Our 2019 annual conference and exhibition has now come to a close! We hope you have found the last two days informative and inspiring, with ideas, innovation and examples of best practice you can take back to your organisations. 

Day two plenary summaries

Gill's reflections of her time as chair of NHS Providers

Dame Gill Morgan reflected on her career in medicine, public health and national policy roles, and the incredible advancements that have been made throughout the course of her career. She leaves NHS Providers with two strong beliefs: firstly, the importance of working at the level of place, secondly, the importance of trust boards, which she described as the glue running through the organisation. Good boards know they are accountable, they respect the people they work with and they are humble enough to know they will sometimes get things wrong but can use that as an opportunity to improve.

On her achievements with NHS Providers, Gill described the ethos of the organisation as being genuinely member-led. The elected board brings together people working in the service everyday to share their experiences with the organisation, keeping NHS Providers real. But the best part of being NHS Providers chair has been visiting members and understanding the successes and challenges facing trusts. Gill encouraged trust leaders to focus on how they can unleash human endeavour to achieve incredible things.

Playing a critical role in prevention and early intervention

Isabel Hardman, The Spectator assistant editor, and Sue Baker OBE, Time To Change global director, shared their lived experiences of mental health and the support they have received from family, friends, employers and health services. Sue gave an overview of the journey the Time to Change campaign has been on in trying to break down the stigma associated with mental health, including campaigns aimed at men who don’t talk about mental health, children and young people. She also described the work Time to Change is doing internationally at the moment.

The speakers considered the role for employers in supporting their staff to talk about mental health, make support available and up-skill managers to spot signs and signpost staff towards support. They discussed mental health in the NHS workforce and suggested senior leaders and managers need to be able to talk about mental health in order to set the tone for their organisation. NHS leaders can also normalise conversations about how to be mentally healthy.

Keynote address from the secretary of state for health and social care

The secretary of state set out three pillars of his vision for the NHS, the long term plan, a funded strategic health infrastructure capital investment plan, and a commitment to update outdated technology by setting up the right architecture with common standards. He also spoke about proposed legislation in the long term plan bill, the ask for providers to be 'bold' on integration, and highlighted how he wants the NHS to move from competition to collaboration.

Launch of Providers deliver

We launched the first report in our new publication series Providers deliver, in which we celebrate and promote the work of trusts in improving care for patients and service users. This first publication explores how trusts have responded to feedback from Care Quality Commission in a positive and systematic way, encouraging great ideas that have made a difference. The 11 case studies featured reflect a range of approaches, covering staff engagement, organisational culture, visible leadership and effective use of data. We will continue to work with trusts to celebrate their achievements, share their learning, and show how - given the right opportunity - providers are delivering outstanding care.

Provider showcase day two

Rt Hon Matt Hancock, secretary of state for health and social care, visited the provider showcase stands in the exhibition, even acting as a patient for one of the trusts' innovative inventions. 

2019 dates announced

We're pleased to announce that our 2019 annual conference will take place on 6 – 7 October in Manchester. Do block out your diaries for next year and look out for further details soon.

A massive thank you to all who attended and were involved in this year's conference. We hope you have enjoyed this year's event and we look forward to seeing you again next year.