Symposium: Alcohol and Substance Use: busting myths and finding solutions

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Thursday

18 to 09 May

2024

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Overview

This is now a catch-up only event and will be available to register until 9 May 2024, and to view until 16 May 2024.

Please book online and you will receive access information via email.

Adverse consequences of drugs and alcohol are visible everywhere in public life, political discourse and personal situations affecting increasing numbers of individuals and families.

Alcohol Use

Globally, alcohol kills 3 million people every year. The Covid pandemic saw a huge increase in alcohol harm and death. The health consequences of alcohol touch every field of clinical practice. Yet it seldom receives the attention it deserves, the extent and nature of alcohol health harm are not widely recognised and effective measures in both public health and clinical practice are seldom implemented. This symposium will demonstrate that clinicians have an important role to play in the many proven ways to reduce the health burden of alcohol. It aims to correct the perception that despite alcohol being everybody’s problem, few think it is their job to address it, and will be of interest to clinicians from all fields of primary and secondary care.

This symposium will inform clinicians about:

What works in public health policies.
How to approach the question of alcohol use in their patients.
What measures to implement in primary and secondary care practice.
What’s known in these key areas of alcohol health harm:

o Cancer

o Cardiovascular disease

o Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

o Liver disease

o Mental Health

Substance Use

In the medical arena there is hardly a speciality or department that doesn’t see problematic manifestations of psychoactive drug use. The well publicised appalling death rate from drug use in Scotland is the most visible harm caused by drugs but the impact on lives of individuals and families extends much wider.

Complicating a moving target of new substances causing harm are the black market and criminal justice elements of the landscape of drug problems and the stigma and marginalisation connected with people who use drugs. An historic lack of engagement by medical research, industry and government has allowed a relative hiatus in our understanding of what we should do to intervene in the, often complex, lives of people who use drugs.

This symposium is an opportunity to hear about the medical issues around drugs and to learn about new and exciting interventions and treatments. There is a message for all of us, whatever is our special area of expertise or interest. Along with recognising the importance of managing the drug problem comes the responsibility to work together to be sure that drug dependency problems are managed at a level comparable to other areas of treatment. Today’s meeting is a blend of epidemiological and data evidence linking into clinical applications and public health policy. There is something in it for everyone and it is likely that we shall all visualise a role we have to play in highlighting the importance of drug problems and using our positions to provide care or to influence the research and policy landscape.

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Programme

Thursday 18 April 2024

09:00	Registration and Coffee
09:25	Welcome and Introductory Remarks Dr Conor Maguire, Vice President (International), Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh

Session 1 - Alcohol, The Big Picture

Chair: Professor Linda Bauld, Professor of Public Health, University of Edinburgh

09:30	A European Perspective on Alcohol Ms Maria Neufeld, Technical Officer, WHO European Office for Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases
09:50	Scotland's Story Dr Peter Rice, Chair, European Alcohol Policy Alliance (Eurocare) _{* reasons behind alcohol death trends * public health policies (including MUP)}
10:10	Case History Dr Carey Lunan, GP Advisor to Scottish Government on Health Inequalities _{* alcohol presentations in primary care – myriad and indirect}
10:20	Discussion Tom Bennett, Rights in Recovery Officer, Scottish Recovery Consortium + 3 session speakers

Session 2 - Alcohol - the damage done

Chair: Dr Alastair MacGilchrist, Chair, Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP), Edinburgh

10:30	Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder Professor Ana Hanlon Dearman, Professor of Paediatrics, University of Manitoba, Canada _{* effects are many and varied * how to recognise and what to do}
10:45	Mental Health Dr Rebecca Lawrence, Consultant Psychiatrist, NHS Lothian _{* dual pathology: mental health and alcohol dependency * implications for service provision}
11:00	Break Tea/Coffee
11:20	Keynote: SIR JOHN CROFTON LECTURE Cancer and cardiovascular disease Chair & Introduction: Dr Conor Maguire, Vice President (International), Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Professor Tim Stockwell, Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, Canada & Scientist, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research _{* 7 cancers linked to alcohol * latest evidence on alcohol and CVD (and overall) mortality}
11:45	Liver disease Dr Ewan Forrest, Consultant Hepatologist, Glasgow _{* main cause of alcohol specific deaths * ‘silent killer’ – need for early diagnosis}
12:00	Discussion Tom Bennett, Rights in Recovery Officer, Scottish Recovery Consortium + 4 session speakers

