Victoria Macdonald, Health and Social Care Editor at Channel 4 News will open NHS Communicate Conference 2024.

NHS Communicate is currently conducting a comprehensive survey of communication functions across the NHS. In this opening conference session we will reveal the results of our survey and key health communication leaders will discuss the implications.

NHS Communicate is working with several partners on the development of a health communication competency framework to include top quality training for health communicators at all levels. Join us for a discussion on the need for a formal approach to training and development.

One of the critical challenges for NHS communicators is forging high quality relationships across all parts of their local system and beyond. In this session, we will hear from one high performing system that has developed effective partnerships.

It’s been said, 'dogs bark, cats miaow and politicians play politics with the NHS.' We all have experience of how the NHS becomes weaponised as we get closer to election time and 2024 is a certain election year. Our respected panel of experts will help us to understand what we can expect and how best to deal with it.

Rory Cellan-Jones worked for the BBC for forty years, most recently as the corporation’s technology correspondent. In 2019 he was diagnosed with early Parkinson’s disease and in recent years he has had a unique 'communicator’s insight' into how the NHS communicates with patients. In a recent blog he called for the development of clear career paths for NHS communicators and in this session Rory is in conversation with Victoria Macdonald.

How is artificial intelligence (AI) impacting our work as professional health communicators? What are the ethical implications and how should we use the available and increasingly sophisticated AI tools? In this session we will explore the pros and cons of AI with some expert speakers.

Demonstrating the value of what we do is a constant challenge but it has never been more important. Unless we rise to this challenge we cannot expect to command the necessary resources to do a better job. In this conference session we will share some compelling case studies and explore the best methods for proving value.

The NHS is currently ranked as the second most important issue of concern to the public and expected to be a key battleground issue in the run up to the election. With public satisfaction at its lowest ever level, what are the main issues of concern for the public and how can we as communicators help to shore up public support for the NHS in an election year? This session will provide some of the answers, and will update you on new research into public attitudes to the NHS.

The NHS communications profession continues to suffer from a lack of representation across most protected characteristics. Our State of NHS Communications report will shine further light on this. We all know what the problem is, but what steps can we take to finally crack this as a profession? In this session, we hear from one of the leaders in the communications profession who is helping to address how we attract and retain more people from lower socio-economic backgrounds and other under-represented and under-served groups, such as ethnic minority practitioners, those from the LGBTQ+ community and those with disabilities.

Our conference chair, Victoria Macdonald will close NHS Communicate conference 2024.