Mark is Professor of General Practice and Research Lead in the Department of Primary Care and Mental Health at the University of Liverpool. He has worked as a GP at Brownlow Health in Liverpool since 1998, having previously practiced in Manchester.

With over 30 years of experience in research and education relating to substance misuse, Mark has made a significant contribution to the development of professional training in this field. He has served as Academic Lead for the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) substance misuse courses and has been a tutor since the inaugural Drugs Part 2 course, more than 25 years ago.

Linda, Chair of SLD Training, is the founding Chief Executive and Chief Medical Officer of Spectrum Community Health CIC, a not-for-profit organisation delivering a wide range of community health and justice services across the North of England, working in partnership with the NHS, local authorities, public health services and other organisations.

A passionate advocate for patient-centred, values-based care, Linda’s professional interests include integrated care, mutualism, system transformation, recovery-oriented substance misuse treatment and workforce wellbeing. Her work is driven by a commitment to improving outcomes for patients and communities through collaborative, compassionate and high-quality services.

Nat is a practising GP with over 20 years’ experience in senior clinical leadership roles across primary and community care organisations providing treatment for people affected by alcohol and drug dependence.

As a Course Director for SLD Training, Nat oversees the delivery of our accredited courses in substance and alcohol misuse. He has contributed to course development since their inception, supporting a programme through which over 30,000 individuals have completed training over the past 20+ years.

Nat also serves as Primary Care Specialty Lead for the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network in Yorkshire and Humber. He has contributed to more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and invited conference presentations focused on the treatment of addictions.

In addition, Nat has 15 years’ experience undertaking medico-legal work relating to standards of healthcare in secure environments. His work has included cases involving Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the General Medical Council, Coroners’ Courts, the Scottish Procurator Fiscal and private law firms.

Nat is also a co-author on the management of people who use drugs in secure environments for the UK clinical guidelines, known as the Orange Guidelines.