This two day event, which NHS Confederation and NHS England deliver in partnership, brought together health and care leaders and their teams to discuss numerous topics such as how data and technology can continue to transform the NHS for both patients and NHS staff, how the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan is being implemented and also how the increasingly mature partnerships in operation at integrated care partnership, integrated care board and place level are working to positive effect.
There were numerous sessions on integrated care systems and in particular tackling health inequalities ranks as the primary ambition NHS leaders would like to have achieved in 5 years’ time. One of my favourite sessions was delivered by Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, on how psychological safety can foster collaboration and navigate challenge in the ever-evolving healthcare landscape.
Of particular interest, also, was the session on ADHD and looking at what the systems are doing to improve patient access, experience and outcomes and how the newly formed NHS ADHD Taskforce will be looking to engage with people with lived experience, service providers, integrated care boards and care partnerships, primary care, schools and clinical teams to truly understand the challenges that are faced. Whilst all positive, given the wait times within the NHS for ADHD assessments are years in most regions, there is an awful amount to transform.
Continuous improvement is vital, with evidence showing that an embedded approach to continuous improvement will deliver high-quality services and improved patient outcomes. NHS leaders Matthew Taylor, Samantha Allen, Amar Shal, Vin Diwakar and Sarah Sweeney shared their insights and experience on how to create the right conditions and culture for improvement, and how to deliver results in the present while enabling the transformation needed to deliver the long-term population health goals.
Despite some predicting that the impeding election would mean NHS Confed Expo 2024 in Manchester would be a wash out, I thought otherwise and overall felt it was a comprehensive event with some truly insightful topics and thought leaders, highlighting the positive impact on system wide collaboration, how technology can positively impact the NHS and why compassionate leadership and psychological safety are important to the NHS. Given the upcoming General Election, NHS Confed 25 is not to be missed. See you there!