Hope it's been a fantastic New Year for you all, our wonderful lifestyle medics! Read for January lifestyle medicine updates! 🧬
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January 2024
Welcome member to
Your home of lifestyle medicine news
Happy 2025! We hope you had a fantastic month to kick off the year, with lots happening and keeping cozy and active, eating well and achieving goals and new year's resolutions.
As always we want to take this opportunity to thank our growing Membership and this diverse, passionate community that has grown around us. We are grateful that month on month you follow our updates, contribute and build this fantastic and inclusive network across the UK and beyond!
Below is your guide to all things Lifestyle Medicine this month, insight into January at BSLM and also what's in store come for February!
In this month's Newsletter...
HEADLINE NEWS
BSLM 2025 is here!
We are delighted to announce that tickets for BSLM 2025 are now available to our members!
This year, our annual lifestyle medicine conference will be taking place in Brighton, over the usual packed 3-day programme from 18th to the 20th of September, we can't wait to see you all there!
Our comprehensive three-day programme will explore all key elements of the evidence-based lifestyle medicine approach, including:
- The 6 Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine
- The Skills of Lifestyle Medicine (including Group Consultations)
- Population Health Improvement, Public Health, and Behaviour Change
- Healthy Aging and Lifestyle Medicine throughout Life
- Lifestyle Medicine in practice
There really is no conference quite like this in the UK, one which brings together clinicians, scientists, researchers, health professionals and patients.
Full details (including a detailed breakdown) are available on the BSLM website. You can find the link below.
Please give our video and official launch on socials some love! Check out the video and interact with others/share far and wide below!
First stop:
SUPER EARLY BIRD TICKETS FOR BSLM 2025 NOW AVAILABLE TO MEMBERS ONLY!
With our Super Early Bird Tickets, there will never be a better time to book your place at BSLM 2025, offering the best value available for the conference. As members you are at the core of our community, so we are offering you all the opportunity to get your tickets first, and at the best rate!
LIFESTYLE MEDICINE IN FOCUS
Some noteworthy Lifestyle Medicine features within the recent news in Britain.
BSLM 2025: Members Message
We are delighted to announce that earlier this month, our Executive Director, Dr Fraser Quin and Chair Dr Frances Elliot came together and articulated the below message for our members.
They are expanding on what's in store, and what is the future for BSLM in 2025! If you haven't read it yet, catch the message here.
Call for Abstracts: BSLM25
We are looking for examples of original, important or relevant work in the areas of science, research, clinical application (including service improvement or audit projects) or public health. Successful applicants will be offered the opportunity to present a poster live at BSLM 2025, with top submissions offered main stage oral presenting opportunities.
Newest Releases available to read now!
The newest release in January are:
Cold Water Swimming and Pregnancy: A Scoping Review and Consensus Recommendations, released 13th of January.
You can also catch up on last year's successful abstract submissions in the journal!
We want to hear about your Lifestyle Medicine success stories!
Such a valuable part of our annual event. Once again, we’re inviting submissions for poster presentation abstracts which demonstrate the value of lifestyle medicine in clinical practice.
NHS Change: Our Group Consultation Update
Last month we created a buzz around the NHS Change Campaign and support resources to follow.
We've since followed up with a Resource Sheet: Support for NHS England employees submitting the “group clinic” idea to help shape the 10 Year Health Plan. We hope it's most useful for any submissions you're planning to make.
Make sure to check out the campaign video and also the blog release.
Other Lifestyle Medicine News and Events
In aid of October being Menopause Month..
Linwoods: Make A Better Start with Linwoods
Linwoods are here to help you get 2025 off to a great start, learn more about nutrition and create simple habits to support your health and wellness this year.
They have created a new Wellness Hub with help from leading health and wellness experts. This online resource is free and packed with healthy recipes, inspiring blogs, and handy tips. Covering topics from digestive health right through to heart health and many other needs, discover it now live on their website
Survey on the ION Post Graduate Diploma in Personalised Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine
We have a message from ION for you all:
"Are you a medic or allied healthcare professional interested in a fast-track postgraduate diploma in personalised nutrition and lifestyle medicine that can lead to Nutritional Therapy professional body membership and regulator registration?
