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June 2008

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10th UK International Hepatitis C Conference:
Pioneering Treatment and Prevention outside the comfort zone

3-4 June 2008
Derby

This two-day event has a full programme of international speakers covering a range of topics including:

Migrating and Mitigating HCV Politics:
The opening session of the conference will focus on tackling hepatitis C in terms of current political environments, infrastructure and impact at global level.

Scratching the Surface of HCV Case Finding:
Explore national testing programmes for hepatitis C and lessons learned so far with speakers invited from France and Australia. A significant question and answer component has been built into this session to enable effective plenary discussion.

Mental Health & Social Care for Successful Testing & Treatment:
A crucial area in relation to modern care pathways for hepatitis C. This afternoon session on day one will discuss requirements for social care and mental health professionals, focusing on individuals from a drug using back ground when developing testing and treatment initiatives for hepatitis C.

Engaging at Risk Groups for HCV:
Approaches to engage different risk groups and communities will be discussed, evidence, considerations and experiences presented in this key area which underlies all national/regional strategies and action plans.

National Action Plans - Marrying Best Practice and Cost Effectiveness:
The opening session of day two will discuss costed models to tackled hepatitis C in the context of developing and implementing national action plans.
Details of financial and infrastructure requirements will be examined. The feasibility of assessing harm reduction measures for HCV in this context will also be explored. A significant question and answer component has been built into this session to enable effective plenary discussion

Harm Reduction Interventions and Lessons Learned:
An innovative session that will explore the implementation, considerations, experiences and lessons learned so far in relation to 24 hour provision and harm reduction initiatives in prison settings. The session will focus on vending machines and needle exchange in prison within this broader context.

Is Community Anti-Viral Therapy the Future Model for HCV Treatment?:
Treatment models for hepatitis C will be compared and explored with speakers invited from Egypt, UK and Australia to discuss their experiences of implementation, results and lessons learned so far.

Social Session - Conference Debate:
Debate topic: Is Drug Use a Medical or Legal Problem?

See http://hepccentre.org.uk/International%20Conference/intconfflyer.html

Contact: Pauline Hennessy, tel 0141 353 6969 or email international@hepccentre.org.uk

Improving your community... getting children and young people involved

6 June
Edinburgh

This training workshop is organised Children in Scotland to encourage children and young people's engagement in community planning, development & regeneration

It will look at encouraging the effective engagement of children and young people in community planning, development and regeneration. Participants will be provided with practical examples, ideas and activities from the DIY Guide to improving your community getting children and young people involved, a tried and tested 'toolkit' for the effective engagement of children and young people within their local community.

A copy of the toolkit is included in the workshop price.

The workshop programme will include:

methodologies for introducing the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child to children and young people
practical ways to help children and young people critically assess their communities
activities to enable young people to gather information, highlight themes, agree and prioritise common issues
supporting a group of young people to take collective action in order to bring about change.

Contact: for more details, see www.childreninscotland.org.uk/html/tra_tshow.php?ref=1110

Drugs and Alcohol Today Scotland

10 June
Glasgow (Braehead Arena)

The overall theme of this year’s conference is recovery, with a range of seminars to reflect this.

Topics to be covered include:

co-morbidity
alcohol brain damage and dementia
residential care as part of a treatment plan
role of primary care in alcohol delivery
wraparound services
harm reduction
steroid use
hidden populations
keynote address: drug strategy
support services in rural communities
prostitution in public places bill
working with families
working with young people
working in partnership with criminal justice authorities
what do you need from recovery services?

Download programme and booking form here (PDF 590kb)

Contact: tel 0870 890 1080 or exhibitions@pavpub.com

Hepatitis C Briefing Event

11 June
Musselburgh

C Plus Mainliners, in partnership with Mid and East Lothian Drugs, East Lothian Drug and Alcohol Action Team and Midlothian Drug and Alcohol Action Team, will be hosting a Hepatitis C Briefing Event at The Quay in Musselburgh from 12.30pm to 4pm.

Dr Sharon Hutchison from Health Protection Scotland will provide feedback on the Scottish Hepatitis C Action Plan Phase ll and Mike Massaro-Mallinson from NHS Lothian will provide an update on Hepatitis C in Lothian.

Download a booking form here (Word 1.03MB)

Contact: David Cameron, tel dcameron@mainliners.org.uk or tel 0131 478 7929

An Introduction to Child Protection Procedure

11 June
Glasgow

This one-day workshop is organised by Children in Scotland (www.childreninscotland.org.uk) to give participants a basic introduction to child protection procedures.

It explores the steps that organisations should take where there are concerns that a child could be at risk of harm/abuse. It also explains where the recommended procedures come from and why organisations should endeavour to follow them if they are to make an effective contribution to the protection of children.

The workshop will be supported by a resource pack.

Contact: Children in Scotland tel 0131 222 2426 or email: training@childreninscotland.org.uk

Information Seminar on Big Lottery Fund Research Programme

11 June
Edinburgh

This is the Scottish date for a series of seminars for organisations interested in applying to the Research programme.

The seminars will include an explanation of the grants available, the pr ogramme timetable, on-line application process and the support available to applicants. There will also be opportunities for delegates to discuss the application process and programme requirements.

The seminars are open to voluntary and community sector organisations and the research community. Delegates must register in advance to attend using the attached registration form. Places at all venues are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Deadline for replies is 30 May.

