly a decade of expertise in HIV and sexual healthcare. Nationally, she holds the role of HIV Pharmacy Association lead for patient information leaflets and contributes to various committees, including the BHIVA education and training group, BASHH syphilis guideline, and BASHH PrEP working group. Furthermore, she is the founder and co-chair of the Pharmacy PrEP network, PrEP PharmConnect.
Encouraging the uptake of PrEP in women
Dr Soonita Oomeer
Integrated sexual health consultant, Central North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Soonita Oomeer completed GUM and HIV specialist registrar training at St Mary’s Hospital, Central Middlesex Hospital and Northwick Park Hospital in London. From 2016, she was a GUM and HIV consultant at St Ann’s Sexual Health Clinic, Haringey and Marlborough GUM clinic at the Royal Free Hospital in London.
Soonita works at Archway Sexual Health Centre, part of Central Northwest London NHS Trust (CNWL) as an integrated sexual health consultant. She is the syphilis lead for CNWL Sexual Health services in North Central London.
She is a member of the NHS Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy (IDPS) congenital syphilis clinical expert review panel.
She has been a member of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV
Responding to patients with an STI diagnosis from online testing
Dr Emily Clarke FRCP
Consultant in genitourinary medicine and HIV, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Emily Clarke is a consultant in genitourinary medicine and HIV in Liverpool. She is chair of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) Special Interest Group, and immediate past chair of the BASHH Clinical Standards Unit and of Fast Track Cities Liverpool. Emily’s clinical interests include HSV, HIV in women including pregnancy and menopause, genital dermatology, and long-acting injectable antiretroviral therapy (ART). She speaks regularly nationally and internationally on HSV, and HIV during menopause.
Emily believes strongly in the power of guidelines to improve clinical care. Within the field of HSV, she is co-author of the BASHH national guidelines for herpes, of the International Union Against Sexually Transmitted Infections European guidelines for herpes, and lead author of the BASHH / Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists national guidelines for herpes in pregnancy and the neonate. Other guidelines she has co-authored include the British HIV Association (BHIVA) national guidelines for HIV in pregnancy, and of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) national guidelines for reducing sexually transmitted infections (STIs). She was also the secretary for the BASHH standards for the management of STIs and chair of the BASHH standards for the management of sexual health in UK prisons.
Emily has a keen interest in research. She is the regional lead for sexual health and HIV research in north-west England. Her publications may be viewed under ORCID ID 0000-0001-9340-1417 and centre around her interests in HSV, the impact of guidelines on clinical care, research priority setting, and long-acting injectable ART. She has been principal investigator of 19 trials in HIV, STIs, genital dermatology, contraception, and women’s health.
Herpes in pregnancy
Dr Ashish Sukthankar
Syphilis
Opening keynote
Professor Tom Solomon FRCP
Academic vice president, Royal College of Physicians
Professor Tom Solomon CBE is director of The Pandemic Institute, academic vice president of the Royal College of Physicians, vice president (international) of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences, and chair of neurological science at the University of Liverpool and Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, where he is also consultant neurologist. Tom studied medicine at Oxford, investigates emerging pathogens, particularly those affecting the brain, and heads the multi-disciplinary Liverpool Brain Infections Group which works to reduce the global burden of neurological infections. He was at the forefront of the UK response to Ebola, Zika and COVID-19. Tom is an adviser to the UK government and WHO, appears regularly on BBC television and radio, and is a passionate science communicator, wining a Guinness World Record for his Sci-Art ‘World’s Biggest Brain’ project, and another for running the fastest marathon dressed as a doctor.
Dr Birju Bartoli
Chief executive, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Birju Bartoli was announced as chief executive of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in December 2023 and formally took up post in January 2024.
Birju has worked in Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust for over 20 years in a number of different operational and corporate roles before becoming chief executive.
She is a scientist by background and has significant experience of working alongside clinicians to develop services that result in both improved clinical outcomes and efficiencies. The drive for continuous improvement across all services, informed by real-time patient and staff experience is a key factor that drives the board and all parts of the organisation.
She is a strong advocate of both the patient and staff voice when looking at improving services. She is committed to ensuring that all staff, whatever their background, have the opportunity to develop personally and professionally and are made to feel part of the Northumbria family.
The Northumbria journey
Allergy and immunology
Dr Patrick Yong
Dr Louise Savic
Penicillin allergy labels – a challenge for antimicrobial resistance
Dr Emily Zinser
Autoantibodies and immunoglobulins – understanding and getting the most out of immunological tests
Obstetric medicine
Dr Lucy Mackillop FRCP
Consultant obstetric physician, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Lucy Mackillop is a consultant obstetric physician at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and honorary senior clinical lecturer at the Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health at the University of Oxford. She’s also fellow of both the RCP and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Lucy is president of the UK’s MacDonald Obstetric Medicine Society and chief medical officer – data and research at Optum UK.
Lucy trained in general, renal and obstetric medicine in Oxford, London and Sydney before taking up her consultant post in 2008.
Lucy has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles, national and international guidelines, book chapters and e-learning resources on a wide variety of medical conditions in pregnancy. She is chair for the Joint Committee for Obstetric Medicine with the RCP and is a member of the programme board for the RCP’s diploma in obstetric medicine.
Her research interests include the role of remote monitoring solutions in women with medical problems in pregnancy, with a particular emphasis of the intersection between primary and secondary care.
Dr Amanda Hill
Acute medicine SpR, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Amanda Hill is an acute medicine registrar in the Severn Deanery and co-AIM trainee representative for the region. She trained in obstetric medicine at Southmead Hospital, North Bristol Trust (the host site for the South West Maternal Medicine Network) and attained the RCP diploma in obstetric medicine. Amanda serves as the trainee representative for the Joint Committee for Obstetric Medicine. Her professional interests include medical education, quality improvement, and women’s health.
Dr Hannah Irvine
Rheumatology specialist registrar, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre
General principles of preconception care in autoimmune disease
Dr Fran Neuberger FRCP
Consultant acute and obstetric physician, North Bristol NHS Trust
Dr Fran Neuberger qualified from the University of Bristol in 2005. She undertook her acute medical training in the South West and took time out of programme to train in obstetric medicine in London. Fran works as an acute and obstetric physician at Southmead Hospital in Bristol and is obstetric physician lead for the South West Maternal Medicine Network, which is an accredited training centre for the RCP diploma in obstetric medicine. She works closely with obstetric teams to deliver care for pregnant women with pre-existing medical conditions and those who develop medical complications in pregnancy.
Acute presenting problems in pregnancy focussing on shortness of breath, palpitations, and also headaches and seizures
Dr Charlotte Frise FRCP
Consultant obstetric physician, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Dr Charlotte Frise is a consultant in obstetric medicine at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital, with a background in acute and general medicine. She is lead obstetric physician for the North West London Maternal Medicine Network and editor-in-chief for the journal Obstetric Medicine.
Cardiac disease in pregnancy: what the acute and general physician needs to know
Organ donation
Dr Aisling Courtney
Live donor transplantation, challenges and how to overcome them
Dr Rommel Ravanan FRCP
Deputy medical director, NHS Blood and Transplant
Dr Rommel Ravanan is a deputy medical director (his portfolio includes research and development and innovation) within the organ and tissue donation and transplantation directorate at NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) and a consultant nephrologist at Southmead Hospital, Bristol. Rommel’s research interests include transplant epidemiology and high immunological risk transplantation. He has an interest and expertise in medical leadership and has held progressively responsible posts at NHSBT and North Bristol NHS Trust.
The future of transplantation (pigs may fly)
Sponsored symposium
Note: this session will not be CPD accredited.
Sponsored symposium
Note: this session will not be CPD accredited.
Cardiology
Dr Shouvik Haldar FRCP
Consultant cardiologist and electrophysiologist, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Shouvik Haldar is a consultant cardiologist and electrophysiologist at the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust. Shouvik is a researcher in the field of atrial fibrillation and digital health. He is passionate about medical education and has been shaping national cardiology education for the past decade through his roles at the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS). He is vice president of education at the BCS.
Dr Muram El-Nayir
Cardiology registrar and clinical research fellow, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust
Dr Muram El-Nayir is a cardiology registrar in higher specialty training at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, with a subspecialty interest in arrhythmia and complex devices. Muram holds a range of national and regional roles, including resident doctor representative on the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) Programme Committee, which organises the annual BCS Conference, and BCS Women in Cardiology representative for Oxford and Thames Valley. She chairs the Oxford and Thames Valley Resident Physician Committee and represents higher medicine on the deanery’s Training Advisory Committee. Muram is completing a doctor of medicine degree at the University of Oxford, with her research focusing on the prevention of heart failure in the long term.
Dr Jennifer Rossington
Interventional cardiologist, Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust
Dr Jennifer Rossington is a consultant interventional cardiologist working at Leeds General Infirmary as a high-volume operator, with a specialist interest in complex coronary intervention. Further roles within the department include clinical lead, regional Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PPCI) and local Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) lead, and representative/chair on several regional working groups. She has a keen focus on pathway development, particularly with regards to chest pain, and has worked on a number of local guidelines/improvement projects for utilisation in both the inpatient and outpatient setting.
Jenny has a strong passion for positive representation of women within cardiology, and this has resulted in the development of the Women in Cardiac Specialities annual event that she runs in the West Yorkshire region. This emphasis in education has culminated in appointment to the chair of the BCS Education Committee.
Acute coronary syndrome for the general physician
Dr Matt Ginks FRCP
Consultant cardiologist, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Matt Ginks is a consultant cardiologist and electrophysiologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital, part of the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Matt is involved in the treatment of patients with all forms of arrhythmia problems, including ablation and device therapy. His research and clinical interests are centred around catheter ablation of complex cardiac arrhythmias including atrial fibrillation (AF) and ventricular tachycardia. He is an active member of the British Heart Rhythm Society and the European Society of Cardiology. He has published over 75 peer reviewed papers. He is one of the editors of the Oxford Handbook of Cardiac electrophysiology and catheter ablation, and the cardiac arrhythmia section of the Oxford textbook of medicine.
Management of atrial fibrillation – refer early for rhythm control
Professor Stephen Wheatcroft
Cardio-renal: optimisation of chronic kidney disease in cardiac patients
Dr Ee Ling Heng
Consultant cardiologist, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Ee Ling Heng is a consultant cardiologist specialising in adult congenital heart disease and structural intervention. Based in London, she sees patients at the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals – part of the Guy's and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
Ei Ling completed her medical degree and an intercalated Bachelor's degree in healthcare management at Imperial College London in 2006. She was awarded a research training fellowship from the British Heart Foundation and earned a PhD for her research on ‘improved outcome prediction in tetralogy of Fallot.’ She completed her specialist cardiology training within the London deanery. Following this, Ei Ling undertook a fellowship in adult congenital heart disease and structural intervention at Toronto General Hospital in Canada.
Ei Ling’s expertise lies in adult congenital heart disease, with a particular focus on interventional procedures related to both congenital and structural heart conditions. She also has broad expertise in general cardiology.
