We were delighted to welcome Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, to Herefordshire recently.

The NHS Confederation is a membership organisation that brings together, supports and speaks for the whole healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is highly influential, being regularly consulted by Government and policy makers.

As a member of the NHS Confederation, Herefordshire General Practice, alongside senior representatives from the One Herefordshire Partnership and the Integrated Care Board, provided insights into many aspects of integrated working in Herefordshire.

This included a visit to our Talk Wellbeing Hub in Hereford City Centre where integrated preventative healthcare ‘in action’ was demonstrated, as well as a presentation from Primary Care Analytics’ MD, Conor Price, entitled ‘General Practice and Integrated Intelligence’.

Matthew seemed extremely engaged and impressed with what he saw whilst challenging the team with many insightful questions and observations. He recognised the challenges being faced by the health and care system and suggested that we are now at a point where a more transformative approach is required. He said this would bring together what’s happening across systems and flow around what patients need to get continuity of care.

We were delighted to welcome him to the county and to highlight many examples of good practice as well as some of the challenges we are facing.