Party Conferences 2010
HPC have been busy at the Liberal Democrat, Labour and Conservative Party Conferences this autumn. Together with the Medical Protection Society (MPS) and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), the HPC held fringe events at each conference on the theme ‘Trust and Openness in the NHS: From Paternalism to Partnership'. The fringes explored improving communication with service users and developing a culture of openness.
At fringes chaired by journalists from The Guardian, The Sunday Telegraph and Health Service Journal, senior spokespeople from HPC, the Medical Protection Society and the Royal College of Midwives led discussion. Simon Burns MP, Minister for Health, Mary Creagh MP, Shadow Minister for Health and John Pugh MP, Chair of the Liberal Democrat Health and Social Policy Group contributed at each of the fringes.
Each session opened with the reading of an example constituent's letter to their local Member of Parliament which outlined a series of complaints against health professionals. The HPC, MPS and RCM each set out their organisation values and positions about how complaints against health professionals are best dealt with and how they could be minimised through more effective communication.
HPC will also be attending devolved party conferences in Scotland and Wales.
