As cases of occupational lung disease rise, it’s important for those supporting patients to come together and explore current challenges and innovation in care.
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Our one-day symposium chaired by Dr. Christopher Barber and David Johnston-Keay will explore hot topics, including:
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- The scale of Occupational lung diseases and recent guidance – Dr    Christopher Barber, Principal Medical Adviser to HSE and Honorary Reader at the University of Manchester.
- Silicosis – past problems and risks in modern workplaces – Dr Ruth Wiggans, Consultant Respiratory Physician
- Lung cancer and Incidental findings  - Professor David Baldwin
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Other Speakers will include:
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- Dr Karl Sylvester – Consultant Healthcare Scientist
- Emma Rickards - Â Consultant Respiratory Nurse
- Bradley Price- - Director of Policy, Research and Involvement for Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis
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The day will conclude with lived experience from a patient diagnosed with lung disease, reminding us of the impact on workers and their families and the importance of improving outcomes for all.
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Afterwards, there will also be an opportunity to network and continue the conversation over drinks from 4pm to 6pm.
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Who should attend
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Our free conference will be of interest to consultants, nurses, allied health care professionals, support groups and charities. We can provide a certificate of attendance after our full-day event, to support your professional training.Â
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We have the last remaining spaces available, so please RSVP to let us know you are coming and share with colleagues who may also wish to attend.
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Consultant in Respiratory Medicine, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield and Principal Medical Adviser to HSE
Chris is a respiratory consultant with a clinical and research interest in a wide range of different occupational lung diseases. His work is split between clinical sessions at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield and research for the Science Division of the Health and Safety Executive.
He is a member of the Group of Occupational Respiratory Disease Specialists , and former chair of the BTS Occupational and Environmental Lung Disease Specialist Advisory Group.
He is co-author of the current Occupational Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis ERS Monograph and co-organiser of the BTS Occupational Lung Disease Short Course. Chris chaired the groups that produced the BTS Occupational Asthma Clinical Statement and the BTS Position Statement on Air Quality and Lung Health.
Karl has worked in the field of Respiratory Physiology for over 25 years, starting his career at The Royal Brompton Hospital in London. He completed a PhD in Respiratory & Haematological Medicine at Guys, Kings and St Thomas’s School of Medicine, also in London. The PhD investigated the impact of Sickle Cell Disease on the Respiratory System.
He joined the Lung Function Unit at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge in 2006 as the lead for the service. In 2015 he took on the joint role leading the Respiratory Physiology teams across both Royal Papworth and Cambridge University Hospitals.
More recently Karl also became the clinical lead for the Breathlessness Pathway Service at the Cambridge & Peterborough Community Diagnostic Centres in Ely and Wisbech. Previous additional roles have included Honorary Chair of the Association for Respiratory Technology & Physiology (ARTP) and Chair of Group 9.01 at the European Respiratory Society.
David is a Partner and leads the Workplace Illness team in Sheffield. He is an APIL Accredited Occupational Disease Specialist and Senior Litigator.
He has over 20 years’ experience of representing claimants who suffer with a variety of diseases, qualifying as a solicitor in April 2007. Specialising in respiratory conditions particularly asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. He is a lead solicitor for the claimants in the Coke Oven Worker group actions, representing former workers who developed respiratory disease and lung cancer as a result.
David has successfully acted in various niche claims involving lead poisoning, bladder cancer, silicosis and carbon monoxide poisoning and has a wide and varied disease practice.
He also acts for a number of former military personnel who have suffered injury as a result of their service.
Oliver is a Partner leading the Workplace Illness team in Leeds and has been with Irwin Mitchell since 2017, having over 20 years' legal experience and being widely regarded as a leader in his field in the Yorkshire region. He is recognised by APIL as an accredited Senior Litigator and asbestos and occupational disease specialist.
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He has a particular interest in Mesothelioma, Asbestos Related Lung Cancer and non-asbestos related lung diseases such as Silicosis. He has a reputation for his technical expertise and thoroughness in litigation and consistently recovers well in excess of £2m in client damages each year, including vital funds to cover private treatment costs for mesothelioma clients and recovery of hospice costs.
Oliver has a keen passion for education within the healthcare sector to raise the awareness of occupational diseases and the importance of specialist legal support to patients. He regularly presents seminars to hospitals, hospices and coroners and is an active fundraiser for charities supporting cancer patients, such as Mesothelioma UK, Maggies Leeds, Yorkshire & Humber Asbestos Support Group (SARAG) and various hospices throughout the area. Oliver also provides support to Mesothelioma Support Yorkshire (MESSY), a patient support group, since its inception over 10 years ago.
Consultant Respiratory Physician, North Manchester General Hospital and Honorary Lecturer at University of Manchester
Dr Ruth Wiggans is a consultant respiratory physician with an interest in occupational and environmental lung diseases. Her PhD research focused on occupational asthma in allergen exposed workers.
Her clinical practice centres around the care of people with occupational and environmental lung disease with a particular interest in occupational interstitial lung disease. Research interests include addressing health inequity in workplaces, designing and evaluating interventions to support healthier work, and using data for monitoring occupational and environmental disease in particular from the THOR scheme.
She is a member of BTS Specialist Advisory Group for Occupational and Environmental Lung Diseases and of the Group of Occupational Respiratory Disease Specialists.Â
David Baldwin works as a consultant respiratory physician sub-specialising in lung cancer, mesothelioma and interventional procedures. He is NHS England Lead Clinician for Lung Cancer, Chair of the UK Clinical Expert Group for Lung Cancer and works with the UK Department of Health and Social Care as an Advisor to the UK National Screening Committee.
He is Honorary Professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham. He has obtained research grants from a variety of charities and NIHR in total over £40M as principal and co-applicant. His primary research interests are in lung cancer screening and lung cancer epidemiology. He was lead respiratory physician on the UK CT lung cancer screening trial (UKLS).
He has published over 280 papers including three influential guidelines. Â He has held the positions of Honorary Secretary of the British Thoracic Society, Clinical Lead on the NICE Lung Cancer Guideline Development Group (2011), Chair of the NICE Quality Standards Group on Lung Cancer (2012), Clinical Director of the East Midlands Cancer Alliance (2017-20) and Chair of the National Cancer Research Institute Screening Prevention and Early Diagnosis Group.
He was associate editor for the journals Thorax, Lung Cancer and European Radiology until 2023.
