Update in medicine – Leicester 2026

With thanks to those who joined us at this one-day Update in medicine conference.

Topics included:

• maternal medicine
• eosinophilic oesophagitis
• emerging therapies in diabetes and obesity
• pleural disease
• culture and leadership.

Please note, this was a face-to-face event. We do not provide online access for this series of events.

Download the programme

'Well organised conference, full of educational materials.'

Update in medicine – Loughborough 2024 delegate

RCP Update in medicine conferences are held across the UK and are delivered by the RCP regional team. These events are designed to provide high-quality education and allow attendees to stay abreast of clinical advancements in medicine, develop professional skills and network with colleagues.

Please note, this is a face-to-face event. We do not provide online access for this series of events.

Physicians and allied health professionals at all levels and across all medical specialties are welcome and encouraged to attend.

You do not have to be an RCP subscribing member to attend this event, but you may wish to consider becoming a member and benefiting from discounted registration fees. Become a member today and join our community of over 40,000 physicians around the world.

Discounts are available for those working less than full time or on maternity/paternity/adoption leave. Please contact the regional services team for more information and to apply: regionalservicesteam@rcp.ac.uk

Doctors in non-resident doctor posts (equivalent to FY, IMT or STR) who are RCP subscribing members can benefit from the resident doctor rate for this event, however this discount may not automatically apply during your booking. Please contact us for support.

Please visit the following for a location map and directions to the venue: Leicester Tigers. The venue is conveniently located just a 7-minute drive or 16-minute walk from Leicester train station. Car parking is available on-site, on a first come first served basis. The postcode for sat nav is LE2 7TR.

Please note that the venue is named Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium on its external signage.

Registered delegates will have access to the presentations we are given permission to share. Please log in and click on the 'attendee info' tab to view them.

Dr Anette Freyer

After an undergraduate degree in South Africa, Anette completed her PhD in Nottingham and trained in general internal medicine and clinical pharmacology and therapeutics. Whilst working as a consultant in acute medicine she also used her general medicine knowledge and skills in the maternal medicine antenatal clinic one day a week. With the introduction of the Maternal Medicine Networks by NHS England, Anette took up the lead obstetric physician role in the East Midlands full time. Her week consists of antenatal and preconception clinics, specialty MDTs, advice and guidance to primary and secondary care clinicians and coordination of care. She is delighted that the East Midlands has been designated as a national training centre for the obstetric medicine diploma and welcomes new fellows!

FRCP

Professor Anjan Dhar

Professor Anjan Dhar is a professor of medicine at Teesside University, consultant luminal gastroenterologist and advanced therapeutic endoscopist. He has been chair of education for the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) since 2020 and is currently deputy guidelines lead for the society. Between 2023–25 Anjan sat on the council of the BSG and was a member of the Executive Committee. He chaired the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) / British Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (BSGPHAN) guidelines for eosinophilic oesophagitis in 2022.

Professor Simon Conroy FRCP

Professor Simon Conroy is an academic geriatrician based in London. With colleagues, he has been awarded funding exceeding £23 million and has published over 230 peer-reviewed papers. He led the Acute Frailty Network in England (2015–21) and now leads a range of national improvement collaboratives in conjunction with NHS Elect. Simon’s ambition is to improve outcomes for older people living with frailty by embedding evidence-based medicine into clinical practice (‘campus to clinic’ translational research). His research addresses different models of holistic and patient-centred care, assessing feasibility as well as clinical and cost-effectiveness. His educational activities take an interdisciplinary perspective on developing and teaching[SB1.1] knowledge locally (frailty services), nationally and internationally. Implementation of research findings into clinical practice is key and best exemplified by work on the Silver Book and Silver Book II, the Acute Frailty Network and specialised clinical frailty networks.

FRCP

Dr Sarb Clare MBE FRCP

Dr Sarb Clare MBE is an acute medical consultant at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust. She has held numerous leadership positions including deputy medical director and NHSEI RCA AIM clinical adviser and is the president of the West Midlands Physicians Association – the first female president since inception 74 years ago. Sarb clinically led the move to the new acute super hospital Midland Metropolitan. She is a national pioneer in POCUS (point of care ultrasound), which she lectures and teaches on nationally via a course and free online learning tools. Sarb’s book, Ultrasound for the generalist: a guide to point of care imaging, with Cambridge University Press, is a culmination of 20 years of POCUS experience. She is passionate about leadership, gender and diversity workplace balance, as well as widening participation. She leads a ‘Women empowering women’ movement within medicine, hosts a podcast and has delivered a TEDx Talk. In 2020, Sarb was awarded an MBE Queens Honor for her service to the NHS and her leadership during the pandemic. Sarb has recently been appointed as a leputy lieutenant for the Midlands.

FRCP

Sue Armstrong

Suzanne Armstrong is an advanced clinical practitioner at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. She has worked as a specialist nurse and advanced practice in the field of arrhythmias for over 20 years. She has a passion for developing services to improve the patient experience and during this time has set up numerous arrhythmia services and developed the ACP role within cardiology arrhythmia clinics. For this work, Sue was nominated and won the bronze award in BJN cardiovascular nurse of the year 2023. More recently, she has been instrumental in setting up a virtual ward for atrial fibrillation patients, delivering acute level care to patients with fast heart rates within their home. The AF virtual ward service was awarded in AF Pioneers 2022, shortlisted in the HSJ Digital Awards 2023, won the HSJ Acute Innovation Award 2023 and has recently been shortlisted for the RCP Excellence in Patient Care awards.

Professor Najib Rahman FRCP

Professor Najib Rahman directs the Oxford Respiratory Trials Unit and works clinically as a pleural specialist. Having qualified in Oxford, he underwent the medical SHO rotation at Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, and re-joined Oxford as a specialist registrar in 2003. He was appointed director of the Oxford Respiratory Trials Unit and consultant lead for pleural disease in Oxford in 2011. Najib was appointed as professor of respiratory medicine in 2018, and runs randomised and observational studies in pleural infection, pneumothorax and malignant pleural effusion. He is trained in thoracoscopy, thoracic ultrasound and clinical trials methodology, and has published over 400 papers with over 20,000 citations and an H-index of 72. Najib is co-chair of the BTS pleural guidelines 2023, chair of the BTS Pleural Intervention Committee 2023, chair of multiple international guidelines on pleural disease, senior NIHR investigator and national speciality lead for respiratory research for the NIHR Research Delivery Network.

FRCP

Professor David Webb FRCP

Professor David Webb is a senior academic and clinical lead in one of the most research-active diabetes centres in the UK. As a principal investigator and member of the Leicester NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, he is actively involved in clinical research studies testing novel interventions in the treatment and prevention of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Additional interests include the early detection of diabetes and arterial pressure wave haemodynamics in glucose disorders. David is course director of the University of Leicester’s prestigious diabetes MSc programme and an academic lead for undergraduate medicine at Leicester Medical School. NHS duties include clinical lead for type 2 diabetes and obesity at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.

FRCP

Dr Aklak Choudhury FRCP

Dr Aklak Choudhury is deputy medical director for quality and safety and a respiratory consultant at University Hospitals Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust. He has an MSc in Medical Education focusing on how staff practice continuous improvement in acute healthcare environments. He is a QSIR associate and has been an associate editor for BMJ Open Quality. Aklak has mentored many trainee QI programmes and delivered virtual and face to face educational QI workshops locally and nationally. He is passionate about continuous quality improvement and strives to support the RCP development programme for improvement for the benefit of our members. With the support of the CQID team, Patient Carer Network and wider system partners, Aklak helps to develop and influence policy for our healthcare systems to better the patient experience.