NHS Confederation
The NHS Confederation is the membership body for the full range of organisations that commission and provide National Health Service (NHS) services.
It is the only body to bring together and speak on behalf of the whole of the NHS.
The NHS Confederation has offices in England, Wales (The Welsh NHS Confederation) and Northern Ireland (the Northern Ireland Confederation for Health and Social Care). It provides a subscription service for NHS organisations in Scotland.
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[edit] Aims
The NHS Confederation helps the NHS to guarantee high standards of care for patients and best value for taxpayers by representing its members and working together with its health and social care partners.
The NHS Confederation helps to make sense of the whole health system, influence health policy and deliver industry-wide support functions for the NHS.
[edit] NHS membership
The NHS Confederation represents all organisations that commission and provide NHS services.
Its members include acute trusts, ambulance trusts, community health service providers, foundation trusts, mental health providers, primary care trusts and clinical commissioning groups, and a growing number of independent and voluntary sector healthcare organisations that deliver services within the NHS.
It represents the NHS as a whole and has a number of networks to support its members in areas of specific concern to their part of the healthcare system. These include:
- Ambulance Service Network
- Primary Care Trust Network
- Mental Health Network
- NHS Partners Network
[edit] NHS support functions
The NHS Confederation delivers a number of industry-wide support functions for the NHS including:
- the NHS Employers organisation that works to represent trusts in England on workforce issues
- the NHS European Office that promotes the priorities and interests of the NHS to European Institutions and provides information and advice to NHS trusts on relevant European Union developments
- the Service Delivery and Organisation Network and the Health Services Research Network that help NHS trusts to access and engage with health services research.
[edit] Partnerships
The NHS Confederation works in partnership with a wide range of organisations that represent health professionals, patients, their families and carers. It also works with NHS supply chain organisations, local government and partners from across the wider health and social care industry.
Its associate partnership scheme is one of the ways in which non-NHS organisations involved in the delivery of healthcare can come together and engage with the NHS on key health issues.
[edit] Annual conference
The NHS Confederation holds an annual conference and exhibition which regularly attracts around 1500 leaders (including chairs, chief executives and non-executive directors), senior figures and decision makers from across the world of health and social care.
The conference programme contains a mixture of high profile and influential speakers, issue-led strand sessions, practical workshops and a wide range of networking opportunities. This year the conference will be held on 20-22 June 2012 in Manchester. Speakers include: Sir Stuart Hampson, chair of the Crown Estate, Sir David Nicholson chief executive of the NHS in England and Rt Hon Andrew Lansley CBE MP Secretary of State for Health. Further information can be found at www.nhsconfed.org/2012.
[edit] Publications
The NHS Confederation produces regular briefings and reports on key health care issues. View their publication online. It also produces an annual guide to the NHS called the NHS Handbook
[edit] Corporate office
The Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation is Mike Farrar, formerly chief executive of North West Strategic Health Authority. The current chairman is Sir Keith Pearson.
