British Endocrine Society (BES) Conference 2026 The 2026 Society for Endocrinology (SfE) annual British Endocrine Conference (BES) attracts around 1,000 healthcare professionals working in and interested by endocrine conditions, and as such, is a key event in the ADSHG calendar. Here Cathy Thompson, ADSHG Director, updates us on the impact of this conference. Along with other Patient Support Groups, we are invited to attend this three-day conference where we interact with attendees, learning from them, but also sharing what we are doing as an organisation, and significantly, representing your voice. As such, it is essential that attendees can hear directly from people with adrenal insufficiency, so I was thrilled to be joined by long-standing ADSHG volunteers Alison Mainwaring and Noel Hawks, both of whom live with Addison's disease. SfE BES - the UK’s biggest celebration of endocrinology Patient Integration Event The Society of Endocrinology (SfE) launched BES with a special Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) event on the Sunday evening before the main scientific programme began. In a session chaired by Professor Aled Rees, Professor of Endocrinology at the School of Medicine, Cardiff University and Dr Helen Turner, Consultant Endocrinologist at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, we heard from Dr Caroline Gillet, Assistant Professor of PPIE at the University of Birmingham, who reinforced the importance of clinicians working alongside Patient Support Groups to achieve meaningful and relevant outcomes to their research projects. Dr Sofia Llahana (City St Georges, University of London) has been working closely with us as a charity, exploring patient experiences of adrenal crisis (you'll be hearing more about this soon!) She kindly invited me to co-present our hugely positive journey of joint working to an audience of healthcare professionals, SfE staff and fellow Patient Support Group representatives. Our Awareness & Information Stand Our stand is effectively our 'home from home' for the three days of the conference. Our goals are to: Ensure that attendees know who we are, and build recognition of the charity To provide information on our latest projects, this year we have been focusing on our Injection Training Campaign, our Prescription Frequency project, and an upcoming project around adrenal crisis management. To encourage attendees to sign up for our quarterly e-newsletter (ADSHG Connection), specifically for healthcare professionals (HCPs). To provide up-to-date copies of our leaflets and our publications, such as the Surgical Guidelines, Notes for Nurses and Consultation Reference Guide. It is also a place where we can chat with anyone interested in the work we do, to build relationships, and where Alison and Noel can share insights into living with adrenal insufficiency. Prescription Frequency Survey Results Working jointly with The Pituitary Foundation, we were delighted to co-author an abstract on the survey we launched to you last year around prescription length. With input from Lisa Shepherd, Specialist Endocrine Nurse at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and Dr Antonia Brooke, Consultant Endocrinologist at Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, we highlighted the challenges of a 1-month prescription frequency, particularly around patients struggling to have enough extra medication for Sick Day Rules. Our poster was awarded 'Highly Commended' status by the Society for Endocrinology (SfE). Read the Prescription Project abstract We have developed resources to support you in getting 3-month prescriptions: a GP letter template, endorsed by the SfE, and an Action Plan leaflet to raise awareness of your needs to non-endocrine healthcare professionals. Please see the link below to explore these. Prescription Frequency Project Resources Pigmentation Study During 2025, the ADSHG shared a short survey compiled by Professor John Wass, University of Oxford and colleagues, enquiring into changes in pigmentation at presentation of your Addison's disease diagnosis and background skin type and hair colour. Nearly 1,150 of you responded - thank you so much for sharing your experience! ADSHG's Communications and Health Liaison Manager, Philippa Sharman, is co-author of the abstract shared at BES this year. Many of you will know that in 90% of patients with Addison's disease, pigmentation of the skin and mucous membranes occurs before treatment is initiated. It lessens once people are on a cortisol replacement medication regimen. Responses to the survey showed that 58% of respondents who self-identified as having red hair reported pigmentation, compared to 86% in the non-redheaded group. The fact that the results showed that red hair lessens the frequency of pigmentation at presentation of Addison's, suggests a need for further research to