NHS Communicate conference took place on Wednesday 6 March 2024. A virtual event, the conference is a fantastic opportunity to network, share ideas and learnings and discuss the key topics most important to you. See this year's programme.

 

The theme of this year’s conference was transformation.

The conference is a unique opportunity for NHS communications professionals to come together online to network, and discuss the opportunities and challenges transformation within health and care can bring to the NHS. Delegates will be be able to share expertise and learning from some top speakers.

We are at a pivotal moment in health and care, and in NHS communications. 

On one level, transformation reflects the evolving structural landscape in which we are operating, with the move to system working, provider collaboratives and other new partnerships. But we are experiencing much deeper shifts that affect how we communicate, not least from a technological transformation which presents new opportunities and challenges for our profession and the way we work.

In the lead up to a general election we face the possibility of far-reaching change – whoever wins. The NHS also faces transformative challenges through the demographic shifts in our society, with a clear and explicit remit to shift delivery towards prevention, population health, and tackling health and race inequalities.

Communications also has a key role at the heart of the NHS' project to embed continuous improvement, encouraging innovation, openness and efficiency. The forthcoming findings of a range of inquiries, including Covid-19 and Letby, have the potential to erode public trust and confidence in the NHS, but there is also an opportunity to show how the NHS can learn, improve and where necessary, transform itself.

And, finally, looking inwardly at our profession, we know we need to evolve to reflect the communities we serve - this includes transformation in ethnic diversity, especially at leadership level.

Building on the great success of the last two years, NHS Communicate 2024 was an opportunity to explore transformation in the NHS, to come together to share, debate and learn, and hear from expert speakers from within and outside of the sector.