In addition to her clinical practice, Ei Ling has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in prestigious journals, including the International Journal of Cardiology, and has contributed to several book chapters, including the Oxford Handbook of Cardiology. She is also actively involved in teaching, guiding both undergraduate and postgraduate students in her areas of expertise.
Mitral and aortic valve disease – principles of management
Coming to an emergency department near you – infection conundrums – challenging dogma with clinical trials
Dr Sarah Logan FRCP
Consultant in infectious diseases, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Sarah Logan is an infectious diseases consultant based at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases at University College London Hospitals NHS Trust.
She leads the clinical service there, as well as the OPAT (outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy) service. She’s also chair of the Joint Specialist Committee at the RCP for Infectious Diseases.
Dr Thomas Samuels
NIHR doctoral fellow, University College London
Dr Thomas Samuels is an infectious disease and general internal medicine registrar currently undertaking a PhD at University College London, focusing on the use of transcriptomic biomarkers and state-of-the-art predictive modelling techniques to improve the diagnosis and treatment of viral acute respiratory infections.
Professor Philip Bejon
Director, Modernising Medical Microbiology Unit, University of Oxford
Professor Philip Bejon is the director of the Modernising Medical Microbiology Unit at the University of Oxford, co-leading with Sarah Walker. He was previously director of the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, a collaborative programme formed by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Wellcome Trust and the University of Oxford. He is a clinician with specialist training in infectious disease with an interest in the evaluation of vaccines, including malaria, yellow fever and Ebola vaccines. He has undertaken studies of naturally acquired immunity to malaria and human challenge models, and has an interest in bone infection and osteomyelitis.
Antibiotic decisions
Professor Anna Goodman FRCP
Consultant in infectious diseases, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
Professor Anna Goodman is a consultant in infectious diseases at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and undertakes part-time research as an honorary clinical professor in infectious diseases at the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at University College London. Anna was awarded a National Institute for Health and Care Research grant to deliver a large-scale innovative therapeutic trial in Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia called the 'SNAP trial' in the UK and will be discussing how early results from this trial may impact patient care.
Professor Hanif Esmail
Professor of infectious diseases, University College London
Pharmaceutical medicine: the specialty shaping tomorrow’s medicines and technologies
Dr Sheuli Porkess FRCP
President, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine
Dr Sheuli Porkess is a doctor and life sciences leader who works at the intersection of medicine, innovative technology and societal impact. With experience spanning clinical development, medical affairs and health policy, Sheuli brings strategic insight and cross-sector experience to health challenges, advancing innovative technologies into real-world use. From cutting-edge medicines to digital health solutions, her work influences national and international policy. Sheuli’s current areas of focus are digital health, AI, ethics, prevention, drug development and sustainability.
She has a portfolio of roles, including president and chair of the Board of Trustees at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, director at Actaros, chief medical officer at Reinventing Health, director at PM Life Sciences Consulting and visiting lecturer at King's College London, as well as a number of advisory roles, including the Royal Society of Medicine Digital Health Council. Previous roles include the executive director for research, medicine and innovation at The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, and medical leadership roles in health tech and pharma companies.
Dr Mihir Desai
Clinical development director, Moderna
Dr Mihir Desai is clinical development director at Moderna, leading their pivotal older adult RSV study and revaccination studies. He trained as an anaesthetist before moving into industry in late 2020 and now serves as a consultant pharmaceutical physician. Mihir has also held medical affairs roles across both therapeutics and vaccines, with experience spanning local country responsibilities to global clinical development. He is passionate about advancing innovative medicines and vaccines that address unmet needs and improve patient outcomes.
Dr Kirsty Wydenbach
Head of regulatory strategy, Weatherden Ltd.
Dr Kirsty Wydenbach is a regulatory expert and pharmaceutical physician, and since 2022 has been head of regulatory strategy at Weatherden, a global integrated clinical consultancy experienced in de-risking drug development. Kirsty also currently chairs the Clinical Trial Science and Regulations Expert Group of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, is a visiting senior lecturer for King’s College London, and sits on the Drug Development Advisory Board at Simbec-Orion.
Prior to joining Weatherden, she has over 13 years of experience as an expert medical assessor at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) within the Clinical Trials Unit, having a particular interest in advanced therapy medicinal products and first-in-human studies.
Other work has included collaboration with industry groups and global regulators regarding adaptive and novel trial designs, including co-authoring several publications. She led the MHRA work on novel trial design for the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy as well as through the MHRA Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway.
Kirsty also oversaw the clinical trials work for COVID-19 and provided regulatory expertise on vaccines both within MHRA but also as part of the Government Vaccine Taskforce.
Why pharmaceutical medicine is relevant for daily clinical practice
Dr Felix Jackson
Chair, New Technologies Expert Group, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine
Dr Felix Jackson is the founder and medical director of medDigital and medCrowd. Felix is a doctor and entrepreneur developing digital technology for health and care. He trained as an anaesthetist, leaving clinical practice to start medDigital and medCrowd.
He is a fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine where he is chair of the New Technologies Expert Group at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine. He is also a visiting lecturer at King’s College London on the medical affairs MSc.
He is particularly enjoying being part of how digital is transforming health and care for the better.
Future-facing innovation in pharmaceutical medicine
Dr Emma Harvey
Vice president, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine
Dr Emma Harvey is a freelance pharmaceutical physician and vice president of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (FPM), of which she is also a fellow. She qualified in medicine from University College London and the Middlesex Hospital Medical School, London, and joined pharma after obtaining MRCP(UK).