Session 3 - Alcohol - making a difference

Chair: Dr Lesley Graham, Public Health Consultant, Edinburgh

12:10	Alcohol interventions Professor Julia Sinclair, Professor of Addiction Psychiatry, University of Southampton _{* alcohol brief interventions * alcohol care teams * treatment of alcohol dependence}
12:35	Barriers and solutions Dr Alastair MacGilchrist, Chair, Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP), Edinburgh _{* stigma * alcohol industry * efficacy of population and individual interventions * clinicians as advocates}
12:50	Discussion Tom Bennett, Rights in Recovery Officer, Scottish Recovery Consortium + 2 session speakers
13:00	Lunch

Session 4 - Substance use - a multilayered problem

Chair: Professor Roy Robertson, Professor of Addiction Medicine, University of Edinburgh

13:45	Clinical presentations in primary and secondary care Dr Jonathan Brett, Senior staff specialist in Clinical Pharmacology, Toxicology and Addiction Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia _{* clinical presentations to accident departments and hospital wards relating to drug complications * data from International sources on morbidity and mortality * what the clinical and research data suggests for future policy and clinical interventions} Dr Carey Lunan, GP and Senior Medical Advisor to Scottish Government _{* clinical presentations in the community and primary care * how we could improve out of hospital care}
14:15	What are the drivers of drug deaths (DRD)? Professor Catriona Matheson, Professor in Substance Use, University of Stirling _{* contributory factors in Scottish DRD * changing patterns of DRD over time * the strategic response and what is means at service level}
14:45	Lessons from an international experience Dr Jane Mounteney, Head of Unit, Public health, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction _{* European comparisons on drug morbidity and mortality * systematic variation in practice and policy across countries}
15:15	Living with the stigma of substance use Wez Steele, Scottish Drugs Forum, Glasgow _{* lived experience of substance use and now working with people affected}
15:20	Discussion Participants from above
15:30	Break Tea/Coffee

Session 5 - Prevention and treatment of harm - now and in the future

Chair: Professor Angela Thomas OBE, Director of Heritage and Honorary Librarian, RCPE

15:50	Bringing evidence and innovation into drug services in Scotland Dr Saket Priyadarshi, Associate Medical Director & Senior Medical Officer, Glasgow Alcohol and Drug Recovery Services, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde _{* radical approaches to a critical problem * heroin assisted treatment and safer injecting rooms}
16:10	Novel approaches to harm reduction Dr Jenny Scott, Senior Lecturer, Bristol Medical School _{* Physical health harms affecting people who use drugs * Challenges people meet in the broader healthcare sector * Novel approaches to reducing health harms}
16:30	Drug use and the law Iain H B Smith, LLB (Hons), Dip LP, NP, Partner, Keegan Smith SSC Solicitors, Scotland _{* human aspect of drug use and the law * social harms and the impact on families}
16:50	Discussion Participants from above
17:00	Close

Fees

Attendance options

Delegates can still book for online only attendance up until 9 May 2024. All delegates will have on-demand access to all talks for 28 days following the live event.

Registration fees for catch-up attendance
	In-person - early bird fee (until 21.3.24) for full day	Online - early bird fee (until 21.3.24) for full day	In-person - Fee (from 22.3.24) for full day	Online - Fee (from 22.3.24) for full day	In-person or Online - Fee (until 21.3.24) for half day	In-person or Online - Fee (from 22.3.24) for half day
Non-RCPE Member or Fellow	£220	£210	£230	£220	£120	£130
RCPE Fellow & Collegiate/Associate Members	£155	£145	£165	£155	£75	£85
RCPE Foundation Member, Nurse, AHP, Pharmacist, Physician Associates	£150	£140	£150	£140	£70	£80
RCPE Fellow in low or lower-middle income country, RCPE Student Member	£0	£0	£0	£0	£0	£0
Retired RCPE Fellow, Non-RCPE Student	£20	£10	£20	£20	£10	£20

Long term / other leave – Fellows and Members, please contact the Symposium Co-ordinator as some discretion may be available.