Would you like the option to top up your post-graduate diploma to a Master’s degree in the future?
Your feedback is invaluable and will help shape future educational offerings that meet the needs of professionals like you.
We invite you to participate in a short survey that will only take about 5 minutes of your time."
Apply
Leading through transformation in uncertain times can be incredibly daunting. That’s why ShinyMind has developed The 5 C’s of Change - a new psychotherapeutic three-day hybrid programme, building on the success of our Agents of Change and Platform for Transformation leadership programmes. Designed to help leaders navigate uncertainty with confidence, this programme fosters a culture of creativity, adaptability, and innovation while equipping them to make bold, values-driven decisions. Launching in March, The 5 C’s of Change programme empowers leaders to drive meaningful transformation, act with integrity, and advocate for both patients and system change.
Get in touch with ShinyMind to learn more!
Yoga4NHS: An Update
The Yoga in Healthcare Alliance charity offers free Yoga4NHS staff wellbeing courses which are delivered live on Zoom and which are accredited as CPD by the Royal College of GPs. We are currently enrolling 150 staff for our next set of courses running for 6 weeks from Thursday 27th February 2025 (6-7pm, or 7.30-8.30pm). A second set of Yoga4NHS staff wellbeing courses will run from Thursday 24th April 2025.
These courses are part of a Westminster University study into the effectiveness of Yoga4NHS staff wellbeing, so participants will be asked to answer some questionnaires about their wellbeing and experience of the programme. Staff who enroll on Yoga4NHS are supported with access to home practice resources during and after the programme, and receive Royal College of GPs-accredited certification.
To join these courses, please follow this link and then click on the Westminster University courses.
Justobe: Another hello & Talk upcoming
Shubhada Suri, one of the two Justobe Teachers, is speaking at our Lifestyle Medicine and Cancer event on the 4th of February.
Justobe run courses that explain mindfulness, discuss stress physiology and neuroscience, experientially teach the skills of meditation, explore how it can be applied to day-to-day work and life situations and suggest it to others appropriately including signposting to key resources. Their courses are interactive with group work.
Interested? To find out more please follow the link below & hope to see you at our event in February!
LATEST NEWS AT BSLM
We've included some updates below to give you an idea of what we've been up to & updates for you.
BSLM Responds: The Elective Reform Plan announced on 6 January by NHS England (NHSE) and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC)
In January, BSLM did a press release via response piece to The Elective Reform Plan announced on 6 January by NHS England (NHSE) and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).
An excerpt:
"BSLM welcomes the publication of the Elective Reform Plan setting out how the elective care for patients in England will be reformed and how an NHS fit for the future will be built.
The plan’s emphasis on person-centred care, putting patients at the heart of the proposals, is welcome as this is a key principle of lifestyle medicine which uses a holistic approach in consultations with patients to understand what is important to them for their own health and care."
If you haven't read this yet, do so on our website below.
BSLM Membership Now Approved For Tax Relief
We are pleased to announce that the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine (BSLM) has been approved by the Commissioners for HM Revenue and Customs under Section 344 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 with effect from 6 April 2022.
Please reach out to the office for a copy of your receipt if needed at office@bslm.org.uk or hit the button below.
Lifestyle Medicine & Cancer Study Day: Patient tickets
Whilst BSLM’s education and events are mostly focused on empowering the HCP to support patients or people living with Cancer (and other non-communicable diseases), we’d like to offer each Delegate, the opportunity to share a ticket with one of their patients should they wish.
We hope this offers Patients enough information to gain awareness of how they can improve their own lifestyles and work together with you, as their Clinician on integrating lifestyle medicine interventions into their treatment or recovery plan.
If you are attending the event and this sounds of interest to you, please do get in touch with us below.
What's happening in Our Communities?
Voices of Lived Experience: Introducing the team
We’d like to introduce to you another member of the ‘BSLM Voice of Lived Experience’ group, comprised of passionate individuals who have all used lifestyle medicine to manage, and even reverse, a chronic illness or condition.
We have a fantastic feature from Tom Rootes, who is sharing his voice as part of our Lifestyle Medicine and Cancer event next Tuesday.
We can't wait to hear of Tom's experience and his own personal Lifestyle Medicine journey, alongside how Lifestyle Medicine helped recover from both cancer and a spinal cord injury.