A self-confessed medical affairs maven, Emma has worked in pharma since 1999, across a range of therapeutic areas, from big pharma to small biotech. She has built and led teams for many years, both nationally and globally, leading pre- and peri-launch projects integrating commercial, medical affairs, regulatory, clinical development, pharmacovigilance and market access expertise to develop and implement strategic plans. She has worked with patient experts and patient advocacy groups to support their education on novel medicines, to enable them to better educate their members and supporters, as well as to support engagement with reimbursement authorities. She established the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Forum at FPM, and has spoken at conferences on the needs and challenges for ensuring that clinical trials have the appropriate patient populations.
She enjoys educating clinicians, scientists and other interested parties on the highly regulated environment in which pharma has to operate, to try and dispel many of the myths that still exist around how pharma conducts research and development.
Inclusion, equity, trust and engagement with the public
Closing keynote
Professor Kevin Fong
Professor of public engagement and innovation, University College London
Professor Kevin Fong is consultant anaesthetist at University College London Hospital, professor of public engagement and innovation in the Department of Science, Technology, Education and Public Policy (STEaPP) at University College London and chief medical officer at UCLPartners. Dually accredited in anaesthesia and critical care medicine, he flies as a helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) doctor with Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex and has previously worked with NASA’s human space flight operations teams at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
In March 2020, Kevin was seconded to NHS England (NHSE) as national clinical adviser in emergency preparedness resilience and response for the COVID-19 incident. During this time, he worked across several key elements of the operational response, including NHSE’s Severe Covid Response Cell, the Joint Biosecurity Centre Alert Level Update team, UKHSA’s Joint Modelling Team and with the National Strategic Incident team at NHSE. He set up peer support and rapid review teams at NHSE to engage with, support and gather information from frontline clinical teams; information and insight that, in turn, informed the national pandemic strategy. These roles and experiences have led to his interest in high-risk, high-reliability teams; how we should build and lead modern teams, how they succeed and why they sometimes fail.
Networking reception
Bottlenecks, burnout and finding the balance: the future of medical training in the UK (in-person only)
With competition ratios for some specialties at their highest ever, our next generation campaign is calling on the government to limit the number of specialty training applications individuals can make, engage meaningfully with clinicians to produce robust data modelling in the upcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan, and explore how the system should recognise NHS experience during the recruitment process. Now our next gen top 10 priorities set out what needs to change. Join us for a wide-ranging chat about the quality and experience of training in 2025 and the opportunities for reform.
Dr Max Thoburn
ST6 infectious diseases and general internal medicine, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Professor Mumtaz Patel PRCP
President, Royal College of Physicians
Professor Mumtaz Patel is a consultant nephrologist based in Manchester, UK. She is a postgraduate associate dean for NHS England and is currently president of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), London. She was elected as senior censor vice president for education and training for the RCP in 2023 having completed her successful 3-year term as global vice president (2020-2023). She graduated with honours in 1996, from the University of Manchester. She obtained MRCP (UK) in 2000 and a PhD in 2006 exploring the genetics of lupus nephritis. She was appointed consultant nephrologist at Manchester University Hospitals in 2007. She has held various educational roles including renal training programme director, RCP regional advisor, clinical lead for quality, JRCPTB. She attained FRCP in 2011 and was awarded MSc in medical education with distinction in 2014. Her educational research interests include assessment, doctors in difficulty, differential attainment and fairness in medical education. She has published widely in medical education and presented at national/international conferences.
Acute medicine
Dr Ragit Varia FRCP
Consultant acute medicine, Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Dr Ragit Varia is a consultant in acute medicine at Whiston Hospital in Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. He is the trust fluid and acute kidney injury lead, as well as the same day emergency care (SDEC) lead. Ragit has the role of medical lead for the Urgent Cancer Care Programme with the Cheshire & Merseyside Cancer Alliance, leading on their cancer SDEC. He is also a content lead for the RCP Medical Care – Driving Change Programme, as well as the current president elect of the Society for Acute Medicine (SAM) council.
Dr Carron Meney
ST6 acute medicine, NHS Tayside
Dr Carron Meney is currently a resident doctor in senior acute medicine in the east of Scotland, after graduating from the University of Glasgow and spending her early training years working in the west of Scotland. She’s passionate about medical education and ensuring that people feel valued at work. This year, she’s also completing a diploma in medical education as well as trying her hand at research.
Carron is also a current AIM fellow, so if you want to know more about a career in acute medicine, she loves talking about it.
Dr Nick Smallwood
Consultant in acute medicine, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Nicholas Smallwood is a consultant acute physician in Basingstoke and member of the Society for Acute Medicine Council. He has a keen interest in medical education, point-of-care ultrasound and integrating enhanced care services within the acute medical unit. He sat on the working group that developed the inaugural cross-specialty enhanced care guidance in 2020, and then co-chaired the committee who published enhanced care guidance for acute medicine in 2022.
Enhanced care for the front door
Dr Radha Selvaratnam
Urgent cancer care
Dr Sarah Ibitoye
Acute and perioperative medicine consultant, North Bristol NHS Trust
Dr Sarah Ibitoye is a consultant in acute medicine and perioperative medicine. Dr Ibitoye was one of the first acute physicians to train in perioperative medicine, and hopes to encourage others to take up this area of expertise. She has conducted research on geriatric trauma and resuscitation of people living with frailty. She currently works in North Bristol, where she divides her time between working in a well-established acute medical unit (AMU) and providing medical support in one of the most progressive geriatric trauma services in the UK.
