The pressing need to confer on the problems worth solving
Now that conference season for the UK’s main political parties is here, it serves to remind us that the time is near for our own Leaders in Healthcare conference.
With just six weeks to go, we are looking forward to meeting in person (for the first time in two years) as well as online, to attempt to tackle the more ‘wicked’ problems affecting healthcare leadership. These are the problems worth solving and there is much to discuss. Robust discussion and debate are essential to help shift some of the sticking points across the national and international healthcare landscape, and these discussions and debates can only really happen when we come together to confer, but unlike our political leaders, we do not need to share their proclivity for provocative language and combative behaviour.
Effective collaboration and good stewardship of our shared skills and resources need good leadership at their heart and this is the aim of Leaders in Healthcare in November; from system and culture change and how to better support and develop an exhausted and depleted healthcare workforce, to the wider (and in many ways still hidden) impact of the pandemic and what the data can tell us about preparing for the future.
Dr Paul Evans, FMLM Medical Director, said:
“The priorities for healthcare leadership are multiple, complex and pressing. Colleagues registering for Leaders in Healthcare from around the world – from medical students, doctors and dentists to national healthcare leaders and academics – will have a range of priorities to address, as every healthcare system has its particular set of challenges, but there are common themes running across all systems and by focusing on these we have the greatest opportunity to bring about effective change.”
There have been some changes and new additions to our programme line-up: we are delighted to announce keynote speakers, Dr Henrietta Hughes, who will share her experiences and reflections after five years as the NHS National Guardian, on Monday 8 November, and Dr Tim Ferris, who was appointed earlier this year to lead transformation of the NHS in England, will deliver the closing session for the in-person event on Tuesday 9 November.
There are still some sessions and speakers to be announced, we anticipate these details will be available in the coming days. Unfortunately, Sir Mene Pangalos, who is leading AstraZeneca’s research and development response to Covid-19, is no longer available to speak. We send him and all involved in the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine development work our very best.
The looming health crisis presented by climate change is, of course, a ‘wicked’ problem worth solving. Interestingly, the COP26 summit – the UN climate change conference – is taking place in Glasgow at the same time as Leaders in Healthcare in London and online; let us hope they can focus and agree coordinated action to tackle climate change, as we focus and agree coordinated action to lead healthcare with safer, fairer systems for all.