About this event

Our annual national conference for consultants is attended by over 300 consultant doctors each year from every trust in the UK. Policy is formulated at the conference through debate and voting on motions submitted from the regional consultant committees in England and the devolved nation committees in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, who will invite their local members to submit motions and ideas for motions.

Who can attend

The conference is open to any UK consultant who is a member of the BMA.

Each NHS trust or board medical staff committee or equivalent (or, where an MSC is not active, the relevant local negotiating committee) is entitled to send one elected consultant representative. All members of the UK consultants committee, or their deputies, are also eligible to attend. After Tuesday 6 January 2026, any remaining places will be allocated to any consultant member of the BMA who wishes to attend, regardless of whether a representative from their organisation has already been appointed.

Conference format

This year’s conference is a hybrid event. You can select whether to attend in person at BMA house or online. The format of the conference will include a series of motion debates and panel sessions. A drop-in session will be arranged for those who haven't previously attended.

Agenda

• 10am       Introduction and preliminaries
• 10:20am  Report by UK consultants committee co-chairs
• 10.30am  Motion debate
• 11.45am  Break
• 12 noon   First panel discussion
• 12.45pm  Lunch
• 1.45pm    Motion debate (continues)
• 3pm         Second panel discussion
• 3.45pm    Break
• 4pm         Chosen motions
• 4.20pm    Emergency motions
• 4.50pm    ‘ A’ motions
• 5pm         Close

Motions for debate

Motions for debate must be submitted in advance and can be submitted via MSCs (or LNCs if no MSC), regional and national consultants committees and the UK consultants committee, its subcommittees and the specialty leads. The deadline for submission of motions is noon on Monday 19 January, 2026.

Members are encouraged to use the BMA’s motions guidance service, which offers support to anyone writing or considering writing a motion to the conference. The service can advise whether the BMA already has similar policy in your chosen area, provide you with sources for facts and figures to support your argument, signpost you to further guidance on the topic and provide guidance on the form BMA motions should take. See the dedicated webpage for guidance on writing motions in several formats, or you can email [email protected] for more personal advice.

Care facilities

Care facilities for children and adult dependants are available for those who request them by noonon Monday 16 February, 2026. If you would like further information on care facilities, please indicate this on the registration form. 

Informal reception

For those attending in person, an informal networking reception will take place directly after the conference at BMA House.

Expenses

For those attending in person, the BMA will meet your travel expenses in line with our reimbursement policy and limits.