Perioperative medicine for the acute medic
Diabetes and endocrinology
Professor Kristien Boelaert FRCP
Professor of endocrinology, University of Birmingham
Professor Kristien Boelaert is a professor of endocrinology at the University of Birmingham and a consultant endocrinologist at University Hospitals Birmingham. Kristien is an active researcher in the field of thyroid diseases. She has published more than 200 papers and has received more than £10 million in research grant funding. She was the clinical lead for the NICE guidelines on thyroid diseases and leads the national consensus statements on management of thyroid cancer. Kristien is a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Green-Top and the American Thyroid Association guideline panels on thyroid diseases in pregnancy. She is senior editor for the journal of the Endocrine Society and serves on the editorial boards of several endocrine journals including Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology. Kristien is president of the British Thyroid Association, president elect and clinical committee chair for the Society for Endocrinology, co-chair of ATA 2025 Programme Organising Committee and member of the ATA board of directors.
How to evaluate and manage thyroid lumps
Professor Annice Mukherjee
Consultant physician and endocrinologist, Spire Manchester Hospital
Professor Annice Mukherjee is a consultant endocrinologist based in Manchester and visiting professor at Coventry University. Annice completed an MSc at King's College London, MD at the University of Manchester, and was appointed as a consultant at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust in 2007. She has published widely in high-impact scientific journals.
She is the steering group chair and PI for the newly launched Society for Endocrinology (SfE) women's health real-world data registry and prospective national study; Patient reported outcomes for menopause management interventions study (PROMMIS).
Annice is committed to addressing women's health inequalities and menopause misinformation. She holds leadership roles and collaborations with the SfE, British Menopause Society, Diabetes UK, British Thyroid Foundation, UCL and Imperial College London, among others.
Annice has a strong profile in the UK media regarding menopause, women's health inequalities and misinformation. Annice is the author of the best-selling book The complete guide to the menopause and was named in the Financial Times list of Women of 2022 for her work on menopause.
What can I do to help treat menopause symptoms?
Dr Alistair Lumb FRCP
Consultant in diabetes, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
What do I do when I see someone in hospital wearing a piece of diabetes related technology?
Professor Ketan Dhatariya FRCP
Consultant in diabetes and endocrinology, honorary professor of medicine, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
What's all the fuss about new diabetes drugs? Are they really as good as they are made out to be?
Rheumatology
Dr Rizwan Rajak FRCP
Consultant rheumatologist, Croydon Health Services NHS Trust
Dr Rizwan Rajak is a consultant rheumatologist. He graduated with honours at Cardiff Medical School in 2005 and subsequently undertook his specialist training in the University Hospital of Wales. Rizwan worked as a consultant at the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath, where he undertook further specialisation in musculoskeletal ultrasound and metabolic bone disease.
He is currently the clinical lead for osteoporosis and bone health, and rheumatology musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSK US) in the Croydon Health Service NHS Trust. With the former, Rizwan has developed an integrated bone health service with colleagues from multiple medical and surgical specialties. With the latter, he has developed a diagnostic service and also set up a regional network with other centres in standardising scanning practice and training. As part of this service, he has been training other doctors in the use of MSK US for several years.
Rizwan has an extensive background in teaching, having been the lead clinical tutor for rheumatology at the University Hospital of Wales, and an honorary clinical teacher at Cardiff University. He is currently the programme lead for rheumatology at the University of South Wales, has overseen the educational and examination material of the diploma and master’s courses, and is the lead tutor for MSc students.
Rizwan is deputy chair of the British Society of Rheumatology Education Committee, as well as RCP co-college tutor. He is also the Specialty Certificate Examination editor for rheumatology for Study PRN. To expand his skills base, Rizwan undertook a master’s in medical law at Cardiff law school. He is the Medicines Management chair and Medicines Safety Group chair at Croydon Health Services, overseeing the governance of medicine use in the trust. He is also an appraiser and a medical examiner for Croydon Health Services.
Dr Chris Wincup
Consultant rheumatologist, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Chris Wincup is a consultant rheumatologist based at King’s College Hospital, London. He has extensive experience in the management of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), with a background in both clinical and translational research in addition to significant clinical trial experience. He is an author of EULAR 2023 guidelines for the management of SLE.
Chris has previously been awarded the University College London Deans' research award, Versus Arthritis outstanding fellow prize and Royal Society of Medicine Kovac's traveling fellowship award (supporting a placement at the Lupus Unit, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago). He is a member of the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group (BILAG) and the chief investigator of the PERSONAL-SLE study, which seeks to identify biomarkers to predict outcomes of lupus. Chris’ main research interests include cell-based therapies, immunometabolism and precision medicine in SLE.
Spotting lupus on the wards
Dr Rachel Jones
Vasculitis on the general take
Dr Vanessa Quick
Consultant rheumatologist, Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Vanessa Quick has over 20 years’ specialist interest in giant cell arteritis (GCA) and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). She leads her trust's ultrasound-driven GCA fast-track pathway and teaches vascular ultrasound for GCA diagnosis across the UK and internationally. In 2019, she won the BSR Paul Bacon Award for vasculitis for work demonstrating that her pathway reduced GCA-related sight loss, improved the security of GCA diagnosis, and reduced temporal artery biopsy rates. She is a member of the BSR GCA guideline working group, the eastern England rare autoimmune diseases (ENRAD) GCA panel, the BSR national audit GCA steering group, and the international GCA-PMR study group. Her research portfolio includes leadership of TOC STOP, the largest UK service evaluation of GCA patients following tocilizumab cessation, involving 40 NHS trusts. She is a trustee of the patient charity PMRGCAuk, with a keen interest in education, dissemination and patient engagement.
From headache to halo sign: diagnostic tips for the frontline physician
Gastroenterology
Dr Harriet Gordon FRCP
Consultant gastroenterologist, Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust
Dr Harriet Gordon has been a consultant gastroenterologist and hepatologist in Winchester since 2000. She currently leads the alcohol teams at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust.
