18.10.12
Hospitals Forum launched for NHS Confederation
The NHS Confederation has launched the Hospitals Forum, to provide a strong voice for hospitals to shape policy and share best practice.
The forum will be chaired by Dr Mark Newbold, who is the chief executive of the Heart of England NHS FT. Its work will strengthen the impact that trusts have in informing the NHS Confederation’s work and influencing government policy.
Initially, the forum will focus on four key areas: sorting out finances, delivering major service change, exploring new models of provision, and maintaining focus on improving quality of patient care.
Dr Newbold said: “The hospital sector is facing some really big challenges in the years ahead, not least improving the quality of care for patients while trying to find unprecedented savings. There are many hospitals providing great care around the country. But the pressures on them are growing and we need to look at how we can change services to best respond to people’s needs.
“Now more than ever, the NHS Confederation needs to speak up about these issues on behalf of its members. It needs to provide a space where people can come together to tackle the really big issues facing the hospital sector.
“We want to use this forum to bring together organisations from across the whole health system to trigger the necessary debate with politicians, the public and those in the health service about why we need to change the way we provide and deliver care to our patients in the future.
“We hope it will allow us to establish a collaborative, intelligent approach to the areas of work we have identified as priorities for our members.”
Mike Farrar, NHS Confederation chief executive, said: “Hospitals play a vital role in the NHS. But that role is changing as technology evolves, and the needs of patients and the way we care for them change.
“We need to make sure our members involved in the provision or commissioning of hospital based services are set up to respond to demand.
“We need to strengthen the hospital voice within the NHS Confederation, and work with others on the national stage to highlight the pressures our members face.
“The NHS Confederation Hospitals Forum will bring together leaders from around the country, alongside all the other parts of the NHS, to discuss and debate our issues and challenges, and how we respond to them.”
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