Highlights from the 2017 Health Integration Team conference

Bristol Health Partners Health Integration Teams had their annual opportunity to network and hear from key speakers from the local health system, at the annual Health Integration Team (HIT) conference on 13 June. The conference was attended by more than 170 academics, clinicians, commissioners, patients and others from organisations across Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset.

This year’s event was a celebration of the partnership’s achievements over the last five years. A special fold-out of highlights from the last half-decade was given to all delegates, and we also launched the 2016-17 Bristol Health Partners annual review.

Partnerology, a walking game which challenges players to identify new ways of collaborating with each other, got another airing. Delegates also enjoyed Acronym Soup, a jargon-busting game to help people get to grips with all the acronyms in the health sector. There was also a competitive Extreme Networking, where delegates had to find out new and interesting facts about the people they were meeting.

The day kicked off with an introduction from Andrea Young, Chief Executive of North Bristol Trust and Chair of the Bristol Health Partners Board, which was followed by David Relph, Bristol Health Partners Director, who emphasised the vital role the HITs play in the work of the partnership.

The packed agenda also included an overview of the wider strategic context, including the latest on the Sustainability and Transformation Partnership, and a session on what a successful HIT might look like.

Bristol Health Partners Director David Relph said:

“The HIT conference is the most important day in the Bristol Health Partners calendar and is a vital element of our support for HITs. It is a unique opportunity to learn from each other and share ideas. The fun networking activities first thing in the morning really got a buzz going and were particularly well received.

“Many people have been involved in making the day a success, but I’d like to thank Lisa King and Louise Osborne in particular for their hard work and commitment in making the event run so smoothly and offering so many different opportunities for collaboration. A really impressive achievement and another great day.”

Feedback from the day

Responses to our evaluation form suggest overwhelmingly that the conference was valuable as a networking opportunity. Feedback has been positive – and thank you to those who completed an evaluation form. It has highlighted lessons for future conferences on what worked well and what could be improved.

A full report will be available soon, but some comments include:

“Very good networking workshop – I liked acronym soup.”

“I really enjoyed this year’s format.”

“The networking was really useful.”

“The day is always brilliant to create energy, networking and information sharing, thank you.”

“It was my first HIT conference so I was unsure quite what to expect but the learning and networking opportunities were excellent. I have made many new connections and links to my projects (team and personal).”

Who said what?

Download presentations from the day.