Harriet’s research was at the Royal Free Hospital in alcohol misuse, and she has since been involved in projects and audit relating to alcoholic liver disease with Wessex AHSN and the Wessex Alcohol Group. She has been instrumental in setting up liver services in Hampshire for the identification of liver disease in the community. She was an author with the Lancet Commission 2021, looking at the early detection of liver disease.
Harriet has also been involved at the RCP as director of the Medical Workforce Unit and has continued to address the medical workforce crisis as chair of the RCP Flexibility and Wellbeing Group and the AoMRC Flexible Careers Committee, and then as an RCP censor. She set up the RCP Emerging Women Leaders Programme in 2018. Harriet has also been involved with the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) as an elected member of BSG council, a BSG trustee, and president elect.
Dr Giovanna McGinty
Gastroenterology ST7, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Giovanna McGinty is a gastroenterology registrar (ST7) in the Severn Deanery. She has completed the majority of her postgraduate training in the Severn Deanery and has completed out of programmes in advanced endoscopy (ERCP and EUS) and leadership (via the RCP Chief Registrar Programme). She has an interest in hepatology and is currently the deputy chair for the Trainee Collaborative for Research and Audit in Hepatology UK (ToRcH-UK). Giovanna has a significant amount of quality improvement experience, and she’s trained as an official coach in QI methodology.
Professor Ewan Forrest
Consultant hepatologist, Glasgow Royal Infirmary
Professor Ewan Forrest is a consultant physician and hepatologist at Glasgow Royal Infirmary since 2003. He is an honorary professor at the University of Glasgow since 2019 and clinical research fellow in the department of medicine at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
Professor Forrest is a specialist in alcohol-related liver disease, and in particular the management of alcohol-related hepatitis. He is co-developer of the Glasgow Alcoholic Hepatitis Score and the Glasgow Modified Alcohol Withdrawal Score.
Former chair of the BASL Special Interest Group in alcohol-related liver disease, he is currently alcohol lead for the British Society of Gastroenterology and clinical lead for Hepatology NHS Research Scotland.
Ewan is chair of the Alcohol Harms Group at Glasgow Alcohol Drugs Partnership.
Alcohol-related liver disease
Professor Matthew Armstrong
Professor of Hepatology, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
Metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD): who to worry about?
Dr Jeremy Shanika Nayagam
Hepatology consultant, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Shanika Nayagam is a hepatology consultant at the Institute of Liver Studies at King’s College Hospital. He has clinical and research subspecialty interests in young adults with liver disease, genetic liver disease and autoimmune liver disease. He sits on the Adolescents and Young Persons section of the British Society of Gastroenterology.
Adolescents and young adults with liver disease – how can we help?
Dr Coral Hollywood
Acute liver disease, first 24 hour management
Oncology
Dr Hilary Williams FRCP
Dr Vicky Coyle FRCP
Professor of medical oncology, Queen's University Belfast
Nutrition and oncology: from prevention to cure
Dr Allie Shipp
Immunotherapy toxicity
Dr Andrew John Lansdown FRCP
Consultant endocrinologist, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Immunotherapy toxicity
Intensive care medicine
Dr Sarah Marsh
Dr Joel Meyer
Post intensive care syndrome
Dr Susannah Leaver
Frailty in intensive care
Professor Natalie Pattison
Professor of clinical nursing, University of Hertfordshire | East and North Herts NHS Trust
Martha’s rule – implications for all physicians
RCP named lectures – Linacre lecture:
Personalised cardiovascular care in pregnancy, in the postpartum and beyond: harnessing genomics, AI and clinical trials in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy
Dr Antonio de Marvao
Personalised cardiovascular care in pregnancy, in the postpartum and beyond: harnessing genomics, AI and clinical trials in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy
RCP named lectures – Goulstonian lecture:
Precision oncology – the best medicine for everyone?
Dr Amit Sud
Wellcome Trust early career fellow, University of Oxford
Dr Amit Sud completed medical school with honours at the University of Manchester, also obtaining a master’s in research with distinction. Following foundation training in Manchester and core medical training at Guy’s and St Thomas’, he began haematology training on an NIHR academic clinical fellowship at the Royal Marsden. He was awarded a CRUK PhD fellowship at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) with Professor Richard Houlston, and later held a visiting scientist fellowship at the DKFZ Heidelberg. Returning to the ICR and Royal Marsden as an NIHR clinical lecturer, he completed specialist training while receiving the RCP’s Whitney-Wood scholarship and an Academy of Medical Sciences grant. He now holds a Wellcome early career fellowship at the University of Oxford's centre for immuno-oncology, with collaborations at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard University in Boston and the Sanger Institute in Cambridge. He received the Royal College of Pathologists Research medal in haematology in 2018.
Precision oncology – the best medicine for everyone?
Sponsored symposium
Note: this session will not be CPD accredited.
Sponsored symposium
Note: this session will not be CPD accredited.
Respiratory
Dr Tim Quinnell FRCP
Respiratory and sleep physician, Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Tim Quinnell has worked at Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge since 2004 and has led one of the UK’s largest sleep and ventilation centres since 2021. He specialises in respiratory and non-respiratory sleep disorders, domiciliary non-invasive ventilation and weaning from invasive ventilation. His MD was on genetic and electrophysiological aspects of narcolepsy. He was chief investigator for the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) trial of mandibular advancement devices in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and now leads an NIHR trial of combination therapy in OSA. He is current chair of the British Thoracic Society Sleep Advisory Group. Tim is actively engaged in providing and developing multidisciplinary sleep medicine education.
