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This conference aimed at senior clinicians, clinical directors, responsible officers, medical directors and clinical leads, focuses on managing and supporting doctors in difficulty. Managing colleagues in difficulty can be challenging and stressful. This conference aims to support you to identify concerns early, and ensure effective intervention and support doctors who are experiencing difficulty.
“We know that the environments in which doctors, PAs and AAs work affect the care they’re able to provide. Someone who is working under extreme pressure will not deliver the quality of care they’d aspire to.. Using our influence to improve doctors’ experiences and working environments is a core part of our duty to protect patients…Doctor wellbeing is fundamentally an issue of patient safety. As we’ve seen all too often, the consequences of not giving culture the attention it warrants are profoundly serious.”
General Medical Council
“Our data show that doctors’ wellbeing continues to be a concern… Put simply, too many doctors are burnt out and struggling, too many find themselves victims of discrimination, and too many are considering leaving UK practice. And the combination of these issues creates real risks to patient care.”
GMC Sept 2025
“It is sometimes forgotten that doctors and medical students can be unwell, just like anybody else. However, they often push themselves into work and training despite not feeling well enough or able to perform at their best, due to a combination of weaknesses in the healthcare system, inflexible working and training practices and the moral pressures they experience in a culture shaped by self-sacrifice. Meanwhile, disability is likely significantly under reported in the medical profession, with workplace disclosure far from widespread owing to fears of unfavourable treatment…While some doctors and medical students can access health and wellbeing support, it is likely that not all who would benefit from support can or do access it.”
BMA 2026
“We know that a pressured working environment can impact on a practitioner’s ability to perform well, put strain on working relationships and lead to physical and mental health problems.”
Practitioner performance advice, NHS Resolution 2025
Through national updates, case studies from experienced Medical and Clinical Directors, and in depth interactive sessions this conference will enable senior clinicians to manage concerns and work with doctors in difficulty, support doctors with health or mental health issues, embedding effective teamworking and manage conduct issues. Extended interactive sessions will focus on managing and supporting doctors in difficulty, doctors experiencing physical or mental health concerns, and managing and working with difficult colleagues. The conference will also update delegates on employment law, the May 2025 GMC fitness to practice guidance and look at resolution of concerns around professional practice including remedial and developmental action.
“My neurodevelopmental disorder is lifelong. It’s not going to disappear, but medical careers might if the system, and the support it offers us, resists change.“
Catriona McVey, Medical Student speaking to the BMJ
The conference includes an extended focus on supporting neurodiversity and ADHD in Doctors. It is estimated that around 15% of people in the UK are neurodivergent and so it is vital that neurodivergent doctors are supported in an inclusive workplace.
This conference will enable you to:
Network with colleagues who are working support doctors in difficulty
Reflect on a lived experience perspective
Developing your skills in compassionate leadership
Embed the 2025 GMC Guidance to ensure greater clarity and consistency in handling of fitness to practise concerns
Learn from outstanding practice in working with doctors to tackle unprofessional, difficult or disruptive behaviours which can impact on patient safety and outcomes
Understand the impact of current workforce pressures and ensure enhanced support
Develop practical solutions to bring joy back into day to day practice
An extended session on developing your skills to better support Neurodiverse Doctors
Fatigue and Burnout: Looking after yourself and your colleagues
Explore the practicalities of managing doctors in difficulty from a Medical Directors perspective
Improve the way concerns are identified and responded to
Gain an understanding of the support available to support poorly performing clinicians
Support Doctors to improve teamworking and their place within the team
Understand how you can improve support for doctors experiencing mental health, physical health or clinical performance ncerns
Supporting international medical graduates and doctors who qualified outside the UK
Identify key strategies for enabling resolution and remedial/developmental action
Understand the HR and Legal context
Supports CPD professional development and acts as revalidation evidence. This course provides 5 Hrs training for CPD subject to peer group approval for revalidation purposes
