This week we were delighted to welcome Director of Communications at NHS England, Simon Enright, for the latest in our series of Luther Network events.

Simon, along with over a dozen other attendees from the world of healthcare, participated in a wide-ranging discussion on UK healthcare provision today, the challenges it faces, and where it needs to be in the future.
The conversation began with a general discussion of the role of NHS England, including the Five Year Forward View’s vision of how NHS services need to change, and the challenges associated with creating the right narrative around this. Of particular importance in all of this will be finding ways of changing the current culture and re-designing care for the future, with an emphasis away from budgetary problems and towards patient care itself.

Also up for discussion was NHS England’s localisation model. The model means resources are allocated to local areas in isolation currently, and this, it was posed, is leading to a lack of consistency in the country when it comes to standards and innovation. Would a more centralised approach be of benefit to those areas currently falling behind? Not necessarily, it was argued, as one of the key benefits of localisation is that it allows for variations between regions in terms of need, specialisation and culture. NHS England’s role is to step in at the local level, to actively provide help to local leaders. A national framework would not automatically solve poor quality planning and delivery of health care services in certain areas.

The need for greater engagement, collaboration and partnerships between the NHS and other organisations working in healthcare was also highlighted. NHS England’s NHS Innovation Expo, held in September, was designed as a forum to do just that, and something NHS England are particularly excited about.

Our thanks again to Simon and our guests for joining us.

If you would like to find out more about Luther Network events, including information on how to attend, please email events@luther.co.uk