Dr Alanna Hare FRCP
Consultant physician, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Allie Hare is a consultant respiratory physician and specialist in sleep and respiratory failure. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge and undertook her postgraduate training at Imperial College, London, qualifying in medicine in 2002. She has a master’s in medical education, a PGCert in medical leadership and has been made a fellow of the RCP. She was chair of the BTS Education and Training Committee until 2022 and is the current president of the British Sleep Society and honorary treasurer of the British Thoracic Society. She led the national review of outpatient sleep medicine pathways and in 2025, she was awarded a National Clinical Impact Award in recognition of the national importance of her work in sleep and respiratory medicine.
Her advice on sleep has been featured in British Vogue, the Guardian, the Telegraph, the Wall Street Journal, the Sunday Times and on the BBC, among others. She works with a number of corporate organisations, supporting sleep wellbeing, and has advised athletes and sporting organisations, including Formula 1 teams.
Improving pathways of care in sleep medicine: the national outpatient sleep pathway
Dr Sriram Iyer FRCP
Consultant respiratory and sleep physician, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Sriram Iyer completed his specialist training in respiratory and sleep medicine in Liverpool in 2012, before taking up a consultant post in south Manchester. He was then a visiting sleep consultant at the University of British Columbia Hospital in Vancouver before returning to the UK to lead one of England’s largest NHS sleep services in Sheffield. He is heavily involved in research and education and is the principal investigator in a number of multi-centre trials.
Looking at the big picture for patients with obstructive sleep apnoea: beyond continuous positive airways pressure therapy
Dr Chris Turnbull
Respiratory consultant, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Chris Turnbull is a respiratory consultant specialising in sleep-related breathing disorders and a career development fellow at the University of Oxford. Chris works in a leading sleep clinic, caring for nearly 20,000 patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). His research focuses on the cardiovascular and metabolic consequences of OSA and the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Working with the UK Sleep Network, he leads studies from biomarker discovery and translational physiology to practice-changing clinical trials, aiming to deliver innovation that improves patient care.
Obstructive sleep apnoea-GLP1 interplay: overegged or a gamechanger?
Dr Gary Dennis FRCP
Consultant neurologist and clinical lead for neurology, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Gary Dennis is a consultant neurologist in Sheffield and developed the Sheffield Adult Neurological Sleep Clinic in 2006. As well as running the sleep service, Gary is an epileptologist and currently the clinical lead for neurology in Sheffield Teaching Hospitals for the South Yorkshire region.
There's more to sleep than apnoea: non-respiratory sleep primer (incl. narcolepsy, parasomnia, insomnia)
Dermatology
Dr Tamara Griffiths
Dr Satveer Mahil
Managing psoriasis: past, present and future
Dr Philip Laws
Dermatologist, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Dr Phil Laws is a consultant dermatologist with an interest in inflammatory dermatoses working at Leeds Teaching Hospitals. He originally trained in Manchester before completing a medical dermatology fellowship in Toronto, Canada. Phil undertakes research in psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and connective tissue disease. He jointly leads a psoriasis service and a connective tissue disease service working in close collaboration with rheumatology.
The general physician's approach to bullous dermatoses
Professor Mike Ardern-Jones
Drug eruptions: what medics need to know
Stroke medicine
Professor Ganesh Subramanian
Dr Angela Nelmes
Professor Indira Natarajan FRCP
Clinical director neurosciences and consultant stroke physician, University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust
Service organisation for hyperacute stroke care
Dr Michelle Dharmasiri FRCP
Consultant stroke physician, University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
Transient ischemic attack (TIA) clinic
Dr Jason Philip Appleton
Consultant stroke neurologist, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Dr Jason Appleton is a consultant stroke neurologist at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, honorary assistant professor at the University of Nottingham, and is external engagement lead for the British and Irish Association of Stroke Physicians. Jason completed his PhD during his tenure as a clinical research fellow at the Stroke Trials Unit, University of Nottingham and continues to collaborate on research projects with colleagues regionally, nationally and internationally.
Intracerebral haemorrhage
GE healthcare: using Caption Guidance AI tools to acquire diagnostic quality echos (hands-on)
Please note this session will not be CPD accredited.
Philips: practical CPAP and NIV training (hands-on)
Please note this session will not be CPD accredited.
How to support the shift from treatment to prevention (workshop)
Dr Hilary Williams
Clinical vice president
Dr Hilary Williams was elected clinical vice president of the RCP in 2025. She is a consultant in medical oncology at Velindre Cancer Centre in south Wales. Hilary trained in Sheffield before completing a PhD in Edinburgh in immunology and oncogenic viruses, and then worked as a registrar in south-west England. She became RCP regional adviser for south-east Wales in 2018 before becoming an elected councillor in 2022. Prior to election as CVP, Hilary was RCP vice president for Wales. She is an active founder member of the UK Acute Oncology Society, the national Wales Cancer Network lead for acute oncology, and a mentor for the RCP Emerging Women Leaders Programme. As the health service faces the combined challenges of a waiting list backlog and widening health inequalities, Hilary wants to work on behalf of RCP fellows and members to campaign for more NHS staff, higher standards of care and better patient experience.
GE healthcare: US guided vascular access (hands-on)
The “vscan air app” will be used throughout the session. Attendees will need to pre-download the app from the Apple Store or Google Play onto their compatible mobile phone or tablet.
Please note this session will not be CPD accredited.
Philips: practical CPAP and NIV training (hands-on)
Please note this session will not be CPD accredited.
