Progressing health care in London – conference considers the issue

Published: 26 October 2012

A one-day conference at the King’s Fund in London on 11 October, jointly run by The King's Fund, NHS London and London Councils,  looked at the role of NHS London and how health care in London will be provided in the future.

The conference brought a range of health professionals together to discuss the achievements and the challenges ahead for health care in the capital.

Speakers included Ruth Carnell, Chief Executive, NHS London; Professor Anthony Rudd, Consultant Stroke Physician, Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital; Hannah Farrar, Director for Strategy, Commissioning and Provider Development at NHS London; David Buck. Senior Fellow, Public Health and Inequalities, The King’s Fund; Dr Simon Tanner, Director of Public Health, NHS London; and Anne Rainsberry, Regional Director for London, NHS Commissioning Board.

Ruth Carnell opened the day with a look back at the legacy of the organisation, saying there were ‘plenty of things to be proud of’ and that the myth that London was above change had been disproved.

However, she stressed that the case for change needed to be emotionally powerful in order to gain support and that clinical leaders would need a lot of support to drive it through. Change needed to be across the whole of London rather than piecemeal, she argued, and the sheer length of time it took, together with political pressure, often resulted in compromise and delay.

She feared that the emerging CCGs could easily be crushed by the weight of expectation on them and she ended by underlining that London had unique challenges that would only be overcome by leaders finding effective ways of coming together to take change forward.

Other speakers talked about how the Health and Social Care Act 2012 has affected London, how we can ensure the health and wellbeing legacy of the London Games and what a vision for the future might look like.

Two case studies considered Stroke and Integrated Care, while panel discussions focussed on how London can best organise reconfiguration and strategic leadership for London.

You can find out more about the day and read the presentations in full on the King’s Fund website.