We hope to share with you soon more resources and personal experiences in exciting ways - watch this space!
Our monthly Live Well Update
With the Live Well East Lothian Team
Hear it from the Live Well East Lothian participants!
Their classes are taken by specialist GP exercise referral instructors in local areas that really make a difference for those who attend these community efforts. Gentle exercise for healthy ageing, maintaining strength and balance, preventing falls and staying social - how Lifestyle Medicine!
Our Podcasts
Microbiome Medics Newest Release:
Ep.22 - Microbiome Science for the Future: A Discussion with Dr. Jack Gilbert
The Movement Prescription Podcast are back! Their Newest release:
Ep.26 -WildStrong: An Inclusive Community of Movement with Andrew Telfer
Every time one of the podcasts above are released we'll be updating the newsletter so keep an eye out for updates here too for your monthly listening fix!
Recommended listen:
FEATURED BSLM EVENTS
Head to the dedicated BSLM events page for the full list of upcoming events
Welcome back to Webinar Season!
.. we look forward to welcoming you again in February- announcing soon!
We hope you enjoyed our January return:
Our previous Webinars are below if you want to catch up on them!
Other Events
Schedule the below in your diary for February 2025!
We hope you can also find time for any of the below if they are of interest!
BSLM's Lifestle Medicine and Cancer Study Day
Online Seminar: Trellis
Talk 6: February 12th 25 - Lifelong learning – How the continual renewal of skills benefits us all
ELC Works - Masterclass combining group clinics with structured education
13th February @ 12.45-2pm - Online
London Regional meet
25th February @ 8pm - Nature/outdoor webinar
Best Practice 2025
Beyond Pain – Empowering Patients Transforming Care: Accredited by us!
Diabetes UK Conference 2025
Trellis Therapeutic Horticulture Conference 2025
Learning Academy
An Update From Our Learning Academy Team
It’s been another busy month for the Learning Academy. You will have no doubt seen the social medial posts about our recently released courses - Lifestyle Medicine Foundations and our Start up course, and our seminars as below:
Lifestyle Medicine Study Days and Workshops
Lifestyle Medicine Start Up Course
Core Accreditation Pathway Lifestyle Medicine: Foundations Course
MOC LMCA
The maintenance of certification (MOC) modules are also now live - these are really important if you have studied the Core Accreditation/IBLM diploma with us before, to ensure your qualification remains valid beyond 10 years. They are also an excellent way to evidence keeping up to date for your professional appraisal!
And now a couple of opportunities:
Do you have an interest in social prescribing? BSLM President Dr Alex Maxwell has been kind enough to write us a course on social prescribing and we are looking for a passionate member with strong knowledge of this subject to help us give it a final BSLM Learning Academy polish as a joint writer. If you would like the opportunity to get this on your CV we would love to hear from you.
We are also looking to appoint a BSLM learner panel to help us continue to deliver a brilliant experience and make our Learning Academy even better. We anticipate that this group will meet quarterly. If you have learned with us on any of our courses then we would love you to join, with the opportunity to acquire Learning Academy credit by way of thanks for your time. Spots are limited so get in touch ASAP.
If you are interested in either of these opportunities, please get in touch with us via office@bslm.org.uk (or via the button below)
From Dr Angharad Kate Woolley
Clinical Director, BSLM Learning Academy
Thought about doing our Core Accreditation?
NHS NETWORKS
Top News Stories in December
Neighbourhood health guidelines
Alongside the operational planning guidance, guidelines have been published to help integrated care boards, local authorities and health and care providers continue to progress neighbourhood health in 2025/26 in advance of the publication of the 10 Year Health Plan.
Norovirus cases keeping pressure on hospitals high
Norovirus levels in hospitals in England are 80% higher than the same period last year. Data shows that 784 patients a day were in hospital with norovirus week ending 19 January 2025, up from 650 the previous week. Levels are up almost 80% compared to the same period last year (438 in 2024), and are the highest seen in hospitals in any January since 2020.
The UK’s corridor care crisis
This report documents the experiences of more than 5,000 NHS nursing staff following a survey at the end of December 2024.
Email us - office@bslm.org.uk
