Organising NHS Events and Healthcare Conferences

Running high-quality events is key to the overall success of the NHS. These events need to attract the right people, engage the audience and be wholly relevant whilst keeping to a budget. It can be hard to meet all of the criteria in a pressured world of events planning and that is why we have put together the following article on organising healthcare events.

 

Why NHS Events Are Important

 

Conferences, seminars and training days all play a vital role in helping shape the future of the NHS. They allow healthcare experts to share best practice so that attendees are equipped with the skills necessary to deliver excellence. This is the case across all sectors of the NHS: from management to surgeons, nurses to finance executives.

Events can also be a highly effective way of engaging with staff, a key aim as outlined by the NHS England: “Engaging with our staff is equally important to us too. Our staff are what makes NHS England an excellent organisation: an exemplar in customer focus, professionalism, rigour and creativity.” The best events provide a platform to debate topical issues, share successes and failures, and facilitate learning.

The most useful conferences for health professionals will therefore host influential speakers and provide numerous opportunities for peer learning. It is vitally important that your event attracts the most relevant people and delivers genuine value.

Conference at 20 Bedford Way

Organising A Healthcare Event

 

When organising an event you have to consider your main objectives. As previously discussed, the most effective conferences and seminars will bring healthcare leaders together to discuss key issues and work towards improving healthcare practice within the service. NHS training days, on the other hand, need to provide an environment in which staff can develop new skills. The following areas must be considered in your plans:

 

Types of Healthcare Events

Broadly speaking health events will fall under the following categories:

 

– Conferences

– Seminars

– Workshops

– Study Days

– Training

– Courses

 

Planning an NHS Event

When organising an NHS event, it is important to plan as far ahead as possible. The more time you have to generate a buzz and maximise interest in your event, the better. Also, people that work within the NHS have extremely busy schedules and the sooner you can get your event in their diaries the more chance you have of them attending. It makes sense to do a thorough check to ensure that your event date doesn’t conflict with any other important healthcare event dates.

Having stressed the importance of having plenty of time to organise your event, the nature of the NHS conferences means that time is a luxury you do not always have. The reality of these types of healthcare events and their need to respond to new and emerging issues means that you may only have a short period to find a suitable venue. The pressure to hold events that are topical means that sometimes event planners will not receive event dates and confirmed topics until a couple of months before they need a venue. It is important therefore to have a list of venues that you know can accommodate you at short notice.

 

Keeping On Budget

In the current climate, it is more important than ever to get value for money. Keeping overall costs down is essential with price a key factor in all NHS events. Any conference venue under consideration must be competitively priced and offer a good day delegate rate. The NHS cannot be seen to be spending money unnecessarily on lavish venues, but compromising on quality is not an option either, especially when guaranteeing attendance is a priority. It is therefore necessary to look for venues that can offer value for money as well as all the facilities you need.

 

Location

Location is key when it comes to NHS events. It is essential that the venue has good transport links with car parking a bonus. If it is easy to get to the venue, the more people you will have attending your event – it really is that simple. Sometimes delegates will need to stay over night – hotel venues have been popular for this reason as well as conference venues located in areas that have a range of accommodation options in the vicinity.

 

Facilities

As with all event-planning, attention to detail is key and this takes time. It is therefore preferred to use venues that can grant you access the night before to set up as well as early on the morning of the event. This way you can ensure that everything is ready to welcome speakers and delegates.

There are some healthcare events that have accompanying exhibitions. In these instances, ensure that the venue has both a conference space and a separate room that can accommodate several exhibition stands.

 

Equipment

Make sure that the venue has all of the equipment that you need. Free Wi-Fi is a necessity nowadays for venues. You will also want the following as well as an AV technician on-hand to help out with any glitches.

 

–  Large Screen and Projector

–  Microphones – lapel mics / handheld mics

–  PA System

–  Free standing lecterns

 

20 Bedford Way NHS Event Venue London

 

As an events venue, 20 Bedford Way knows the value of meeting our client’s needs. When it comes to hosting NHS events in London, we know that affordability, technical facilities and location, location, location are what matters.

Our central London location in Bloomsbury makes us an ideal venue for healthcare conferences as well as a whole host of other events. Our range of excellent blank-slate rooms can hold anything from 9 and 910 delegates.

Logan Hall, a 910 seater lecture theatre, is perfect for large-scale healthcare events and Conferences. Crush Hall and Jeffery Hall can be used as exhibition spaces, often in conjunction with Logan Hall. We also have a number of smaller rooms – many of which have breakout spaces – ideal for smaller NHS conferences and training sessions. The use of state-of-the-art AV equipment is included in the cost of our rooms and we also provide an AV technician to assist you if required. 20 Bedford Way benefits from excellent transports links as well as affordable carparking. 20 Bedford Way is also close to a number of excellent hotels to suit a full range of budgets.

 

We are more than happy to work with booking agents and venue finders as well as NHS event organisers directly in order to deliver your event. Our dedicated management team will go out of their way to ensure your event is a success whether it be an NHS training day or large scale conference and exhibition. For all enquiries please contact us today on 020 7612 6143.

To keep up to date with all NHS events visit http://www.events.england.nhs.uk

 

 

 

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