Discussions over the two days focused on Lord Darzi's prescription for the next generation of the NHS, fostering improvement cultures, tackling health inequalities, delivering care in challenging times, AI adoption, building leadership capabilities and enhancing patient safety. 

Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting and NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard provided the keynote addresses. Streeting unveiled a raft of new reforms designed to improve NHS provider performance, including the publication of league tables, ending automatic annual uplifts for underperforming senior executives and expanded remits for intervention in failing services, including the power to fire senior leaders. Meanwhile, Pritchard said providers ‘were not blind to where we need to do better'. 

The NHS leader outlined how trusts had made the 0.12% real terms increase in income ‘stretch' in the last financial year, with efficiency savings of £7bn and by dealing with 5.8% more ambulance incidents, caring for 3.8% more people in A&E, delivering 9.2% more urgent cancer checks, 9% more diagnostic checks, 5.7% more elective treatment, 16% more community contacts and care, and 15% more contacts in mental health. Despite its challenges, Pritchard said she was hopeful for the future of the NHS, while cautioning ‘optimism' alone was not enough. 

‘We can have a better future,' she said. ‘But we have to continue working for it.' 

The chief executive outlined ‘five key tasks' for providers: living within the money; embedding improvement; maintaining quality and safety; working better with primary care; and making the most of opportunities.

‘Together, now, if we continue to work hard and do the hard yards, we have the opportunity to build an NHS that we can all be proud of, one which provides better service, better outcomes, better value for the communities we serve. So let's take it,' she concluded.