Firmly in the tradition of past IHEEM annual conferences, the presentations at Healthcare Estates 2011 in November, themed “Improving healthcare outcomes through innovation”, will reflect both the impact of changing thinking on the way healthcare should be provided in the future, and the economic challenges against which estates and facilities personnel must fulfil their onerous role.
Andrew Lansley’s paper “Liberating the NHS…”, published last July, set the direction for health and care services. However, the detail of how the new healthcare landscape will be delivered is still unclear. The changes announced relating to Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities mean providers will increasingly have to come together to discuss how they will integrate to create workable and cohesive local, regional, and national health and care services. Recognising the need for this debate, Healthcare Estates is expanding its reach to new audiences, and introducing new content, to facilitate discussion on the key issues. Leaders from across the health and care services are being approached to ensure that this year’s conference programme provides a strong forum for discussing how to achieve Government objectives within this new devolved landscape. The IHEEM Annual Conference is evolving, with this year’s content, which will address the key strategy and vision driving health and care services, set to include interactive workshops, roundtable discussions, and other features that will enhance the delegate experience (see story below). The conference will feature presentations and workshops from:
• Government Ministers.
• Commissioning bodies.
• Senior NHS managers.
• LiftCos.
• Hospital chiefs.
• Local authorities.
• The Care Quality Commission.
Alongside the keynote contribution from IHEEM, Healthcare Estates is attracting a growing network of supporting organisations. The organisers say they will work with these groups to create features that will add value for all attendees. Supporting organisations already signed up include Community Health Partnerships (CHP) – North, the Healthcare Facilities Consortium (HFC); the Building Research Establishment (BRE); Architects for Health (AfH); the Institution of Occupational Health & Safety (IOSH), and Focused FM. To find out more, email: healthcare@stepex.com, telephone Guy Whiffen or Warren White, 01892 518877, or visit: www.healthcare-estates.com
