Event: Virtual air quality conference for health professionals now FREE as ticket costs waived

An accredited online medical conference bringing together some of the country’s top air pollution experts will now be free to attend on October 4, after event organisers announced they were waiving ticket costs so that more health professionals could benefit from cutting-edge insights that could improve health outcomes.

‘Every Breath You Treat’ is believed to be the first professionally accredited virtual conference focused on air quality for UK health professionals. It will explore the health effects of air pollution over the life course, from preconception to the later years of life with a packed agenda of presentations and plenary sessions featuring consultants, researchers, and other medical professionals.

The free event is specifically designed for those working in, studying, or researching medicine or public health anywhere in the country. It has been formally recognised as contributing towards accredited continuous professional development (CPD) by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), in accordance with their respective CPD guidelines.

Individuals must book their free place online by registering their details on the Every Breath You Treat event page. Registered attendees will receive a custom link to join the event on the day.

Key areas the renowned line-up of expert speakers will examine include the effects of air pollutants on conception and fertility, pregnancy, young people, long term conditions, the cardiovascular system, the respiratory system, diabetes, and cognitive decline.

Leeds City Council’s Health Protection team and Sustainable Energy and Air Quality team planned and coordinated the digital conference in support of the authority’s Leeds Air Quality Strategy 2021-2030. The U.K.’s third largest city has identified tackling air pollution and protecting those most vulnerable as a priority for its policymakers and public health professionals.

The local authority has now published a full list of confirmed speakers. These are:

• Professor Sir Stephen Holgate, PRC clinical Professor, UKRI Clean Air Champion and Special Advisor to the RP on Air Quality, Faculty of Medicine at University of Southampton
• Dr Jonathan Grigg, Professor of Paediatric Respiratory and Environmental Medicine at Queen Mary University of London
• Dr Jim McQuaid, Deputy Head of School (Research Funding and Infrastructure) at the School of Earth and Environment at University of Leeds
• Adam Balen MBBS, MD, DSc, FRCOG, Professor of Reproductive Medicine and Surgery at Leeds Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust
• Dr Shiva Sivavubramaniam, Head of Biomedical and Forensic Science at University of Derby
• Dr Mark R Miller, Reader in Air Pollution and Health at University of Edinburgh.
• Professor Barbara A Maher, Lancaster Environment Centre at University of Lancaster
• Dr Ian Mudway, member of the MRC Centre for Environment and Health at Imperial College London
• Dr Ian Clifton, Consultant Respiratory Physician at Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust and Honorary Senior Lecturer at School of Medicine, University of Leeds
• Dr Vadivel Pathsarathy, Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Science at University of Derby
• Amanda Craswell, Environmental Public Health Scientist at UK Health and Security Agency
• Dr Malcolm White, Clean Air Specialist at Global Action Plan
• Cllr Salma Arif, Executive Member for Public Health at Leeds City Council

As AirQualityNews readers will know, air pollution is one of the major environmental determinants of health according to the UKHSA and the issue regularly makes the headlines. 

In 2013, Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah became the first person to have air pollution listed on her death certificate after suffering a fatal asthma attack aged nine. However, evidence shows that air pollution contributes to between 28,000 and 36,000 early deaths a year across the country. 

For further details about the schedule and to book your free place at this exciting event, please visit: Every Breath You Treat – Oct 04 | Hopin