A seasoned commentator on public services reform has been appointed as the third host of this year’s Health and Innovation Care Expo.

Richard Vize, who has been giving his views and reflecting on public policy for 25 years, will join award-winning television news and documentary makers Gavin Esler and Jenny Kleeman in hosting the two-day event September 11 and 12.

A columnist for the Guardian Healthcare Network, Richard also contributes to the British Medical Journal and works with a range of organisations across health and local government.

He is a former editor of both Health Service Journal and Local Government Chronicle, and spent a year as head of communications at regulator Ofsted.

Richard and his teams have won a number of awards and he is also a trustee of the whistleblowing charity Public Concern at Work.

Gavin, Jenny and Richard will be introducing and quizzing this year’s key speakers and panellists on the two main stages at Manchester Central as it stages the annual flagship NHS event that attracts delegates from across the health, local government and social care sectors.

Gavin is a veteran radio broadcaster and writer who has penned five novels and two non-fiction books. The BBC’s Chief North America Correspondent for eight years, based in Washington, Gavin has reported from countries as diverse as China, Peru, Argentina, Cuba, Brazil, Russia, Jordan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and from the Aleutian Islands, as well as all across Europe. On returning to the UK, he joined the presenting team on the BBC’s flagship news and current affairs programme Newsnight.

Award-winning journalist Jenny has fronted a number of films for Channel 4’s foreign affairs documentary series Unreported World. She has covered stories from across the globe; from the depths of the Amazon rainforest to the film sets of Afghanistan’s movie industry, via Liberia, Cambodia, Nigeria and Honduras. Back on home turf, she’s reported for BBC 1’s The One Show, and reviews the newspapers on Sky News and BBC News Channel. Jenny has also written extensively for The Guardian, The Sunday Times, New Statesman, The Observer and Vice Magazine.

The leading speakers Richard, Gavin and Jenny will host, include NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the Chief Nursing Officer for England Professor Jane Cummings, and NHS England’s National Medical Director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh.

The overarching theme for the event is ‘Collaboration to implement the NHS Five Year Forward View across health and social care’.

As well as the two main ‘Future NHS’ and ‘Innovate’ stages, and four smaller theatre stages, there will be four feature zones focusing on the key areas of Transformation of Care, Urgent and Emergency Care, Primary Care and Digital Health. The zones are dedicated to in-depth, varied discussion, learning and engagement focused around a single area of health and social care work. Each zone runs its own programme of speakers and activities throughout the two days.

Theatre stages will offer longer, more in-depth exploration of key topics, with dedicated sessions for leaders, commissioners, clinicians and communications leads.

The Pop-Up University features again this year and will showcase the very best in innovative care, treatment and commissioning from across the NHS, local government and social care, as well as giving in-depth information on the latest developments in individual areas of the health and care sector. Workshops are led by some of the most senior and experienced professionals in England.

There is now less than two weeks to sign up for the event – the fourth of its kind at the iconic Manchester Central venue. All NHS, local government and public sector staff can register for complimentary tickets on the Expo website.

You can get regular updates on twitter @ExpoNHS or on www.expo.nhs.uk