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18 February 2026West Midlands
FOR SOM MEMBERS ONLY £35
Following our successful visit to Emma Bridgewater pottery in January 2025, we have tied down a similar visit to the World of Wedgwood in Staffordshire for a factory tour followed by afternoon tea on Wednesday 18th February 2026.
The factory tour will begin at 2.30pm, followed by afternoon tea at 3.30pm. Spaces are limited to 13 people on a first come, first served basis. Please only book on if you can make it.
This is an opportunity to meet fellow SOM members in a friendly and relaxed environment.
Unfortunately, there is no Occupational health person available for the tour, however the guide will be able to answer questions as we go round. You will interact with some of the workers, many of whom have worked there for 30+ years and they will chat about the many processes and range of skills on the factory.
There is no photography allowed on the factory however.
You can find out more about the tour online here https://www.worldofwedgwood.com/
SOM Members ONLY. If you are not a member, please join here www.som.org.uk
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18 February 2026Webinar
FREE for SOM Members (please log in on the SOM website first).
Summary
There is an emerging picture of overlap e.g. autism, ADHD and health issues such as chronic fatigue, brain-fog, concentration, anxiety difficulties. Overlapping symptoms can confuse psychological with physiological causes. Neurodivergent people, who are more likely to have hypermobility, connective tissue and autoimmune conditions, have also been disproportionately impacted by long COVID, which can exacerbate or bring on these symptoms.
The rise in neurodiversity cases since the pandemic is in part due to increased awareness, but also because psychiatric symptoms have worsened due to this overlap. Very little is known about these emerging co-occurrences but preliminary evidence suggests that we can get people back to work and improve their capacity with a range of simple treatments, escalating to more complex interventions such as rTMS for the most severely affected.
Given the absence crisis, identification of cases in Occupational Health and correct referral to treatment could be transformational. Follow this link for an introductory paper on the overlap between neurodiversity and inflammatory conditions, and how these affect cognition and functioning: Prevalence and treatment response of neuropsychiatric disorders in mast cell activation syndrome - ScienceDirect
Chair: Dr Nancy Doyle C. Psychol.
Nancy Doyle holds a visiting Professorship at Birkbeck and is a Registered Occupational Psychologist. She founded Genius Within, a neurodiversity at work specialist consultancy business which sees thousands of referrals each year. Nancy has reached out to the medical profession to try to understand why, after 25 years in practice, she is suddenly seeing not just a rise in cases, but an increase in severity of concentration and fatigue within her client group.
Nancy will be joined by Dr Stephanie Barrett, an award winning, highly trained and widely experienced consultant rheumatologist and general physician and an industry leader in the field of rheumatology, osteoporosis and inflammatory arthritis.She is an expert in Fibromyalgia, hypermobility and Post-Covid fatigue. Dr Barrett is at the forefront of new technologies and treatments for conditions such as Fibromyalgia, chronic pain and post-Covid fatigue. She is a specialist in rTMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation).
Formerly a lead consultant of rheumatology at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, she is currently the Medical Director of the Chelsea Rheumatology Clinic and founder of The Brainwave Clinic in Harley Street, working with like minded rheumatology colleagues. She is included in all the published Tatler’s 250 top doctors guides.FREE for ALL. You will then be sent the joining link.
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23 February 2026Webinar
FREE for SOM Members (please log in on the SOM website first).
Session details:
This webinar promotes the recently published SOM guidance on Occupational Health Audits (here) with the aim of bringing it to life for a wider audience.
The session will showcase the document’s practical application. Hilary Winch will chair the webinar, with Jane Manders providing a brief overview of the guidance, followed by Emma McCollum and Chris Terry sharing how they have implemented it in practice.
Speaker bios:
Chris Terry is a nurse by background with a special interest in ergonomics and human factors. He has worked in various occupational health roles for the past twenty years. For the last 13 years he has been a director at Insight Workplace Health. Outside of work he has a family and enjoys adventure sports such as mountaineering.
Jane Manders is an experienced occupational health specialist with 17 years in the field. Originally from South Africa, Jane holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing and a BA in Occupational Health Practice from Robert Gordon University. She has worked across the rail and construction sectors and is currently an Occupational Health Business Partner at Mitie, a leading facilities management company with over 72,000 employees. Jane has previously played a key role in achieving SEQOHS and RISQS accreditations for occupational health services and has completed ISO 9001 Internal Auditor Training. In 2023, she further demonstrated her commitment to quality by earning a Master’s degree in Strategic Quality Management from the University of Portsmouth.
Emma McCollum is a Consultant Occupational Health Physician working in the NHS and industry. She is Secretary of ALAMA and a FOM Regional Specialty Adviser (South West). She supports medical education in the Trust as an Educational Supervisor for specialty trainees and Foundation doctors. She contributed to the FOM SEQOHS review and Trust SEQOHS reaccreditation. Outside work, she enjoys spending time with family, walking and hockey.
