Using a synthesis of evidence from the UK, Europe and the US, the summit examined strategic, clinical, scientific and managerial issues confronting senior health managers and clinicians working to improve performance and outcomes in the NHS.
Held at a time when funding limits were forcing greater efficiencies and a scrutiny on priorities, the Summit allowed participants to question:
- What the characteristics of a high performance health system might be?
- How to design the right environment nationally and locally to encourage more high performing health organisations to emerge.
- What we could learn from innovation in the UK and internationally?
Participants examined the extent and impact of competition and choice in England to date, and through the presentation of national and international case studies heard how locally designed incentives can improve quality and efficiency. The Summit also identified the contribution made by regulation, and provided an opportunity to discuss the form it should take in future. Participants identified trends across the public sector towards improving quality, discussing progress towards improved financial management and likely future funding levels’, as well as debating the contribution and cost of public involvement in health care.