Morning, Thursday, 2nd October 2025
Online
This conference will examine priorities for improving urgent and emergency care services in England.
It will bring stakeholders and policymakers together to consider the recently published Urgent and Emergency Care Plan 2025/26 which sets out plans to improve efficiency, flow and accountability of urgent and emergency care services and targets for response, performance and adoption of the Federated Data Platform. It will be an opportunity to discuss what will be required for its successful implementation and to improve eservices in the lead up to winter.
We also expect discussion on the priorities for urgent and emergency care following the recent publication of the 10 Year Health Plan for the NHS and the role of the plan’s three shifts towards prevention, digital and a new neighbourhood health service in relieving pressure in the system and improving patient access to urgent and emergency care closer to home.
Delegates will also discuss the way forward for improving A&E waiting times and ambulance response times, the impact of major management reforms, alignment with wider NHS objectives following 2025/6 NHS Priorities and Operational Planning Guidance, and the 2025 Road to recovery mandate, as well as next steps for channeling investment in light of the Government’s commitment to a 3% real terms growth in NHS day-to-day spending and an annual £29bn boost for NHS funding provided over the Spending Review period.
Sessions will consider strategic options and practical steps for advancing system improvement, including coordination of community and primary care services and shared decision-making, with priorities for introducing integrated neighbourhood health teams, including the role of ambulance services in this going forward.
Delegates will assess options for expanding mental health provision and training, alongside strategies to improve patient flow through care transfer hubs and emergency care services. Additional areas for discussion include priorities for the use of care plans for palliative, high-risk, and elderly patients, increasing therapy and dietetic support for frail inpatients, and improving access to patient records across all providers. Attendees will also consider approaches to reducing emergency department footfall, including options for expanding flu vaccination groups and introducing health MOTs for elderly and high-risk patients.
The agenda will also look at key issues for the workforce, including latest thinking on options for safely streamlining processes and reducing bureaucratic red tape to free up GP time, strategies for implementing alert systems to flag unsafe workloads, and priorities for the wider healthcare workforce to support home visits and face-to-face services.
There will also be discussion on increasing social care capacity and improving delivery of NHS services to residential and nursing homes. Delegates will look at increased primary care staff, incentivised interventions, and pooled funding to expand capacity for urgent treatment centres and deprived communities.
With the agenda currently in the drafting stage, overall areas for discussion include:
- policy and implementation:
- priority actions and application of the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan 2025/26
- the role of the 10 Year Health Plan’s three shifts towards prevention, digital and a new neighbourhood health service in relieving pressure in the system and improving patient access to care closer to home
- implementation of the 2025/6 NHS Priorities and Operational Planning Guidance and strategies to align with the 2025 Road to recovery mandate
- priorities for Integrated Care Boards to support management of new reforms
- system improvement options:
- alignment of community and primary care services and advancing shared decision-making, including introduction of integrated neighbourhood health teams
- emergency care and care transfer hubs to boost patient flow - a single 24/7 service for each ED catchment area
- coordination of urgent response teams, virtual ward and ED teams
- integrating mental health services into ambulance, ED and 111 delivery, and strategies to increase mental health training for clinicians
- patient care:
- increasing the use of patient care plans to improve care efficiency for palliative, high risk and elderly patients - improving use of therapy and dietetic support for elderly and frail inpatients
- widening access to patient records - introducing a health MOT for elderly and high-risk patients
- strategic options for reducing footfall in emergency departments, including the possibility of expanding flu vaccination groups
- workforce:
- creating a workforce strategy for urgent and emergency care systems - reducing bureaucratic red tape to free-up GP time - options for an alert system to flag unsafe workloads
- strategies for increasing social care capacity - considerations for delivery of NHS services to residential and nursing homes
- options for the wider healthcare workforce to support home visits and face-to-face services
- funding:
- strategies for growing numbers of primary care clinicians and staff - incentivised interventions to increase uptake - strategic options to pool more funding to deprived communities
