Final call to register for CVRM Professional Care as conference chair announces collaboration is key to helping sustain the NHS

The organisers of an inaugural conference which will bring together experts in diabetes, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic care have issued a final call to secure one of the last remaining tickets.

With weeks to go until CVRM Professional Care 2026, healthcare professionals who are keen to attend have been encouraged to book soon to avoid disappointment, as places are limited.

The conference, which is the only event combining cardiovascular, renal and metabolic care under one roof, will be held at Olympia, London on October 20 and 21 and is set to attract 1,500 delegates.

With three dedicated theatres covering prevention, innovation, therapeutic advances and integrated care pathways, the programme offers opportunities to learn from real-world examples, hear expert perspectives and discover new approaches to improving outcomes for people living with long-term conditions.

Delegates will hear from leading clinicians, academics and healthcare professionals on topics spanning artificial intelligence (AI), health inequalities and disease prevention.

Sessions have been designed to encourage collaboration across specialisms and provide practical insights that can be applied across healthcare settings.

Matt Hodgins, Event Director for CVRM Professional Care, said: “The response we’ve had so far has blown us away and is a clear demonstration that there is an appetite for an event of this kind.

“We are proud to be leading from the front when it comes to bringing together specialists spanning CVRM care. Delegates will gain practical, real-world strategies to deliver holistic care for patients, transforming outcomes and improving the lives of people living with life-long conditions.”

Delegates will gain six hours of continuing professional development (CPD) for attending one day of the conference and 12 hours for attending both days.

The programme will open with Dr Kevin Fernando exploring what CVRM means for the future of integrated care before delving into some of the key issues affecting clinical practice today.

Delegates can gain practical guidance on developing and delivering CVRM services, including insights from the team at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on building a successful CVRM clinic.

Innovation is a key theme throughout the programme, with sessions examining the role of AI in CVRM care, emerging approaches to cardiovascular disease prevention and the opportunities presented by closer working between primary and secondary care.

The programme will also explore how healthcare professionals can better support diverse populations and address health inequalities through integrated CVRM approaches.

Whether you are looking for practical solutions, strategic insights or the latest thinking in CVRM care, the programme has been designed to support healthcare professionals working across the full patient pathway.

To view the full programme and to book a place, visit the CVRM Professional Care website: https://www.cvrmprofessionalcare.uk.

Collaboration is key to CVRM care and will help sustain the NHS, according to conference chair Dr Kevin Fernando

Breaking down siloed approaches to cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) care will not only benefit patients but will ease pressure on clinicians and NHS resources, the chair of CVRM Professional Care will discuss at the upcoming conference.

Dr Kevin Fernando, a Portfolio GP with an Extended Role in Diabetes at NHS Lothian, specialises in the management of type 2 diabetes, obesity and weight management along with all CVRM conditions.

He will deliver a session entitled ‘Defining CVRM’ at CVRM Professional Care.

Dr Fernando, who hopes to raise the profile of integrated care in CVRM with his primary care colleagues, will outline what it looks like and how crucial it is.

While his passion has always been diabetes, Dr Fernando said he realised very early on in his career that the condition is very often only one part of the picture.

He said: “Diabetes rarely comes by itself. Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death for people with diabetes, while up to 40 per cent of people with diabetes have evidence of kidney disease, so we must not look at these conditions individually. We have to look at a patient holistically and manage these conditions together.”

Dr Fernando points to how current diabetes guidance reflect this, with recent updates to NICE guidelines encouraging clinicians to look beyond the traditional markers of glycaemia and glucose, and explore the presence of significant, associated long term conditions.

He said: “I would say that integrated, holistic care is not just important, it’s mandatory. Otherwise, the result is fragmented care for someone living with diabetes which could impact both their quality and quantity of life.

“It’s also not sustainable from an NHS resource perspective because when you look at these conditions in isolation, it generates multiple referrals, multiple blood tests and so on.”

Education, such as the CVRM Professional Care conference, is key to breaking down the barriers to integrated care, Dr Fernando says.

“We have been talking about this joined up approach for several years, but it remains to be implemented on a widespread basis and that’s due to a number of barriers,” he said.

“Many areas are still very silo-driven – there needs to be greater working between primary and secondary care, and between specialties in secondary care. This will take collaboration, joint quality improvement activities and more joined-up education. Our patients don’t present in silo so our own education should not be approached in silo.

“That’s what I’m looking forward to at CVRM Professional Care – more integrated, joined-up education across the CVRM sphere.”

Delegates at the conference will hear from other speakers about centres of excellence where integrated care is at the heart of practice, and how these models can be implemented elsewhere in the county.

Dr Fernando’s session, ‘Defining CVRM’, will take place on October 20, from 9.15am to 10am in the Keynote Theatre.

For more information and to register for the conference, visit https://www.cvrmprofessionalcare.uk