Royal College of General Practitioners - Online Learning Environment

This is a recording of a live conference that took place on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 March 2026. This recording will be available to view until 13 December 2026.

The 30th Managing addictions in primary care conference took place on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 March 2026 in Liverpool. 

Join us and celebrate our 30th anniversary 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.

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. 

             

This is a recording of a live conference that took place on Thursday 26 March 2026. This recording will be available to view until 11 December 2026.

The 30th Managing addictions in primary care conference took place on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 March 2026 in Liverpool. 

Join us and celebrate our 30th anniversary 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

Who attends

All primary care workers including GPs, shared care workers, nurses, specialists, commissioners and researchers. This year we're encouraging medical students to join in.

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.