Collegiate and Associate Members of the RCPE in clinical research posts may be eligible for funding - please contact the Symposium Co-ordinator for further information.

Trainees – Scotland Deanery medical specialty trainees can attend any number of eligible symposia for a one-off payment from their study leave budget (block grant scheme).

Invoices

If you wish us to invoice an employer/organisation, please contact the Symposium Coordinator. Payment via invoice is not available for online booking.

Free places

Unpaid post – Nil if confirmation of status provided a member of RCPE – please contact the Symposium Co-ordinator.

Refugee doctors – free places are available to refugee doctors who are Associate Members of the College. Associate Membership for refugee doctors is available free of charge. Please visit our website for instructions on how to join, and then apply to the Symposium Co-ordinator for your free place.

Cancellation policy

If you have to cancel your place within seven days of this event, we regret that we are unable to provide a refund. However, you may nominate someone else to take your place at the discretion of the event co-ordinator.

If you are no longer able to attend in-person, you can still view the event online. We will only reimburse the in-person fee under exceptional circumstances. The event will be available to view on-demand for 28 days after the live event, therefore, there is still opportunity to view the talks if you are not able to attend on the day.

In the event that the College is unable to host the in-person element of this event, all those registered to attend the College in-person will be reimbursed the additional in-person fee.

Further Information

This event is open to all grades of medical, health care and scientific staff and to students. If you are unsure about eligibility, or the correct fee category, please contact the RCPE member of staff responsible for the event (see Fees page).

Please note that on occasion event programmes may be subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances.

Certificates

All relevant events are approved for Continuing Professional Development (CPD). To receive a CPD certificate delegates must have completed the online feedback survey. The survey will close 28 days after the original broadcast of the event, with certificates being issued shortly after this.

Certificates cannot be issued after the survey has closed.

On-demand Access

All presentations will be available to view on-demand by the second working day after the live event for 28 days, allowing you to catch-up in your own time. All delegates, including those attending in-person, will have access to view the talks on-demand again during this period.

If you are attending the event in-person at the College, please be aware of the following:

Photography

A professional photographer may be in attendance at this event. Photographs may be used by the College in digital and printed publicity material. If you do not wish to be photographed, please let a member of staff know at the registration desk.

Access

A wheelchair lift and internal lift are in place at the College, allowing access to the conference centre and historic rooms. However, as a listed building, meeting rooms 4 & 5 have restricted access. For further information and assistance, please contact the Event Co-ordinator responsible for the event.

An induction loop system is available in the Great Hall and Conference Centre Auditorium.

Parent Room

We can provide a Parent Room at our events. If you are interested in using this facility, please contact the Co-ordinator for further information.

Accommodation and Directions to the College

The College has negotiated special rates with a number of local hotels.

Bicycle racks are available for cyclists at the door to 8 Queen Street. For access to further bicycle racks, please ask at reception.

Plan a cycle journey here with CycleStreets!

Local walking routes

Three short walks can be enjoyed from the College. So if you are visiting us, why not explore the local area. Details can be found at Medal Routes.

Commercial Sponsorship

Many events are supported by commercial companies taking stand space. Health professionals and NHS managers are invited to visit the company stands during the breaks. Companies interested in sponsoring this, or other events listed on the Calendar, should contact the event Co-ordinator.

Exhibitors/sponsors play no part in the planning or delivery of the event and the College has developed an Ethical Sponsorship Policy to support organising committees and committee chairs in their negotiations with potential commercial partners for education and other events.

Venue:

RCPE, 11 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1JQ

Credits

6

Activity Code

148398

#rcpeSubstanceUse24

Event Coordinator

Lauren Slater

Telephone

+ 44 (0)131 247 3661

Email

l.slater@rcpe.ac.uk