We will be back in 2027 with the UK's leading, largest, and longest standing conference on managing addictions in primary care, delivered in partnership with Addiction Professionals.
Join us in-person or online as we bring together pre-eminent experts in the field of substance and behavioural addiction, and offer you the opportunity to listen, learn and network with more than 300 healthcare professionals across the field.
From beginner guides to specialist advice, personal accounts to big picture thinking, our plenaries and workshops offer something for everyone with an interest in addiction services.
This conference will reflect on the challenges and improvements over the past thirty years and look forward at how we can improve medicine and support for patients and service users. The programme covers a range of topics both specialised and holistic, and has evolved with the ever-changing addiction care landscape. Alcohol and drug related deaths are at an all-time high in the UK*. This is why harm-reduction, tackling the stigma around addiction to encourage more people to seek help, and understanding how health inequalities impact additions are central focuses this year.
“The standard of the presentations this year was exceptionally high and […] I learned a great deal of new information plus talking points to make me think. Good for networking too.” – 2025 conference attendee, specialist in addiction psychiatry, Wales, UK
This conference is open to all medical professionals, and you do not need to be a member of the RCGP to book your place. Simply create a free non-member account during registration and you will be able to complete your booking.
Early bird prices:
- One-day ticket: £199
- Two-day ticket: £310
- Trainee one-day ticket: £159
- Trainee two-day ticket: £248
A discount is available if you are currently a GP or other healthcare professional in training. If you are not a member of the RCGP, please contact us with proof of trainee status to claim your discount.
Discounted tickets are also available to medical students. To book your place, email us using your institution email address (usually ending in '.ac.uk').
Who attends
All primary care workers including:
- GPs
- Shared care workers
- Nurses
- Specialists
- Commissioners and researchers
- Medical students
Increase your knowledge and understanding of:
- Current interventions for the prevention, assessment and treatment of alcohol, other drug problems and behavioural addictions.
- The requirement for both primary care and specialist interventions, and when to use them.
- Drug and alcohol policies in the UK and how they are implemented in primary care.
- Links between multiple needs, health inequalities and substance misuse.
- The challenges, improvements and primary care work in this area over the last 30 years.
2026 programme overview
Our sessions will cover alcohol research and treatment, various drugs including opioids, as well as behavioural addictions such as gambling and video games. We will also be looking at innovations in treatment using AI, along with harm reduction measures such as The Thistle, a drug consumption facility in Glasgow.
Transport
Train
- A minute's walk from Birmingham New Street station
Tram
- Directly adjacent to Grand Central Tram station
Car
- Less than a minute's walk from Grand Central Car Park: Hill Street (note, this is not the NCP Grand Central), B5 4DQ. Before returning to your car, please validate your car registration at the hotel reception to receive a concessionary rate.
- 7-minute walk from Q-Park Mailbox, Royal Mail St, Mailbox B1 1RD. Pre-book through their website and use code BURHTLBR20 to receive a 35% discount.
Please note Birmingham operates a clean air zone. Visit the Gov website for more details.
This conference is brought to you in partnership with Addiction Professionals, a UK charity formed from a merger of Substance Misuse Management in General Practice and the Federation of Drug and Alcohol Practitioners. Their vision is to have a competent, confident, and accredited workforce in the addictions sector to provide the best possible treatment for people with addictions.
Conference chairs
Stephen is a GP at the Windmill practice in the inner city of Nottingham and has worked there for the past 26 years. He also works as a 'GP for the homeless' at the local Friary drop-in; in both roles he sees a wide variety of people who use alcohol and other drugs. Twice weekly he works as a GP specialist for the city’s alcohol service where he is the clinical lead.
Along with Kate Halliday, he has been national chair for the Managing Addictions in Primary Care conference with RCGP and Addiction Professionals since 2012, but since taking on another (rewarding but time consuming) role as 'Pops Willott', this will be his last year in the conference chair role.
Kate is the Executive Director for Addiction Professionals, a network and voluntary registration body for people working in the addictions sector. She is a social worker who, worked for over 20 years in addiction services during which time she developed and supported primary care based drug and alcohol treatment. She was instrumental in introducing hepatitis C testing into her local services, supported pharmacy training and worked closely with the criminal justice system and the local hospital to improve continuity of care for those using services. She has been involved in the development of training programmes and has a teaching qualification. She is involved in expert groups to support the implementation of the Drug Strategy including the Workforce Transformation Programme. She is also a local authority councillor.
Share your work: Call for abstract submissions
Have you recently developed a service? Overcome a local problem and/or improved practice? Perhaps you've undertaken research or a service quality improvement audit? Or even produced educational and training materials, in a film or other media?
This could be your opportunity to share your work with primary care workers across the UK who deal with substance and behavioural addiction care.
Submissions have now closed for abstracts for this conference. To contact the team regarding an abstract you have submitted already, please email RCGPconferences@RCGP.org.uk.
Camurus
Camurus is a pharmaceutical company with a clear commitment - to lead the development of advanced drug delivery systems and innovative medical products to improve quality of life for patients with severe and chronic diseases.
Our work addresses several therapeutic areas, including opioid dependence.
We aim to support healthcare professionals and their patients in accessing innovative treatments, helping to overcome the barriers that can often stand in the way of treatment choice.
We also want to help remove the stigma associated with a complex condition like opioid dependence and encourage a more empathetic approach to patients from policy makers, healthcare providers and the public at large.
Ethypharm
Ethypharm is a global pharmaceutical company and a market leader in therapies for substance dependence, a complex and widespread challenge that affects patients as well as their families and wider communities.
Drawing on decades of experience, Ethypharm has built deep scientific and clinical expertise and established strong partnerships with leading healthcare organisations and professionals.
For more information about the company, please contact 01277 266600 or email: info@ethypharm.com.
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