***UPDATE to the original article is included below***
This year, the British Acupuncture Council will be part of Integrative & Personalised Medicine Congress, 29 June to 1 July, at the QEII Centre in the heart of London.
Taking place over three days, the congress incorporates three conferences:
Whole-Person Health (Thursday 29 June)
Integrative Mental Health (Friday 30 June)
Food on Prescription (Saturday 1 July)
Each has a wide range of speakers, including: politicians such as Danny Kruger, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Prescribed Drug Dependence; well-known scientists such as Prof David Nutt and Dr Robert Lustig; those working within the NHS, such as Lelly Oboh, Overprescribing Lead Pharmacist at Guys and St Thomas NHS Trust, and Prof Tony Avery, National Clinical Director for Prescribing; as well as celebrities such as the TV presenter Julia Bradbury and the actress Jenny Seagrove.
These high profile speakers will ‘present inspiring case studies of multi-disciplinary teams working together to highlight a fully integrative approach to healthcare that brings together a range of modalities, including integrative, lifestyle, functional, and complementary medicine.’
How the BAcC is participating
This year, we’re delighted to have a presence in the main speaker programme, in the workshops and in the exhibition area.
- On Thursday 29 June, Joel Dunning Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Robin Sunley BAcC Member, will give a presentation “Applying Acupuncture and Complementary Therapy in Robotic Thoracic Surgery” as part of the main speaker programme.
***UPDATE… Unfortunately, since this article was published, Joel and Robin have had to pull out from the event due to a hospital scheduling clash*** - On Friday 30 June Dr Mike Cummings, Reiko Ito and I will give a presentation “Acupuncture: primary care and beyond,” as part of the workshop programme.
- The BAcC will have a stall in the exhibition area for the duration of the three day event.
A great opportunity
We anticipate the conference will be well attended and attract media coverage. King Charles provided an inaugural welcome for the conference last year.
We also believe the conference provides an excellent opportunity to promote acupuncture and the BAcC to the public, influential people within the NHS, parliamentarians, scientists and healthcare workers.
The conference is organised by the College of Medicine who currently have a Beyond Pills campaign. Clearly, acupuncture has a lot to offer in this area. There is strong evidence that acupuncture is an effective means of treating chronic pain conditions. The opioid crisis has been well documented in America, but it is also present in the UK. A key theme of the conference is an integrative approach to healthcare. So, we should take this opportunity to inform people that BAcC Professional Standards Authority (PSA) Accredited Register status enables doctors to refer to BAcC members. I will use the workshop presentation to highlight some of the integrated projects that involve our members working alongside mainstream healthcare professionals.
How BAcC members can get involved
As we have a stand in the exhibition for the duration of the event, we are keen to have BAcC members involved to share their experiences with delegates wanting to learn more. I’d be very happy to hear from anyone with a specialist interest in any of the three conference subject areas (listed above) and who are currently working alongside mainstream healthcare professionals, in an integrated setting – with availability on the dates given. Please do email me at: i.appleyard@acupuncture.org.uk.
Ian Appleyard
Research & Policy Manager
April 2023
