As a GP or primary care worker, you may be the first person to offer help to a patient with addiction. This conference can prepare you to start and support patients’ journeys from harm reduction to recovery with confidence.
Join us either in Birmingham or online for a two-day conference which has been supporting primary care for over 30 years. Learn and network with hundreds of addiction healthcare professionals from across the UK and beyond.
“A fantastic conference, which is always the case - topical, relevant, engaging and interesting. Great to have leaders in the field delivering presentations!" - GP attendee of the 2026 conference
Early bird discount until Thursday 3 December
Book your place early to secure a discounted ticket, available for a limited time.
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
At this national conference you can find guidance for GPs, shared care workers, nurses and all primary care staff, as well as specialists, commissioners and researchers and medical students.
Learn from experts
The conference Chairs, Kate Halliday of Addiction Professionals and Dr Jennie Rankine MRCGP will be joined by a raft of experts in the field of substance and behavioural addiction across the two days.
There will be plenaries and workshops that offer the best guidance no matter your experience level. You'll find beginner's guides as well as more specialist advice, from holistic care approaches to specific guidance on substances, to government policy and nationwide strategy.
The 2026 programme overview
Our sessions covered alcohol research and treatment, various drugs including opioids, as well as behavioural addictions such as gambling and video games. We will also looked 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
Jennie has been a GP in Cardiff since 2008, during which time she developed an interest and passion for managing addictions within primary care. This led to her more recently taking on the role of Clinical Lead for the GP Shared Care Scheme in Cardiff and Vale UHB, which has been growing and thriving for over 20 years, enabling patients to be managed by their own GP in a clinically effective and holistic setting.
As part of this role, she works alongside a large multidisciplinary team supporting and training other GPs and associated clinicians while working together to continually innovate and improve the delivery of care for patients. This year she has also stepped into her newest challenge, working alongside Kate as co-chair of this conference. If there's any spare time in addition to these roles (and the weather allows) she will generally be found walking in the beautiful Welsh countryside!
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.
Call for examples of good practice
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?
Share your work with primary care workers across the UK and submit a poster, paper or film on any aspect of working with addiction primary care.
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