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NHS policy for 2024/25: strategy and engagement in a world of uncertainty

NHS policy for 2024/25: strategy and engagement in a world of uncertainty – panel discussion

What do we know about plans and policy for 2024/25? As the expected central operating plan has not (yet) materialised, and with a general election and a potential Labour government on the horizon, how can NHS and industry drive forward improvements and innovation?

For this webinar, host Robert Hull (Senior Consultant – NHS Insight & Interaction, Mtech Access) was joined by guest speakers Debbie Morgan (Director of Service Improvement and Transformation, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust), Ellen Rule (Deputy CEO/Director of Strategy & Transformation, Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board) and Dr Viren Mehta (GP Partner, GP Federation Chief Officer, Viaduct Care). Together we explored what all this uncertainty means for NHS decision-making, day-to-day operations, strategy, and engagement with industry.

This December as we searched the sky for reindeer, we also braced ourselves for the NHS’s planning framework for 2024-25. In past years, planning guidance and policy updates have been published on the last working day before Christmas (even Christmas Eve). Not this year. Instead, NHS leaders received a short ‘update on planning’ letter asking them to continue on without the 2024/25 guidance from Government. So where does this leave the NHS as we move towards the 2024/25 financial year?

In this webinar, we bring together leaders from across the NHS to explore how they are planning and operating in this uncertainty.

We explore:

  • Strategy and planning in these times of uncertainty
  • What’s happening with GP contracts
  • Financial pressures and challenges
  • If/where it’s possible to drive forward change in the current environment
  • How Pharma and Medtech can best support NHS leaders
  • Where the panel would welcome solutions from industry

Listen to the podcast:

This episode is also available as a podcast. Listen below or search ‘Pharma Market Access Insights  – from Mtech Access’ on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.

About our panellists:

Debbie Morgan (Director of Service Improvement and Transformation, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust)

Debbie is the director of service improvement and transformation at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She studied at University College London and has a BSc in Anatomy and Developmental Biology. She originally joined the NHS in 1993 to become a clinical cytogeneticist, holding a postgraduate certificate in clinical cytogenetics. Debbie moved into NHS management in 2001, undertaking a wide variety of roles over the years, including commissioning and service improvement across the local health system; she has worked at director level for over 13 years. She holds an MSc in Human Resource Leadership from the University of Manchester.

Debbie is passionate about maximising opportunities to empower staff, co-produce improvements with patients, in order to transform current practices, implement sustainable improvements and thereby realise patient, organisational, and system benefits.

Ellen Rule (Deputy CEO/Director of Strategy & Transformation, Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board)

Ellen has worked for the NHS since 2003, holding a variety of senior positions in commissioning and provider organisations spanning service redesign, assurance, contracting, operational management, and strategic planning. Her role is to transform and redesign services to ensure they are fit for the future. Her team use a clinical programme approach to commissioning, which provides a transparent framework and clear methods for understanding what matters to patients and the local population. She is committed to focusing on preventing ill health, developing integrated person-centred care, and supporting people to maintain independence.

Ellen holds an MSc in Health Economics and Policy and is currently studying part time for a PhD in Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy.

Dr Viren Mehta (GP Partner, GP Federation Chief Officer, Viaduct Care)

Dr Viren Mehta has been a GP Partner at Cheadle Medical Practice in Stockport (Greater Manchester) for 17 years. Over that time, he has also held a number of senior system leadership roles, both in Commissioner and Provider organisations, and has led a number of transformation projects across Primary and Secondary Care. He is currently Clinical Director for Cheadle Primary Care Network, and Vice Chair of Viaduct Care GP Federation. He chairs the Stockport Primary Care Board and is a member of Greater Manchester GP Board and the national Primary Care Network (PCN) Clinical Directors forum. He is passionate about population health, proactive person-centred care, and reducing health inequalities.

This webinar forms part of our monthly NHS Whispers series, in which we have in-depth, comprehensive conversations with senior colleagues from the NHS. We explore what their immediate priorities are, what they see as the greatest challenges currently faced by the NHS, and how the NHS might respond to these challenges.

Recent webinars in the NHS Whispers series, now available on-demand, include:

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