The Edinburgh event will take place between 10.30am and 2pm.

The application form can be downloaded here (Word 33kb).

Contact: Georgina Webb, tel 0870 190 6318 email blf_research_programme@uk.aeat.com

Scotland’s population health challenges: smoking, alcohol, obesity and inequality

12 June
Glasgow

Unhealthy lifestyles are not restricted to any one group within Scottish society, but their worst effects are undoubtedly suffered by the people who also experience the highest levels of poverty.

Scots’ chances of enjoying good health vary hugely depending on where they live, with people in the poorest communities having the lowest expectation of a healthy life.

Can the detrimental health effects of alcohol, tobacco, obesity and other lifestyle factors be considered in isolation, or is it impossible to separate them from the health, social and economic inequalities that surround them?

The Scottish Government has said that breaking cycles of economic and health inequalities is one of its leading priorities. This conference will address the complex relationship between lifestyles, life circumstances, social status and health, examine the ways in which they manifest themselves in Scotland today and take a closer look at strategies and action for change.

Delegates will have the opportunity to debate the issues with expert panellists, and welcome Dr Brian Gibbs from Harvard University, who will talk about the inspiring collaborative work that his Center for the Elimination of Health Disparities is undertaking with deprived communities in Massachusetts.

Keynote Speakers:

Dr Brian K. Gibbs, Center for the Elimination of Health Disparities, Harvard University
Professor Richard Wilkinson, Professor of Social Epidemiology, University of Nottingham
Dr Laurence Gruer, Director of Public Health Science, NHS Health Scotland
Ken Corsar, Chair, NHS Lanarkshire

Contact: populationhealth@holyrood.com or tel 0131 272 2133.

7th Annual CARES (Centre for Addiction Research & Education Scotland) Conference

13 June
Dundee

The registration process will be online and all subsequent correspondence will be by email.

Contact: www.regonline.co.uk/7thCARESconference

Pathways to Recovery seminars

30 January
28 February
26 March
30 April
22 May
25 June
Stirling

Pathways to Recovery is a unique series of seminars presented by the University of Stirling’s Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research and Scottish Addiction Studies which brings some of the leading figures in the addiction field to debate the issue of “recovery” – what does recovery mean; can recovery be achieved; and if so, how? All events will take place in the Iris Murdoch Building at the University of Stirling and are free and open to all with an interest in addiction and recovery.

Pathways to Recovery will bring together practitioners, academics and researchers and criminal justice professions to examine how drug cessation is defined and measured and what significance analyses of ‘recovery’ can offer to our understanding of individual, institutional and structural concepts of health and wellbeing.

Full details available of all seminars on the Pathways website at: http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/old-site/DRUGS/pathways/index2.html

Contact: p.r.yates@stir.ac.uk

The provisional programme is:

Understanding Diversity and Recovery in a Historical Context
25 June

Griffith Edwards, Assistant Commissioning Editor, Addiction; former Director and founder of the National Addiction Centre, London ; former Editor-in-Chief, Addiction; and author of Alcohol: the world's favourite drug will speak on An historical perspective on recovery (provisional title).

Rowdy Yates & Margaret Malloch, Facilitators of the Pathways to Recovery seminar series. Prospective editors of Pathways to Recovery – based upon the seminar series will speak on Understanding recovery in a 21st Century context.

Club Health 2008 - the 5th International Conference on Nightlife, Substance Use and Related Health Issues

23-25 June
Ibiza

Chief Superintendent John Carnochan, Head of Scotland’s Violence Reduction Unit, is among the key speakers at this event. This year’s key themes are:

Emerging trends in recreational drug use
Reducing binge drinking and drunkenness
Preventing violence in nightlife environments
Sex and substance use
Design, management and policing of nightlife
Legislating nightlife environments
Health interventions in night time environments
International nightlife tourism
Club culture

Club Health 2008 aims to promote safer nightlife by providing a forum for the exchange of information on the latest research, policy and evidence on protecting health and preventing crime in nightlife environments. A full plenary programme will also be available shortly on the conference web site www.clubhealth.org.uk but confirmed plenary speakers already include:

- Dr Amador Calafat, Irefrea European Research Network, Spain
- Dr David Caldicott, Emergency Research Fellow, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Australia
- Chief Superintendent John Carnochan, Head of the Violence Reduction Unit, Scotland
- Johanna Gripenberg, STAD Project, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
- Dr Chris Luke, Accident & Emergency Consultant, Cork University Hospital, Ireland

Contact: visit www.clubhealth.org.uk or contact either Karen Hughes (k.e.hughes@ljmu.ac.uk) or Henry Edwards (h.k.edwards@ljmu.ac.uk).

Making the Case for Housing Support Services

25 June
Edinburgh

Scottish Council for Single Homeless is organising this conference which looks at housing support issues in light of the new Concordat between the Scottish Government and local authorities. The Concordat has removed the ring fence around funding for the Supporting People programme but SCSH says that while local authorities now have greater freedom to decide how to spend that money, so there is no guarantee that housing support services will continue to receive funding.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Government’s newly-announced drug strategy – which will focus on recovery for people seeking treatment - has also acknowledged the need for greater emphasis on non-medical support care to help people exit from problem drug use.

This conference will examine:

How can housing support services make the best case to protect or increase their funding against competing priorities?
What do they need to do to make an effective case?

You can download the flyer and booking form here (Word 84KB)