I was at the NHS Alliance conference this week in Manchester listening to a variety of politicians, doctors and managers talk about the future of healthcare and the NHS.
One memorable phrase from the first day was NHS Chief Executive David Nicholson inviting the audience to 'agitate and make trouble' in the interestsof improving services. Well, there you go, the challenge is out there.
There were many debates about patient involvement - though not many actual patients there. One thing that was often missing in the discussions was a view of engagement as a relationship rather than as a task or transaction.
The conference was chaired by well known doctor, journalist and stand-up comedian Phil Hammond. This reminded me of the value of humour and fun in these types of debate.
It was good to have the opportunity to do a bit of networking too.
