Election impact

The HFMA Conference is upon us – you might even be reading this at the event. The conference is held at this time because, years ago, it coincided with key announcements for the following year – planning guidance, the national tariff and so on. One year, the allocations announcement was even broadcast live from Parliament.

As we know, the timing of key announcements has been somewhat ‘flexible’ in recent years. But we have always held the conference at this time safe in the knowledge that it won’t clash with an election – until this year that is. This year, the first December election since 1923 is taking place on the 12th of the month.

The implementation of a strict pre-election policy has had a big impact on our efforts to hear from the new NHS England and NHS Improvement team. So there’ll be no chief people, medical or operating officer presentations at the conference, and this extends to chief financial officer Julian Kelly – although he will be attending the conference. 

My colleagues have been brilliant and we have radically restructured the programme to maintain the content. We will hear from those senior NHS colleagues on other occasions.

A key feature of the conference is the annual general meeting on Friday morning, at which we say goodbye to our current president Bill Gregory and hello to Caroline Clarke. Bill is the 20th president/chair I’ve worked with. We’ve spent a lot of time together and the association has benefited from his judgement and surefootedness throughout the year. 

Bill’s theme of Value the opportunity has resonated with our 13 branches, all of which he has visited. Such was his determination to do this that last month he covered two in a day, with a 200-mile journey in between.

I can’t reveal Caroline’s theme, but it will strike a chord with members. She is our 70th president and we will be changing our logo for the year to celebrate our 70th anniversary. We will mark this milestone with a special event in July and at our annual conference at the end of the year.

It’s important we celebrate our past and look forward to the future. Since our 60th anniversary we’ve had equal numbers of male and female presidents – before 2010, we’d had one in 60 years! Baby steps? Perhaps, but steps nonetheless, as we develop our agenda going forward.

I’ve had lots of great comments about the changes we made to the magazine last month. We continue to do our bit with the new events app, which has replaced heaps of photocopying and decommissioned a photocopier from the Bristol HQ. Those of you at the conference will also notice we’ve stopped giving away the briefcase in favour of a smart tote bag.

As well as dramatically reducing our use of paper, we’ve streamed some sessions at events – though we recognise the networking advantages of being in the same room. And running virtual events would be like playing top-level football matches behind closed doors – no atmosphere. We also recommend train travel where possible.

If you’re at the conference, thank you for your support. Stop at the HFMA stand for a chat and an opportunity to use your free biodegradable cup with our on-stand barista. If you’d like to get involved, talk to one of our team – volunteering with us can be fun and rewarding!