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Future of Health conference to debate empowering people to take control of their care

Enabling people to take real control of their health and care is a central priority for all of us.

That is the view of Tim Kelsey, NHS England’s National Director for Patients and Information who will be among the speakers at the 2014 Future of Health Conference being staged at the Kensington Olympia in London on November 21.

The theme of Tim Kelsey’s address will be “personalising health and care 2020: how can data and technology transform outcomes for patients and citizens?”

“One of the most important contributions our generation will make to a sustainable health service, free at the point of delivery is to enable people to take real control of their health and care when they want it,” he explains. “How we do that is a central priority for all of us.”

Other speakers will include NHS England’s Chief Executive Simon Stevens, who will open the event, Professor David Haslam, Chair of NICE, and Professor Steve Field, Chief Inspector of General Practice for the CQC.

Another speaker will be Luke O’Shea, NHS England’s Head of Integrated Personal Commissioning and Person Centred Care, who said of the conference: “There is a growing consensus on what the future needs to be for the health and social care system.

“It is a future that empowers patients to take much more control over their own care and treatment.  It is a future that dissolves divides between different service areas and changes the relationship between the individual and professionals.”

He added: “In the Five Year Forward View for the NHS we outlined a vision for this and emerging models to change the way the health and care system operates, such as Integrated Personal Commissioning.  I am looking forward to debating this with people with long term conditions and professionals at this important conference.”

Neil Churchill, NHS England’s Director for Improving Patient Experience, is also among the speakers and will lead a session entitled “patient experience: measuring it, using it and co-designing services”.

He explained: “Experiences of care are important in their own right and because of their influence on clinical effectiveness and patient safety. As a result, there has been a strong recent emphasis on measuring patient experiences, which has won global recognition for the NHS.

“Yet data is not enough to create the genuine understanding and insight which can create lasting quality improvements. Other factors are needed to create listening, involving and responsive cultures which continually improve the quality of patient care for all. This session will examine some of those critical factors will underpin future improvement.”

Patients and their long-term needs will again be the focus of this year’s conference which won Best Event of the Year for 2013 at the prestigious British Media Awards.

The key themes will include:

  • Personalisation and Empowerment – What are the barriers and enablers for people participating fully in their care to achieve their best outcomes?
  • Innovation, Technology and Enablement – What is the role for developments in digital health in improving the quality of life for people with long term conditions?
  • Equality and Parity in practice – What are the enablers and barriers for participation by people with mental health problems, learning disabilities, dementia, and other conditions and inequalities, which can put them at disadvantage in the healthcare system?
  • Creating value: Think like a patient, act like a taxpayer – What are the system and financial levers enabling national and local organisations to co-design services which produce the best outcomes?

Continuing with the theme of putting patients at the heart of everything, the conference will again feature a People’s Panel – a unique approach which sees patients sitting alongside healthcare professionals and giving their own immediate feedback to what is being presented and to hold speakers to account.

Dr Martin McShane, NHS England’s Director for Long Term Conditions said: said: “This is a flagship conference which is key to driving forward our desire to empower patients and carers.

“We will hear much about the next steps on how we support the education and training of patients so they can self-manage their own care.

 

“We will also learn the latest steps on care planning, personal health budgets and on choices in mental health care.”

 

Dr McShane added: “The conference is focussing on the people who use NHS services every day: people with long term conditions. They have a wealth of expertise to offer us and we are grateful that the People’s Panel will again be involved to give their unique viewpoint. We need to understand that they are experts in their own right.

 

“The Future of Health is about making the health and care system better for people with long term conditions. We’re focussing on the things that people tell NHS England they want: to be in control of their care and support as they are able. And to get ‘joined up’ care in which health and social care understand and remember each individual and their needs, rather than having to ‘start again’ each time they use a new service.

“A key message from last year’s conference was that people with long term conditions want services personalised to them, but also want their voice heard in how those services are planned and organised at national and local levels. They want to become partners in building the House of Care.”

 

Dr McShane explained: “People who attended last year seemed to find something genuinely different from other conferences – the People’s Panel and the focus on service users have resulted in calls for EVERY healthcare conference to have a People’s Panel. There’s little point in talking about health and social care without the viewpoint of those using the services.”

 

This year’s conference is again being organised in partnership with UCLPartners and Dods.

Delegates will also be able to have their own input to creating solutions and sharing their own solutions and innovations on a national platform, while also networking with up to 1,000 colleagues from all around the country who will be able to share best practice.