Organisers of fringe meetings at party conferences could learn a thing or two from the Healthcare Commission and other NHS bodies which staged an event at lunchtime today at the Marriot Highcliff hotel, Bournemouth's premier political venue, writes John Carvel.
Organisers of fringe meetings at party conferences could learn a thing or two from the Healthcare Commission and other NHS bodies which staged an event at lunchtime today at the Marriot Highcliff hotel, Bournemouth's premier political venue, writes John Carvel.
I have been chairing such meetings for years and running them to time has always been a nightmare. The organisers habitually invite too many speakers for the time available.
The job of the chair is to shut them up to give the audience an opportunity to ask questions and get them answered.
That's what the delegates come for. Few get the opportunity to speak in the conference hall and a chance to put a point directly to ministers and others is welcome.
Imposing discipline on the speakers today was a doddle - thanks to three pieces of equipment brought along by the commission and its fringe partners, the General Medical Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council, Medical Protection Society and Association of British Healthcare Industries.
The first was a sandglass eggtimer measuring two minutes, the second was one measuring three minutes and the third was a klaxon horn, held by me.
Speakers got a warning at two minutes and they were told they would be silenced by horn at three minutes. They were brilliant. Fear of being klaxoned kept them short, sharp and to the point.
That included Ben Bradshaw, the health minister, who was addressing the question: is the NHS safe enough?
His answer was that no health service can ever be entirely safe, but the NHS should always strive to be safer. That was why Gordon Brown and Alan Johnson peppered their speeches this week with extra safety initiatives.
Miranda Kavanagh of the Healthcare Commission said 10% of patients suffer adverse incidents while in hospital - half of which were preventable.
But Stephanie Bown of the Medical Protection Society said persistent debate about inadequate safety could threaten staff morale and cause people to make more mistakes.
It was a good meeting. I'm thinking of sending the horn to the Speaker of the Commons.
