We've had a brilliant first day at our annual conference and exhibition, with just under 700 delegates and speakers onsite, four though-provoking plenary sessions, breakout sessions focusing on quality and workforce, and the launch of a major new report. 

Here's a round-up of what happened on site today:

Chris Hopson's conference speech

NHS Providers chief executive, Chris Hopson, opened this year's conference with an examination of the current state of the NHS. Chris warned that the NHS needs to make realistic future demand projections and ensure these are the centrepiece of planning, putting in place the resource needed to increase capacity. He said frontline staff have gone the extra mile in response to pressures in the NHS, but they are growing tired, burning out and reducing their hours in increasing numbers. Chris also said that robust and rigorous targets need to be supported by compassionate accountability, giving trusts space to focus on long term improvement. You can read Chris' speech in full on here.

Day one plenary summaries

Leading and embedding a compassionate, inclusive and collaborative culture

Sir David Behan, chair, Health Education England, Baroness Dido Harding, chair, NHS Improvement, Prerana Issar, chief people officer for the NHS, NHS England and NHS Improvement and Ian Trenholm, chief executive, Care Quality Commission, took part in our panel session on culture. The panelists stressed that there are organisations within the NHS that have a fantastic culture and this needs to be recognised, with learnings from these trusts shared so that such culture becomes the rule rather than the exception. They also emphasised the need for the right support and training, as well as highlighting emotional intelligence as a particularly important skill for leaders to have.

In conversation with NHS England's chief executive

In the first plenary session of the afternoon, Simon Stevens said that after securing the multi-year funding settlement and the publication of the NHS long term plan, the current priorities are growing the workforce, acquiring a long term capital investment settlement and redesigning the way services are delivered. Following questions from attendees he also touched upon the important role the sector can play in prevention and public health, the need for social care funding and emphasised how the voluntary sector is woven into the fabric of the NHS.

Transforming patient care and experience through digital transformation

Is digital the way forward? What do we need to do to prepare ourselves? Our third and final plenary of the day was a panel discussion about transforming patient care and experience through digital transformation. Beverley Bryant, Dr Ben Goldacre and Matthew Gould, NHSX chief executive, all conversed about their perspectives in the NHS and how digital is the way forward.

New report: The state of the NHS provider sector

We have today published the fourth edition in our series of reports that examine the state of the NHS provider sector. We are using this report to call for greater honesty, realism and transparency about how much the NHS can deliver, and how quickly, given how far current NHS performance has dropped, 100,000 staff vacancies, an underlying £4bn provider sector financial deficit, a £6bn maintenance backlog and no firm decisions on social care, public health, capital and training budgets. You can read the full report on our website, or download a PDF copy, as well as read our press statement, blog and view our accompanying infographic.

NHS Providers Connect

As part of NHS Providers Connect, our programme which helps NHS trusts build working relationships with organisations who can support the work they do, we today launched two new reports - one from our partner The British Red Cross on delivering positive hospital discharges and another on the first digital collaborative staff bank for medics from Locum's Nest. Copies are available from our stand in the exhibition hall, as well as from British Red Cross on stand 9 and from Locum's Nest on stand 6.

Who we are: new NHS Providers video

The health landscape is changing and NHS Providers is committed to continuing to play an effective role as the health service moves to greater system working and local collaboration. As well as highlighting who we are, our work, and our priorities, our new video confirms our commitment to evolving alongside our members. 

Video: Embedding a compassionate, inclusive and collaborative culture

Our first plenary hosted our panel session on culture and quality with Sir David Behan, Baroness Dido Harding, Prerana Issar and Ian Trenholm. Chaired by Martha Kearney, we explored the vital role that an engaging, inclusive culture and strong leadership play in the success of organisations. See what our members said in our video. 

Provider showcase

We are again hosting our Provider showcase, an opportunity to shine a light on trusts' innovative and pioneering work, recognising their successful contribution to healthcare. This year 12 member trusts will be displaying examples of innovation, best practice and transformation as part of our exhibition. We hope you'll be able to visit the showcase area and speak to the trusts, who will be able to share the thinking behind their success and explain how they put their ideas into action.

Day two highlights

Our plenary speakers for tomorrow include:

• Rt Hon Matt Hancock, health and social care secretary, will be addressing members on how we can work together to revolutionise healthcare 
• Isabel Hardman, assistant editor, the Spectator, and Sue Baker OBE, global director, Time to Change, will be discussing the critical role in prevention and early intervention in mental health
• Dame Gill Morgan, NHS Providers chair, will be reflecting on her time as chair of NHS Providers. 

You can view the full programme on our website, and in the printed guides provided in your delegate bags. You can join in the conversation on Twitter on the #NHSP19 hashtag. 

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow.