NAPC Annual Conference at the Best Practice Show
Colleagues from Information Services, Pensions and Scanning joined forces at the Best Practice Show in NEC Birmingham, to promote our services to healthcare professionals from across the NHS. Dominic Gregson, Prescriptions Service Delivery Manager, was there.
This year I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend the Best Practice show at The National Association of Primary Care (NAPC) Annual Conference on 9 and 10 October at the NEC in Birmingham. The focus of this year’s conference was around the establishment of Primary Care Networks (PCNs) as part of the NHS Long Term Plan and their success so far.
Day One
My personal highlight of the conference was a fascinating talk called Integrated Approaches to Mental Health and Recreation of Mental Health Teams Around PCNs.
This is a subject very close to my heart. The highlight speaker for me was Tony O’Neill from the Fleetwood Men’s Shed. Tony shared his personal experience of mental health issues and how he set up a support group. His honesty was inspirational. He has done such amazing work close to one of our NHSBSA sites.
Dr Mark Spencer, GP and Lead, Healthier Fleetwood Primary Care Home, also talked about how they tackle mental health as a community.
Day Two
After a quick check-in with my colleagues at the NHSBSA stand, it was onto the second day, the highlight being, In conversation with Dominic Hardy, Director of Primary Care and System Transformation, NHS England and NHS Improvement, hosted by Dr Nav Chana MBE, National PCH Clinical Director, NAPC.
This was a really interesting talk. Dr Chana certainly did not hold back, questioning the progress of PCNs so far and whether they are going to be a success. Dominic responded passionately about improving care for patients across the NHS and gave some excellent examples of the innovative ways communities are working together to approach healthcare in a new way – for example, joining up ambulance and fire services to alleviate the pressure on emergency medical calls.
The session was followed by a video, specially recorded by Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. He spoke at length about his enthusiasm for delivering better patient care through PCNs and putting digital first.
After a quick tour around the stalls, it was time to head home. All in all it was a very interesting and informative event. With over 260 visitors to the NHSBSA stand, it proved to be one of our busiest events of the year and has given us a fantastic opportunity to build and strengthen relationships with healthcare colleagues from across the country. And I look forward to seeing how PCNs continue to change the landscape of patient care.
Other highlights included:
- Digital Innovators
Hosted by Dr Ishani Patel, Co-Founder, Lantum; Arjun Panesar, Founding CEO and Head of AI Diabetes Digital Media; Mridula Pore, Co-Founder and CEO Peppy; and Aonghus Shortt, CEO FoodMarble
- Dispensing in a Digital Age @ DDA Annual Conference
Hosted by Alastair Charmichael, MRPharmS, AJC Pharma Services
- Building Local Communities
Hosted by Prof. James Kingsland OBE, National PCH Clinical Director, NAPC; Caroline Taylor, North Halifax Community Wellbeing Partnership Primary Care Home; Councillor Keith Cunliffe, Deputy Leader, Wigan Council; Glen Garrod, Immediate Past President, ADASS, Executive Director of Adult Care and Community Wellbeing, Lincolnshire County Council; Don Redding, Director of Policy and Partnerships, National Voices
- NAPC - Shaping the Future of Primary Care
Hosted by Dr Minesh Patel, Chair, NAPC, New President, NAPC; Dr Johnny Marshall OBE, President, NAPC; Professor Ash Soni OBE, Vice President, International Pharmacy Federation (FIP), Assembly and English Pharmacy Board Member, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Non-Executive Director, NAPC; Julie Bolus, Non-Executive Director, NAPC; Christiana Melam, Chief Executive, National Association of Link Workers; Don Redding, Director of Policy and Partnerships, National Voices; Tracy Dell, Practice Manager, Plane Trees Group Practice
- How Digital is Changing the NHS Landscape – Take the Leap or Be Left Behind?
Hosted by Dr Pooja Sikka, GP and Partner, TenX Health; Professor Joe Harrison, Chief Executive, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Lawrence Tallon, Director of Strategy, Planning and Performance, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
- Enhancing Our Workforce: Our People and Teams - In Conversation with Prerana Issar, Chief People Officer, NHS England and NHS Improvement
Hosted by Dr Nav Chana MBE, National PCH Clinical Director, NAPC