BSLM 2025: Purpose in Life Values & Principles – What do they mean for us? by Prof Sir Al Aysnley-Green
By BSLM
25th Sep, 2025
This year’s event brought together over 1,300 delegates from 44 countries and 62 expert speakers. It was inspiring to see so many healthcare professionals connecting, learning, and driving change in lifestyle medicine. As we look back on BSLM 2025, Sir Al Aynsley-Green’s closing reflections highlight four important questions for the future of healthcare.
BSLM acknowledge the need to drive the importance of multidisciplinary teams in the implementation of lifestyle medicine throughout our healthcare system.
It is critical that our Allied Health Professionals are heard, equipped, and empowered to provide continuity of personalised care within their communities. Whilst we’re not ‘there’ yet, we are making inroads, and thought Sir Al’s provocative closing speech provided the perfect framework.
Where our Allied Health Professionals in our thinking?
Sir Al’s closing keynote followed directly after our morning’s ‘Building LM Communities’ session which was very much focused to highlight this topic.
It was designed and due to be led by Nurses, Trustee Jan Bower & recent Nurse Representative for Clinical Forum, Ren Lawlor. The session also involved health coaches, charities, and more.
How are we highlighting the impact of family & relationships, grief and loss?
BSLM understand the importance of Healthy Relationships. In fact, it’s one of the 6 pillars. Enjoying healthy and meaningful relationships and better social connection is essential for good mental and physical health. We play a key role in leading and sharing the evidence demonstrating a link between the quality of our social connections and the associated risk of conditions including obesity, heart disease and even some cancers. That mental health too is closely linked to our relationships with others, and loneliness is a key risk factor for depression.
In addition, thanks to the work of Members with lived experience, we have a Grief SIG. as a vehicle to ensure this evidence is widely understood and implemented in practice.
Where is the platform for the Voice of Lived experience?
Year on year we have been building this voice and this year the progress was felt throughout BSLM2025.
Our core team held their own sessions, shared their stories and held frank conversations about what mattered to them. They represented on panels, they gave their own presentations and they proudly wore T-Shirts offering delegates to approach them to talk about their lived experience. Their passion was palpable.
They will soon be holding their first peer led webinar series and hope to be engaging with practice / ICB patients participation groups across the Country .
How are we driving the importance of compassionate care to membership and through our workplaces?
Year on year we receive feedback that mentions how “personal” the BSLM culture and community feels. We know our membership have felt alone in their workplaces when trying to highlight the value lifestyle medicine can bring to the challenges they’re facing, we understand the feeling of swimming upstream and we are here, with a compassionate community of peers to uplift and inspire.
As a leadership team, our head office drives a no blame culture, to be there for each other and the importance of learning in growth. This will follow through in our workplace well being offering and wider education.
These four themes are top of mind, they’re in our strategy and they drive the work we do.
We loved Sir Al’s call to action and hope you continue to learn and grow with us we move towards 2026. Your feedback and engagement is critical to shape our support.