Healthcare managers would provide the leadership for the changes required in the health service, HMI President, Mr. Tony Canavan said when he officially opened the Health Management Institute’s 12th Annual Conference in the RDS, Ballsbridge, Dublin on October 25.
The HMI President said it was over five years since the Sláintecare Report was published. “Our conference today, Leading Healthcare Integration: Strategies For Optimising Patient Care,” looks to see where we are at this mid-point. The challenges have not lost their complexities, but we have seen progress and success. As healthcare managers, we will provide the leadership for the changes required. Being informed leaders means that we must keep abreast of the latest trends and best practices. We must be able to identify opportunities for improvement and to consider alternatives means, including optimizing the use of technology in all its forms to deliver the best care. This means that as managers, we will need to dig deep as we have done previously, to be adaptive, resourceful, and committed to real change.
Welcoming Members, Guests, Distinguished Speakers and Delegates, he said that in this, his third year as President of the Institute, he was very happy to be a part of what he and his fellow Council members expected to be a great day, a day of listening, a day of sharing, a day of learning.
“I am also delighted to be sharing to be the stage here today with a wonderful line up of speakers. I, as President of HMI, and my fellow Council members hope that you will enjoy the day.”
Mr. Canavan, who is also CEO, Saolta University Health Care Group, said one of the really enjoyable aspects of the conference was the connections made with speakers and colleagues, the networking opportunities, putting a face to a name or rekindling previous working relationships. Another key feature of the conference, was the sense of a shared community, in this case, of health managers, coming together to learn and absorb, to engage with and be a part of the debate.
He said, “The HMI is the professional body for healthcare managers across all sectors of the health services in Ireland. Its aim is the continuous development of standards of management competence and practice. It achieves this aim through informing, educating and involving its members and stakeholders in professional development and networking events. You will see from the video loop showing today the extensive year-around set of activities we are involved in. In ways, our regional events and other activities are like having a year-round conference where new ideas are discussed and debated. I encourage you and your colleagues who are not members to join up and help us to expand the work of the Institute in your organisation and workplace. The HMI offers an extensive range of management and personal skills training programmes, some of them accredited, focused on the needs of managers in the health services.
“Being a member Institute, we are conscious of the need to meet with our members and to disseminate relevant information about the key issues in healthcare delivery. The principal way we do this is through our conference and our regional events. These could not happen without the support we receive from our sponsors. I would like to thank GSK, who are not only our main sponsor here today, but who also support our regional events. Their continued support for our events and conference assists greatly the work of the Institute.
“I would like to take a moment now to especially thank each of our other sponsors and exhibitors who are here today. On my own behalf, and on behalf of the Council of HMI, I would like to acknowledge and thank them all for their support which helps to make this annual conference happen, allowing us an opportunity to run, what I believe is, a highly topical and relevant conference for healthcare managers.”
Today is about you, all you. We encourage you, we challenge you to become involved today. Ask the questions, contribute to the discussion. We want to hear from you.”
