The programme
08:30
Registration & Networking
Registration & Networking
09:30
Chair Opening Address (Confirmed)
Brandie Deignan
Chief Executive Officer
Pier Health Group
Chair Opening Address (Confirmed)
09:40
Keynote Presentation - Future-Ready Care: Building Skills and Capability in the NHS Workforce
The NHS stands at a pivotal moment, balancing rising patient demand, rapid technological change, and evolving models of care. To meet these challenges, we must invest in our greatest asset: our people. This presentation will explore the strategic importance of training and skills expansion across the NHS workforce, from frontline clinicians to support staff.
This session will highlight practical strategies, success stories, and policy levers that can transform NHS training into a dynamic engine for both service excellence and workforce sustainability.
Speaker:
Aisling Diamond, Deputy Medical Director, Education & Workforce, Southern Health and Social Care Trust (Provisionally Confirmed)
10:00
Tackling NHS Workforce Retention Panel Discussion
Patrick Fowler
Associate
Shared Ventures Ltd
With a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, staff retention has emerged as one of the most pressing workforce challenges. The panel discussion will bring together leaders within workforce planning, clinicians and policy makers to explore the causes of these challenges across NHS roles.
Key Discussion Points:
- Impact of working conditions, pay, and staff morale.
- Strategies for improving career progression, training and support.
- Role of flexible working, well-being initiatives, and leadership culture.
- Effectiveness of current policies and the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan’s ambitions to retain staff.
Panellists:
- Danielle Bird, Operations Manager, The Hill (Provisionally Confirmed)
- Jenny Lewis, Director of Human Resources and Occupational Development, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (Invited)
- Dr Jacqui Hepburn M.Ed., CFCCIPD, Deputy Chief Executive & Director of Workforce, NHS 24 (Invited)
- Patrick Fowler, Associate, Shared Ventures Ltd (Confirmed)
10:50
Morning Break & Networking
Morning Break & Networking
11:50
Chair Morning Reflection (Confirmed)
Brandie Deignan
Chief Executive Officer
Pier Health Group
Chair Morning Reflection (Confirmed)
12:35
Fireside Interview - The impact of healthcare reform on workforce (Confirmed)
Rt Hon Andrew Stephenson CBE
Former Minister of State, Department of Health and Social Care
Drawing on his experience as a former DHSC minister Andrew will talk candidly about his time in office and provide insight into the challenges and opportunities the current governments will face whilst perusing their healthcare reforms.
12:55
Case Study - NHS Workforce Alliance
Will Laing
Operations Director
NHS Workforce Alliance
Case Study - NHS Workforce Alliance
14:00
Chair Afternoon Address (Confirmed)
Brandie Deignan
Chief Executive Officer
Pier Health Group
Chair Afternoon Address (Confirmed)
14:25
Workshop - How can you build trust in your system? (Confirmed)
Jason Greasley
Leadership Consultant & Head of Coaching and Leadership Transformation
Buckinghamshire Health & Social Care Academy
Trust is crucial for effective teamwork and collaboration. Without it, sharing knowledge and learning from each other becomes challenging.
Trust is the foundation for any relationship both at home and work, absence of trust across teams and in systems is the most severe dysfunction a team can have. Doing more with less means we MUST work better across systems and build the foundations for the future. If we do not trust each other, will we share knowledge, will we learn from each other?
Building trust through communications involves creating systems and protocols that allow different organisations, technologies, and teams to work together seamlessly. Here are some key aspects to consider:
Consistent Information Sharing: Regular and structured communication helps maintain relationships and operational capabilities between all stakeholders.
Interagency Collaboration: Successful projects require collaboration between different agencies, considering their unique needs, capabilities, and operational practices.
How can you build trust in your system?
15:05
Presentation - Innovative Roles & Digital Integration: Preparing the NHS Workforce for the AI & Robotics Era
The NHS is entering a period of unprecedented transformation, driven by emerging roles, artificial intelligence, and robotics. This presentation explores how these technologies will redefine care delivery, streamline services, and open new pathways for patient engagement. We will examine the future skill sets—both technical and human—that NHS staff will need to thrive, from data literacy and digital confidence to adaptability and collaborative problem-solving.
Speaker TBC
15:25
Interview Session - How to ditch the superhero and be more superhuman (Confirmed)
Dr Sarah Coope
Director of Training
Wild Monday Resilience Ltd
In healthcare, many of us have internalised the message that we need to be heroes - constantly available, endlessly capable, and always putting patients and colleagues first. But the cost of this mindset is burnout, disillusionment, and workforce attrition.
In this honest and practical interview with the chair, Dr Sarah Coope will explore and take questions from the audience about how the 'superhero' narrative drives unhealthy work habits and prevents staff from setting boundaries. Drawing on over 20 years of experience as a GP, medical educator and conflict resolution expert, she will offer a compelling alternative: a shift from heroic self-sacrifice to sustainable leadership and self-compassion.
This session will resonate with anyone trying to lead, support or retain a workforce under pressure. It’s a call to let go of perfectionism, embrace our limits, and create a healthier, more human way of working in the NHS.
15:45
Primary Care at the Core: Strengthening the Workforce for a Sustainable Future Panel Discussion
Kevin Anderson
Dr/Prof
GP Partner and Director of Workforce Haxby Group Primary Care Workforce Lead Humber North Yorkshire Integrated Care System Visiting Professor Coventry University
Primary care is the backbone of the NHS, it faces increasing pressure from rising demand, workforce shortages, and changing patient expectations. The panel discussion will bring together GPs, policy leaders and workforce planners to discuss ways in which to strengthen and sustain the primary care workforce.
Key Discussion Points:
- The current state of the primary care workforce.
- GP recruitment and retention.
- The role of multidisciplinary teams, which include pharmacists, paramedics, and physician associates.
- Innovative models of care and digital tools.
- Training expansion to shift towards community-based and apprenticeship routes.
- Workload management, strategies, and work-life balance.
Panellists:
- Kevin Anderson, GP & Director of Workforce, Haxby Group, Primary Care Workforce Lead, HNY Health & Care Partnership (Confirmed)
- Paul Renshaw, Executive Director of Workforce, NHS Devon, Primary and Social Care (Invited)
- Kristin Francis, Director of Primary Care, Care Unbound (Invited)
- Asad Ashraf, GP - Chingford Medical Practice, Medical Director - E4 PCN, CCIO (Bromley Healthcare) and Digital Transformation Lead (NEL ICB), Vice Chair - Waltham Forest LMC (Londonwide LMCs) (Provisonally Confirmed)
