QICN chief to speak at new general practice and community pharmacy conference

The chief executive of the Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing (QICN) has been announced as a speaker at a new conference focused on shaping the future of neighbourhood health services and shifting more care into the community.

Steph Lawrence will address attendees at the Community Pharmacy and General Practice Conference in Birmingham this summer.

Taking place on 21–22 June 2026 at the National Conference Centre, Birmingham, the free, CPD-accredited conference is delivered in partnership with Nursing in Practice and the QICN and the National Pharmacy Association (NPA).

It will bring together professionals from across primary care – including nursing, general practice, community pharmacy, primary care networks, and system leaders – to explore how collaboration can support neighbourhood health delivery.

The programme focuses on real-world, case-based learning, with sessions designed to address key challenges facing primary care, including access, workload, medicines optimisation and service integration.

Across five core themes – Collaboration in Action, Business and Service Innovation, Leadership and Workforce, Technology and AI for Integration, and Clinical Skills Booster – attendees will hear practical examples of how teams are working together to deliver more joined-up care.

A range of clinical, operational and system leaders will be speaking across the two days, with further announcements to follow as the programme is finalised.

Ms Lawrence has been confirmed as a speaker as part of a plenary session exploring how the government is driving collaboration across sectors, professions and disciplines and the investment and workforce reform needed to enable change.

Other speakers across the two-day event include advanced practice nurse and non-medical prescribing development lead Anna Young and chair of the Royal College of GP’s Council, Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown.

The programme also features a session on vaccine delivery and collaboration, examining how closer working between general practice and community pharmacy can improve patient outcomes through a more joined-up, patient-centred approach.

Across the two days, sessions will explore how nurses can: