West Midlands Public Health Training Conference 2026
A one-day in-person conference on the questions defining public health in the West Midlands — bringing registrars, educational supervisors, consultants, and the wider workforce into one room to shape what comes next.
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
Most of us in West Midlands public health spend the year working independently across different organisations — local authority, NHS, OHID, UKHSA, or academia. Shaping Tomorrow is the day we all share a space, see each other's work, meet representatives from the regional placements, and learn from people thinking hard about the bigger questions in public health. There will be more than 120 of us from registrars, consultants, educational supervisors, and anyone working in or curious about public health.
The programme this year has various keynotes (including an update from the Faculty of Public Health), panel discussions, insight-into-action workshops, and registrar presentations and posters. Find the themes of what we will be exploring in the conference below.
Working-age ill health and the regional economy
Multimorbidity is rising fastest in the working-age population, and the West Midlands carries some of the country's sharpest economic-inactivity gradients. The morning keynote and afternoon workshops bring evidence and lived practice together.
Holding the line against misinformation
Public trust in health institutions is shifting, and misinformation now travels faster than public health communication. A keynote and panel exploring what the next epidemic might look like, and what we'll need to be ready for it.
Registrar presentations, posters, and workshops
A showcase of placement-based work from registrars across the region — oral presentations, posters, and an insight-into-action workshop translating regional evidence into practical next steps.
Becoming the consultant you're training to be
A panel of early-career consultants on the transition from training into practice across academia, local authority, health protection, and healthcare settings.
Why attend
Three keynotes, two panel discussions, and insight-into-action workshops on the questions defining public health right now — from working-age health to misinformation, with substantive content you can take back to your own practice.
Spend the day with registrars, supervisors, and consultants from local authority, NHS, OHID, UKHSA, and academic settings across the West Midlands — the kind of cross-sector room that's hard to manufacture in any other setting.
Registrars are warmly invited to present or showcase a poster from their placement work, with structured time for feedback, conversation, and recognition from across the cohort.
Programme
Venue & travel
245 Broad Street, Birmingham, B1 2HQ
Around 8 minutes' walk from Birmingham New Street station, with nearby bus stops along Broad Street.
On-site and nearby paid parking is available — please check the hotel directly for current rates.
Step-free access and accessible parking available on site.
Plenty of food and drink across Broad Street, Brindleyplace, and The Mailbox — all within five minutes' walk. The Library of Birmingham, Symphony Hall, and Centenary Square are nearby for time before or after the day.
Join us
Places are booked through Accent, the regional training hub. The conference is open to public health specialty registrars and educational supervisors across the West Midlands, with other public health colleagues warmly welcome.
Registration deadline: Friday 3 July 2026
Booking takes about two minutes for existing Accent account holders, or around five minutes if you need to create one.
Dietary and accessibility requirements are captured during the Accent registration process. For anything you'd like to discuss directly or if you have trouble with the booking link, email wmphconference@gmail.com
Call for abstracts
Registrars across the West Midlands are warmly invited to present at this year's conference, either as an oral presentation or a poster. Prizes will be awarded for the best presentation and the best poster, both through a delegate-led voting system.
Deadline: Wednesday 17 June 2026, 23:59.Notification of acceptance by Monday 22 June 2026.
Voices from last year
Reflections from the 2025 conference.
I came away very inspired, from both the practical examples shared and new knowledge gained. I went straight back to the office and shared information with several colleagues.
A good mix of keynotes, registrar presentations and networking. It felt very inclusive and displayed a wide range of work.
This conference's networking is always more important and valuable than I appreciate. Really great to have so much buy in from consultants — the most valuable thing is who is there.
Registration is handled through Accent. Book early to secure your place.