Where are we going...?

This week I attended the ‘Leaders in Healthcare’ conference in Birmingham. It was my first time at this meeting and I found it was quite different to dermatology meetings. The NHS managerial cadre has a very broad base and, while the focus of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management is to ‘professionalise’ medical management, this does appear to be something of a herculean task, given the diversity of backgrounds and approaches – even within the NHS. What was not in doubt, however, was the commitment and the enthusiasm of those involved. In these uncertain times, with Brexit, demographic challenges, new technology, workforce shortages and ever increasing patient expectations, we will need all of this to adapt and flourish as a healthcare system.