Learning from the past, looking to the future.

Hosted by Bristol Drugs Project (BDP) and the Hepatitis C Trust, and delivered in partnership with the UK Health Security Agency and the NHS, the summit offers a valuable opportunity to examine the current landscape of national harm reduction efforts.

Marking 40 years of BDP’s outstanding harm reduction work, this two-day event will bring together practitioners, peers, researchers, policy shapers, and community organisations committed to improving the health, rights, and wellbeing of people who use drugs.

Utilising a public health approach, we will explore innovative and evidence‑based models, current political and policy considerations, and how we can shape the future of harm reduction approaches and treatment delivery across the UK.

Who should attend?

· Harm reduction workers and volunteers

· Health and social care professionals

· Commissioners and policymakers

· Peer workers and people with lived and living experience

· Researchers and academics

· Charities, community organisations, and outreach teams

· Anyone passionate about reducing drug-related harm and improving health equity

Key Outcomes:

Understand the current state of harm reduction across the UK, including gaps, variation, and inequalities.

Explore how lived experience and local insight can drive accountability and more equitable service design.

Share best practice in Needle and Syringe Programmes (NSP), naloxone, peer-led outreach, and healthcare integration.

Network and build connections with regional and national organisations

Define what effective, accessible, person-centred harm reduction services should look like.

Assess emerging public health risks, including reduced NSP access, changing drug markets, and rising overdose risk, and injecting related harms.

Identify practical strategies to prevent BBV transmission and consider the impact of these changes on progress towards the UK’s 2030 BBV elimination targets.

Explore how to scale up evidence-based interventions and respond to threats such as synthetic opioids.

Learn from services successfully engaging underserved communities through peer-led and community-based approaches.

Examine how better integration with wider healthcare can improve early intervention, continuity of care, and long-term outcomes.

Identify priorities for a more resilient, responsive, and sustainable harm reduction system.

Locations

Thursday, Day 1: M Shed, Princes Wharf, Wapping Rd, Bristol, BS1 4RN

Friday, Day 2: Bristol Beacon, Trenchard Street, Bristol, BS1 5AR

Description supplied by the event organiser.