Chair: Hilary WinchFREE for SOM Members (please log in on the SOM website). You will then be sent the join link.
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02 March 2026East Midlands
FOR SOM MEMBERS ONLY
Lunaz is an electric vehicle company which restores and remasters luxury British cars including, Rolls Royce, Bentley and Jaguar.
SOM has arranged an exclusive tour of the Lunaz factory on Monday 2nd March 2026 commencing at 2PM.
Spaces are free to SOM members but limited to the first 24 individuals to book on.
Lunaz has an onsite Health & Safety employee. Details of whether photography will be allowed tbc.
You can find out more online here https://bylunaz.com/
SOM Members ONLY. If you are not a member, please join here https://www.som.org.uk/membership
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05 August 2026Overseas
The 24th Asian Congress on Occupational Health (ACOH) will be held on the 5th - 8th August 2026 at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) in Sarawak, Malaysia.
With the theme ”Shaping a Sustainable Future: Global Perspectives on Occupational Health", this triennial congress promises insightful discussions, knowledge sharing, and collaboration opportunities aimed at advancing the field of Occupational Health in the region.
The congress will comprise keynote sessions, plenaries, symposiums, poster and oral presentations with invited speakers from all over the globe.
The event is expected to draw more than 1,200 international and local participants comprising practitioners in Occupational Health, Occupational Medicine, Industrial Hygiene, Environmental Health, Occupational Safety and related fields.
Participants to the 24th ACOH will also have the opportunity to experience the majestic natural beauty of the lush, biodiverse rainforest, home to unique flora and fauna such as the orangutan, proboscis monkey and Rafflesia - the largest flower in the world.
For more details and to register your interest, visit the event's official website at www.aaoeh.org.
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31 December 2026Webinar
The four courses aim to help delegates understand the facts about drug & alcohol misuse in the workplace including legal considerations, how to compile a substance misuse policy and interpretation of reports generated by the laboratory.
Collection Officer Training
Who should attend: Anyone who undertakes Chain of Custody collections; OHA / OHNAs; Occupational Health Physicians; GPs; HR Managers; Health & Safety Officers; trade union members
Course content:
- Preparing a site for collection
- Mechanics of a urine collection, troubleshooting and common errors
- Collection demonstration for back-to-lab and Point of Collection [POC] devices
- Breathalyser selection, calibration and verification with demonstration
- What happens to the samples in the laboratory
- Oral fluid and hair collections
Cost: £300 per delegateMRO Training, part 1
Who should attend: OHA / OHNAs; Occupational Health Physicians; GPs
Course content:
- The role of the Medical Review Officer [MRO] including the Medical Review
- Laboratory process
- Adulteration checks and how donors try and mislead the testing
- Drug metabolism looking at the fact and fiction behind positive samples
- Evaluation and debate of Chain of Custody cases through result interpretation
Cost: £300 per delegateMRO Training, part 2
Who should attend: OHA / OHNAs; Occupational Health Physicians; GPs
Course content:
- Use of alternative biological samples such as hair, oral fluid, sweat and sweat vapour
- Pros and cons of Point of Collection [POC] devices, how to develop protocols consistent with the principles of Chain of Custody
- Quality and accreditation, European Guidelines for Workplace Drugs Testing, minimum service level to expect
- Alcohol including biomarkers such as EtG/EtS, FAEE
- Evaluation via MCQs
Cost: £300 per delegatePolicy Workshop
Who should attend: HR Managers; Health & Safety Officers; Occupational Health professionals; trade union members
Course content:
- Drawing up a draft substance misuse policy
- Timelines for policy introduction and educational requirements
Cost: £185 per delegate for a half-dayOn-site courses can be tailored to your requirements. Please call for further information and details of costs
Venues and dates available throughout 2026:
Policy, afternoon
Collection Officer
MRO1
MRO2
Zoom UK/GMT
02-Feb
03-Feb
04-Feb
05-Feb
Zoom UK/GMT+1
13-Apr
14-Apr
15-Apr
16-Apr
Zoom UK/GMT+1
03-Aug
04-Aug
05-Aug
06-Aug
Zoom UK/GMT+1
05-Oct
06-Oct
07-Oct
08-Oct
Dates and start times can be adapted to your time zone. Please contact Helen Vangikar for further details.
All delegates will receive an information pack and certificate(s), and MRO1 and MRO2 are accredited and qualify for CPD hours from the Faculty of Occupational Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians [UK].
To view further course details please click here.
To reserve a place or enquire about on-site training, please contact Helen Vangikar, Toxicology Consultant: Mobile: +44 (0)7856 979961; Email: helen@helenvangikar.com; Web: www.helenvangikar.com
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