Royal College of General Practitioners - Online Learning Environment

Available until 30 January 2026.

The national learning disability mortality review programme ‘learning from lives and deaths – LeDeR’ has shone a light on the huge health inequalities experienced by this population. This course will cover a variety of topics aiming to help GPs support the health needs and complexity of their patients with a learning disability. 

Learning objectives:

• To develop understanding of the health inequalities revealed by the learning disability mortality review programme LeDeR
• To hear the voice of people with a learning disability and their family carers and the importance of making reasonable adjustments to improve access to care
• To consider how to identify people with a learning disability, and to manage high quality care of that population including by the annual health check
• To support GPs in considering how to implement the Mental Capacity Act when caring for people with a learning disability
• To develop understanding of the multimorbidity experienced by this population and the consequent need for care planning
• To gain a greater understanding of the wider MDT supporting the care of people with a learning disability

Topics include:

• Down syndrome – including the issues need to be covered in a down syndrome annual health check and reference to the Down Syndrome Act 
• Audiology – hearing problems – assessment and management in adults with a learning disability 
• Communication in the GP consultation - inclusive consultations: what works for people with a learning disability 
• Obstructive sleep apnoea and its importance in learning disability 
• Family carer perspective
• Constipation and its importance for morbidity and mortality in adults with a learning disability
• Implementing the Mental Capacity Act and making best interest decisions for adults with a learning disability in primary care 
• Advance care planning/Daffodil standards/Victoria and Stuart project

Available until 12 February 2026.

Lifestyle medicine is a global medical discipline, teaching clinicians behavioural techniques to support patients with some of the root causes of ill health. These include assessing and addressing financial stress, poor mental wellbeing, social isolation, inactivity, poor quality food, poor sleep/shift work and harmful substances or behaviours such as smoking, alcohol and harmful tech use. Lifestyle medicine provides one-to-one assessment and support but requires wider public health population level interventions. The aim of these interventions is to prevent, treat and potentially reverse ill health whilst minimising the need for long-term medications.

This One Day Essentials lifestyle medicine conference will describe lifestyle medicine practice and how it is applied in everyday clinical practice for GPs. The conference will cover the RCGP GP with extended role in lifestyle medicine pathway, the evidence for lifestyle medicine and where it sits with population and public health, how this practice can be used to reduce health inequity, avoid over-diagnosis and over-prescribing. Speakers will also address how lifestyle medicine practice can be more sustainable medicine, can deliver person-centered care and recognises the wider aspects of wellbeing such as art and nature. 

 Learning objectives

• Define lifestyle medicine
• Describe how public health and population health interventions can be complemented by lifestyle medicine’s one-to-one support
• List the evidence for lifestyle medicine interventions 
• Define over-diagnosis and over-prescribing and how lifestyle medicine can address these challenges
• Describe how lifestyle medicine can be used to address inequity
• List how lifestyle medicine can improve sustainable practice
• Describe how art and time in nature can improve health outcomes

Topics

• What is lifestyle medicine and introduction to RCGP GP with extended role in lifestyle medicine
• The evidence for lifestyle medicine and how it works with public and population health
• Lifestyle medicine is sustainable medicine and can improve planetary health
• Social prescribing, physical activity, green spaces
• Lifestyle medicine and health inequalities
• The challenge of over-diagnosis and over-prescribing; can lifestyle medicine help?
• How art and music can improve health

Conference chair

Dr Ellen Fallows - GP and expert in obesity and lifestyle medicine

Bronze sponsor

Symprove sponsored this conference. Editorial and content decisions were made solely by the RCGP.

Available until 14 April 2026.

Approximately 20% of men will not live to see retirement in the UK, often due to a reluctance to seek medical help, particularly for sexual or mental health concerns. Delaying care can lead to more serious and challenging health issues. As GPs, we are often the first point of contact and have a vital role in improving men's health outcomes.

The RCGP One Day Essentials Men’s health conference offers valuable insights tailored for GPs, providing practical advice and resources to enhance patient care. Expert speakers will address key topics and share strategies to help you confidently manage common men’s health concerns in your practice. Based on feedback from previous years, the event is designed to be as relevant and beneficial as possible. While staple topics such as prostate cancer and LUTS remain, this year introduces new discussions on male fertility and testicular conditions. 

