Competition - Frequently Asked Questions

When will I hear if my abstract has been shortlisted? 
You should hear by 27 March 2026. 

Once I receive an invitation to submit a poster and give an oral presentation, what happens next? 
-You must pay for your discounted delegate place £189 (no VAT) within 14 days to secure your place in the competition. Payment is by bank transfer.  
-You must submit your poster and presentation slides by 17th April. 
-The judge will review your poster in advance of the conference and the slides will be used to support your oral presentation on the day of the conference. 

Can I request an invoice? If you require an invoice you must provide us with a purchase order number generated by your finance department – NHS organisations will only accept an invoice with a purchase order. There is a 20% admin fee for payment by invoice. Note: we do not charge VAT.  

What if I pay for my place and then can’t attend?
If you find later you are unable to attend you can nominate a co-author to take your place. 

Can we have more than one presenter for our presentation?
Yes, co-authors can co-present providing they book and pay for a discounted delegate place. Every presenter gets a certificate. 

If I have more than one abstract accepted, can I present both?
No, you will need a co-author to book and pay for their discounted delegate place to present your second project. 

How do I receive a Presenter Certificate?
Your certificate (oral presentation given at a national conference) will be sent to you via email within the week after the event. There will be a certificate for co-presenters also. 

Will you publish an Abstract Book?
Yes we will publish an Abstract Book on our website after the conference.

Tech Check
We require all presenters attend a short Tech Check to ensure your audio and video work on the Zoom Events online conference hosting platform. We will send a choice of dates and instructions on how to attend. 
IMPORTANT:  You must attend the tech check from the same venue and on the same computer that you will be on the on the day. We recommend your personal computer from home. NHS computers and NHS networks are generally not compatible with our online conference platform.

How will I know my presentation group?
You will be sent details of your group a week before the conference.

What category will my presentation be in?
Judge has the final decision on which of the following categories 
Full Quality Improvement Project (QIP)
Quality Improvement (QI) in progress
Patient Safety Audit  

How will the competition be run on the day of the conference?
There are dedicated slots in the programme for the presentations. Each group will have 10 presentations. You will have 3 minutes to present, supported by 2 slides, followed by a 3-minute judge-led Q&A. The judge will already have reviewed your poster PDF in advance of the conference.

What are the timings?
The conference runs 09:00 to 17:20 on 13th May 2026 online.
Competition programme slots: you will be allocated to a group in the morning (approximately 11:05 - 12:35 tbc) or in the afternoon (approximately 14:10 – 15:40 tbc). 

What do I provide in advance of the conference? ·   
You will be required to provide your poster in a PDF file (A1 size, portrait orientation) ·       
You will also provide 2 slides to accompany your 3-minute oral presentation 
You must use the templates provided and upload the completed poster and slides using the links provided. We combine the poster PDFs for each group into a single PDF file and the slides into a master PowerPoint file for each poster group - so formatting needs to be consistent.
Deadline to upload poster and slides is 17th April 2026.
  
How will the posters and presentations be judged? 
The judge for your group will see your poster PDF before the conference and will score it• On the day of the conference they will give a score based on your 3-minute presentation and answers in the Q&A• Your final mark will be a combination of the above scores.

What are the prizes?There will be a first and runner-up awarded in each group of 10 presentations with certificates provided accordingly. For those awarded first place in their group, there will be a prize of a 30-minute QI coaching session courtesy of QI Clinic. 

What are the technical requirements for accessing the event platform?
We recommend you attend the conference from home on your personal computer as NHS trust IT systems, including laptops, can block access/ create technical problems. The online event will be run on the Zoom Events platform. You must log in with your personal Zoom account to access the event, so please provide us with the email address linked to your Zoom account. If you don’t already have one, please create a free zoom account via zoom.us and download the application to your personal account

Who do I contact with questions?
Please email info@bristolpatientsafety.com or call 07954 691 855