GP’s Forum Choose BIC for First Time

For the first time, the Royal College of General Practitioners’ (RCGP) National Annual Conference is being held in Bournemouth at the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC). The event runs from Wednesday 1st October until Saturday 4th October and expects attendance from approximately 1,000 delegates.

The forum begins on Wednesday 1st October with a Graduation reception and ceremony in the evening. The exhibition starts on Thursday 2nd October in the Windsor Hall and runs until Saturday 4th October and will feature nearly 70 exhibitors such as BMI Healthcare, Oxford University Press and Barclays. A discussion session with the RCGP Chair, Professor Steve Field and an open Q&A session from the floor and Fergus Walsh, Medical Correspondent for the BBC for more than twenty years, will chair all the plenary sessions and panel debates. Other prominent speakers include Professor Donald Berwick, President and CEO of Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS Medical Director, England, Dr Tony Jewell, Chief Medical Officer, Wales and Sir Ian Carruthers, Chief Executive of SW Strategic Health Authority.

The RCGP is the academic organisation in the UK for general practitioners. Its aim is to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the ‘voice’ of general practitioners on education, training and standards issues. The RCGP is an international organisation with members all over the world.

With an expected 1000 delegates, the four day conference is estimated to inject in excess of £1m into Bournemouth’s economy through business tourism expenditure. Recent statistics value Bournemouth’s business tourism at £127.6m, of which the BIC and Pavilion contribute £73m annually through the conferences and exhibitions staged at the venue. The remaining £54.6m is a result of conferences, events and meetings at other venues in Bournemouth, often facilitated by the Bournemouth International Conference Bureau (BICB).

Clive Tyers, Head of Conferences, Exhibitions and Events said: “It’s great to welcome RCGP to Bournemouth and the BIC for the first time. The event is being managed by Profile Productions – a well established Professional Conference Organiser, with which the BIC have a strong working relationship.

“The conference and exhibition season is really heating up here and attracting international organisations like RCGP proves our facilities are second to none. With seven miles of sandy beaches, Bournemouth is the prefect choice for a conference, with lots for delegates to do after a hard day of debating.”

Conference events over the four days are taking place in the Solent Hall. Following a welcome reception in the Windsor Hall on Thursday 2nd October, Friday sees a BMI Healthcare Sponsor Symposium and potential GPs can wander around the Careers Fair in the Purbeck Lounge on Saturday 4th October.

The BICB acted as the accommodation agency for the event, assisting in booking hotels for the expected 1,000 delegates.