New Statesman / Pfizer Roundtables
The healthcare sector is undergoing significant change both in the UK and across the world, and the impacts resulting from these changes are far-reaching. Opening up dialogue and generating discussion amongst a wide-range of stakeholders is crucial to managing this process and building sustainable and successful reform for the future.
The New Statesman & Pfizer Policy Forum programme aims to encourage such a dialogue, bringing together leading opinion formers from across industry, government, regulators, think tanks, academics, professional, patient and consumer groups and the media to discuss the big issues facing the healthcare sector today.
Past event
Understanding the changing face of primary care
03 November 2008The traditional roles of general practitioners and pharmacists in the UK are changing. Pharmacies are being encouraged to evolve into centres that promote healthy living and provide an improved range of clinical services, while still maintaining their traditional role of dispensing medicines.
Management of outpatients is increasingly shifting from secondary to primary care, and “polyclinics”, providing a much wider range of services than is currently provided by most GP practices, are being planned for some parts of the country. The increasing role of online pharmacy in medicines delivery is further affecting the equilibrium of traditional roles.
This reassessment of roles and responsibilities is highlighting tensions and inequalities in the system and begs the question of how patients will understand all this complexity..
Read more on the New Statesman website.
Most recent event
The Future Direction of the NHS
20 January 2009As we move beyond the celebrations and accolades that marked the year of the 60th anniversary of the NHS, we must now turn our attention to the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead and ask how we can create a national health service fit for the twenty-first century.
This New Statesman – Pfizer Policy Forum brought together representatives of the three main political parties for a timely discussion of the next 60 years of the NHS. Chaired by Jonathan Dimbleby, the Question Time event enabled members of the health community to highlight the most pressing issues facing the sector and stimulate debate on the solutions.
The discussion touched on a wide range of questions, including patient engagement and safety, co-payment and funding, PCT commissioning, organ donation, and the role of the private sector.
The special report will be published on the New Statesman website on Friday 30 January.