Topics include:

• Male fertility in primary care
• Erectile dysfunction
• Male pattern hair loss
• Testicular abnormalities
• Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS)
• Genital dermatology in men
• Prostate cancer

Conference Chair:

• Dr Anand Patel, GP Partner, Secretary to the Primary Care Testosterone Group and a trustee of the Sexual Advice Association 

Platinum Sponsor:

We are the leading  prostate cancer charity in the UK and the largest funder of research into prostate cancer. Our ambition is to save and improve the lives of men affected. 1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer. We offer free education and professional development for healthcare professionals. Whether it’s online learning, resources, courses or events, we’re here to help you meet your educational and professional development needs

Gold Sponsor:



testhim is a pioneering platform dedicated to addressing the often-overlooked issue of male fertility. Founded by Ian Stones, Michael Close, and Toby Trice—leaders in the field with over four decades of combined experience—testhim aims to bridge the gap in fertility education and support for men. By offering a free questionnaire, men can quickly discover how their lifestyle and health history may be affecting their fertility, with instant recommendations for health, lifestyle changes, and advanced fertility tests. In collaboration with LogixX Fertility and leading clinics, testhim provides innovative diagnostics such as oxidative stress testing and sperm DNA fragmentation, while also offering high-quality fertility supplements and services. The platform empowers men to take control of their reproductive health, making advanced fertility care more accessible and transforming the male fertility landscape.

The climate emergency is a health emergency. Primary care accounts for approximately 23% of NHS England’s emissions footprint; this hub contains courses to help GPs who want to advocate for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Most primary care emissions are associated with prescribing; the first course ‘Introduction to sustainable healthcare’ gives an overview of the links between planetary health and our patients’ health and introduces “Delivering a net zero National Health Service”, the report which sets emissions targets for the NHS. It discusses how we can promote initiatives such as active travel and social prescribing, ways to reduce overprescribing and overdiagnosis, and the contributions that diet, exercise and patient empowerment can make to good clinical care and reduction of emissions.

Inhalers make up a large percentage of clinical emissions and the second course, ‘High quality and low carbon respiratory care’ discusses changes that we can make. Moving from metered dose inhalers (MDIs) to dry powder inhalers (DPIs) reduces emissions and often benefits patients, who may find DPIs easier to use, improving adherence. For patients who cannot move from an MDI, changing the brand or dose per puff can also reduce greenhouse gases from their inhaler. The importance of good asthma control is also discussed, with reference to the National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD). References such as Greener Practice can help practices to improve asthma care whilst reducing emissions and meeting the requirements of the Investment and Impact Fund (IIF).

The final eLearning course, ‘Understanding non-clinical carbon and general practice’ considers the four key areas in which change can be made – energy, travel, business services and medical and office goods and equipment. Understanding the energy hierarchy and the circular economy, reducing waste and making environmentally responsible choices may also improve the health of primary care staff and save money for the practice. The NHS Net Zero Supplier Road Map is explained, as is how to draw up a practice green action plan and make better procurement choices.

The hub also links to the population and planetary health topic guide in the RCGP curriculum, and has a webinar presented by the RCGP’s faculty climate and sustainability group, which shares practical ideas that could help GPs to get started in sustainable healthcare.

People living with severe mental illness face one of the greatest health equality gaps in England. Their life expectancy is 15–20 years shorter than that for the general population, and this disparity is largely due to preventable physical illnesses. In this podcast, Dr Thomas Round discusses physical health in people with severe mental illness with Professor Carolyn Chew-Graham, a Professor of General Practice Research at Keele University and a GP in Manchester and Dr David Shiers, Honorary Research Consultant at Psychosis Research Unit and a former GP in North Staffordshire, who became involved in the early intervention reform after his daughter’s experience of a severe psychotic illness.

This hub is particularly aimed at healthcare practitioners who look after patients in contact with the criminal justice system. The eLearning module will improve understanding of the prison context and key factors that influence patient safety. It will also increase practitioner confidence in managing complexity, safe prescribing, and partnership when working inside a prison. The ADHD suite of modules are included here, as the final screencast touches on key aspects of delivering care for people with ADHD in the criminal justice system.

There is also a wide-ranging collection of resources for the delivery of healthcare in secure settings, including supporting complex physical and mental health needs, substance misuse needs and social determinants of health.