- Conference report

Organised by the NHS Modernisation Agency, the conference was held in Brighton in November last year.

Delegates were split up into six different working groups: challenges to change; modernising older people’s care; health; MA/change programmes; and primary/intermediate care and improvement work.

Challenges to Change
Delegates attending the workshop on ‘challenges to change’ heard presentations on whole systems working, integrating health and social services using section 31 flexibilities in the 1999 Health Act, working with service users with communication difficulties to develop services and partnership work – health, social care and local government.

Modernisation and mental health
The workshop on “modernising older peoples’ care” had presentations on leadership for modernisation, new light through windows, dignity – a fundamental human right and findings from the frontline. The workshop on ‘mental health’ had presentations on looking to the future of dementia care in the community, developing mental health services for older people, improving the dementia pathways and access to services for older people with mental health needs.

Redesigning the service
The ‘change programmes’ group heard presentations on implementing improvements in access, booking and choice, changing roles in order to meet the requirements of the National Service Framework for Older People, pursuing perfection or striving for mediocrity (by Dr Jacqueline Close) and involving patients and carers in service redesign.

Primary/ intermediate care
The workshop on ‘primary/intermediate care’ had presentations on specialist training in the care of older people in care homes, health communities collaborative pilot, taking a whole systems approach to hospital admission and discharge planning and intermediate care.

Presentations on whole systems, small changes leading to big impacts, through the service user’s eye and changing roles: empowering frontline staff were made in the workshop on ‘improvement work’.

Annette Guerda-Fischer
BGS Office