GE healthcare: using Caption Guidance AI tools to acquire diagnostic quality echos (hands-on)
Please note this session will not be CPD accredited.
Philips: practical CPAP and NIV training (hands-on)
Please note this session will not be CPD accredited.
How to have coaching conversations (workshop)
GE healthcare: US guided vascular access (hands-on)
The “vscan air app” will be used throughout the session. Attendees will need to pre-download the app from the Apple Store or Google Play onto their compatible mobile phone or tablet.
Please note this session will not be CPD accredited.
Philips: practical CPAP and NIV training (hands-on)
Please note this session will not be CPD accredited.
How to support the shift from hospital to community (workshop)
Dr Zuzanna Sawicka
Acute and community consultant in elderly medicine, Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust
Dr Zuzanna Sawicka was the clinical lead for the Future Hospitals Programme Project at Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust, which is one of the four phase one RCP Future Hospitals Programme development sites. She is currently the associate medical director for system collaboration for older people and those with frailty across the Mid Yorkshire footprint (Wakefield, Pontefract and Kirklees). Zuzanna is passionate about the patient and staff voice, especially in keeping patients safe. She is committed to improving clinical standards, developing staff to achieve their full potential, and ensuring that patients get the right care at the right time in the right place and, where possible, that the care is delivered close to the place the person calls home. Through the years, Zuzanna has worked on many patient safety issues, from championing PJ paralysis to improving hospital pathways and now more recently led and has advocated improved care in the community setting by creating a Hospital at Home Programme locally, truly believing in that fact that little things matter. In today’s world, where in health and social care we face challenges, recurrent bed pressures and financial constraints, Zuzanna firmly believes the ability to strive for excellence is vitally important and most of all we must not do harm and ensure patients receive the care they need and deserve.
GE healthcare: US guided vascular access (hands-on)
The “vscan air app” will be used throughout the session. Attendees will need to pre-download the app from the Apple Store or Google Play onto their compatible mobile phone or tablet.
Please note this session will not be CPD accredited.
Philips: practical CPAP and NIV training (hands-on)
Please note this session will not be CPD accredited.
GE healthcare: using Caption Guidance AI tools to acquire diagnostic quality echos (hands-on)
Please note this session will not be CPD accredited.
Philips: practical CPAP and NIV training (hands-on)
Please note this session will not be CPD accredited.
How to support the shift from analogue to digital (workshop)
Dr Anne Kinderlerer
Digital health clinical lead
Dr Anne Kinderlerer is a consultant rheumatologist, associate medical director (patient safety) and clinical director for discharge and integrated care at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Anne leads on the RCP’s digital health strategy which guides and supports members and fellows to grasp the opportunities presented by digital health to improve patient care and outcomes. In her clinical leadership roles, Anne’s focus over much of the past decade has been on working with others to improve systems and processes so that they work for patients and make it easier for staff to do the right thing. Anne has a particular interest in how to build more usable systems that reduce burnout and increase safety. Anne has trained extensively in improvement methodologies including completion of the Flow Coaching Academy Programme in 2017 which brings together people, data and patient stories to improve complex care pathways. She subsequently trained as a Flow Coaching Academy coach and was a clinical coach for the first Sepsis Big Room.
Dr Aklak Choudhury
Director for improvement programmes
Dr Choudhury, currently deputy medical director for quality and safety and a respiratory consultant at University Hospitals Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, brings a wealth of expertise in continuous quality improvement. With a strong background in medical education and system improvement, he now also leads the development of the RCP’s improvement services, supporting physicians to embed high-impact, sustainable change in practice.
GE healthcare: US guided vascular access (hands-on)
The “vscan air app” will be used throughout the session. Attendees will need to pre-download the app from the Apple Store or Google Play onto their compatible mobile phone or tablet.
Please note this session will not be CPD accredited.
Philips: practical CPAP and NIV training (hands-on)
Please note this session will not be CPD accredited.
How to improve the sustainability of your practice (workshop)
GE healthcare: using Caption Guidance AI tools to acquire diagnostic quality echos (hands-on)
Please note this session will not be CPD accredited.
Philips: practical CPAP and NIV training (hands-on)
Please note this session will not be CPD accredited.
How to get your paper published (workshop)
Dr Andrew Duncombe
Editor in chief, Future Healthcare Journal
Dr Andrew Duncombe has been an NHS consultant and honorary senior clinical lecturer in haematology, specialising in blood cancers in Southampton, for 30 years. He completed undergraduate and postgraduate training in Oxford and London. As lead consultant in clinical haematology at University Hospital Southampton, he led the successful bid for Southampton to be the Wessex regional centre for blood and bone marrow transplantation. Andrew’s clinical experience spans 12 different hospitals, including in Australasia. He is a keen educator and has taught physicians, GPs, allied health professionals and patients. Andrew has been an investigator in more than 40 clinical trials and has championed their value in improving patient choices and outcomes. He has co-authored national guidelines with National Cancer Research Institute subgroups and the UK COVID Therapeutics Advisory Group. Andrew’s continuing research interests include the epidemiology of blood cancers and clinical response prediction in severe COVID. He is excited by the diverse range of new diagnostic and therapeutic options that will transform future healthcare and passionate about expanding access to health improvements for all. Recently, Andrew left his main clinical practice to concentrate on this academic work, including the post of editor in chief of the Future Healthcare Journal.
Professor Ponnusamy Saravanan
Please note that any presentations shown at this event have been produced by the individual speakers. As such they are not owned by, and do not necessarily represent the views of, the RCP.
The RCP is committed to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion through selection of a balanced programme of speakers, presenters, and chairs. Find out more here: RCP EDI speaker policy.