understand whether this can delay diagnosis. Read the Pigmentation Study abstract Rewarding Adrenal Insufficiency Focused Research Each year, we are delighted to encourage and reinforce the importance of research focusing on adrenal insufficiency by presenting two £500 research awards at BES. We know that research is a significant area of interest for our members, and one that motivates many of you to get involved with the charity, to continue membership long term and to fundraise so that we can achieve more in this area. Through research, we can learn more about optimal management of adrenal insufficiency and encourage best practice in healthcare professionals, as well as drive innovation that can lead to marked improvements in quality of life. ADSHG Research Awards & Grants Sue Chambers Memorial Award Awarded to Rajeev Mehta, who presented his research on optimal tapering for people coming off exogenous steroids after extended use, to avoid adrenal suppression (tertiary adrenal insufficiency). Read Rajeev's research abstract AnnetteSeal Award Awarded to Aldons Chua for his research on the positive impact of a personalised Sick Day Care Plan for someone with complex co-morbidities, to reduce adrenal crisis incidence. Read Aldon's research abstract Engaging with Clinicians I can assure you that, in between posing for endless photos (not my favourite part of attending the conference!), we brainstormed, compared notes, asked questions and hatched plans. Here are just a few of the clinician-initiated questions that came out of BES this year as a result of chatting with attendees: Can we provide more emotional and psychological support for people following an adrenal crisis? Do we need to be reaching out to midwives to raise awareness with them of how to better support pregnant women with adrenal insufficiency? How can we 'ready the market' for different medication options such as Efmody® (previously Chronocort)? Having questions like this helps us understand priorities for clinicians in different parts of the country and allows us to respond to their needs as well as to yours. We actively promote clinicians signing up to our HCP newsletter so we can let them know when we have been working on something they initiated! Dr Sofia Llahana & Cathy Thompson (L-R) Professor Simon Pearce, Dr Richard Quinton, Cathy Thompson & Noel Hawks (L-R) Dr Alessandro Prete & Cathy Thompson (L-R) Noel Hawks, Alison Mainwairing, Dr Phillip Yeoh & Cathy Thompson (L-R) Noel Hawks, Cathy Thompson, Alison Mainwairing & Dr Afees Arakkal (L-R) Cathy Thompson & Professor John Wass (L-R) ADSHG Conference Attendance Over the Years Shortly after we returned home from BES this year, Noel sent me a summary of the conferences that he has attended on behalf of the charity, which I wanted to share. Not only does it demonstrate the commitment of the charity to engage and collaborate with healthcare professionals, but it also highlights the outstanding contribution that Alison and Noel have made over the years as volunteers. It requires a significant time at conferences themselves (BES is a three-day event), but far more than that, it necessitates ongoing and regular involvement with us as a team, to stay up to date with our projects and priorities at any one time. A heartfelt thank you to the 'Dream Team' and to all those conference volunteers who have, over the years, allowed the charity to represent the adrenal insufficiency community so powerfully. Your membership, your fundraising and your support enable our attendance at BES and other annual conferences - we couldn't be there without that, so a huge thank you. If you would like to get involved in supporting the charity at a medical conference and have the regular time to be involved and stay abreast of the charity's impact, have a read of our Volunteering page. Those of you who are ADSHG members will have read in our most recent magazine why attending medical conferences is SO important, even though it can be expensive. Our experience at BES 2026 has absolutely reinforced this, and the knock-on effect; the learning, the ideas becoming reality, and the relationships, just continue to evolve. Thank you to the Society for Endocrinology for supporting Patient Support Groups to attend this key conference, and thank you again for your support, your donations, and your membership: we can only make the kind of connections that we do and have the impact that we have, because of you. Whether you're newly diagnosed or have lived with the condition for years - please join our community and support our cause! You'll receive the latest expert advice, guidance and ADSHG news, whilst being part of our inspiring and supportive community. Become a member today! Join the ADSHG Connect on social media! Follow us on X/Twitter, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok and YouTube. Manage Cookie Preferences