This year’s Future Health Summit will bring together some of the brightest minds in the Irish and international healthcare industry to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing healthcare systems around the world and showcase a range of the latest and most innovative products and services.
More than 600 delegates are expected to attend the event, which will be held over two days on May 24th and 25th at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre. They’ll hear from more than 40 renowned speakers from Ireland, the US, the UK, Europe and further afield, who will address a variety of topics ranging from elderly care to digitalisation and the role of innovation in healthcare.
These speakers include Michele McCormack, chief executive of Mowlam Healthcare Services; Fergal Malone, professor and chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at RCSI School of Medicine; Bill Maher, group chief executive of Bon Secours Health System; Chris Henderson, digital health leader and health innovation strategist at Smith & Nephew; and Gordon Dunne, chief executive of Blackrock Health Hermitage Clinic.
As always, the Future Health Summit will also feature an exhibition in which more than 50 leading suppliers to the healthcare sector will display their products and services.
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There is an important difference to this year’s event, according to David Neville, chief executive of Investnet, the organiser of the Future Health Summit.
“We have moved to a new venue at the Radisson Blu hotel in Golden Lane in Dublin,” he explains. “It is the first time that we will have had a totally self-contained venue, with the conference hall, exhibition space, and delegate accommodation all in the same place. This is much more conducive to people meeting and doing business. It’s more like the US experience. In previous years we had different aspects of the event like conference dinners and so on in different places. It wasn’t ideal. Having one main location, the information and education element is covered by the conference event while the exhibition champions the business-to-business aspect, makes it a better experience for delegates and exhibitors.”
The Future Health Summit is actually two events in one, Neville explains. “It’s 20 years old now, and from the very start we have had the information and education element covered by the conference event and the business-to-business aspect by the exhibition. About 50 per cent of the activity at the event takes place in the exhibition area.”
The exhibition is more than a sales show, however, he says. “People like meeting their customers and being able to have personal interactions with them. People from these companies very often don’t get to meet the decision-makers they are dealing with. They are more used to dealing with procurement. On the other side, people in clinical roles often don’t realise who builds and supplies the products they are using. The exhibition is a great opportunity for these people to meet up and for suppliers to develop a deeper understanding of their customers’ needs.”
The conference sessions will cover a wide range of key issues facing today’s healthcare industry beginning with leadership
The new venue will enhance the experience for exhibitors. “We always get quite a lot of people in the exhibition hall, and we can’t expect them to be quiet,” he explains. “But the facilities this year will allow them to chat and engage in comfort knowing that they won’t be disturbing the conference sessions.”
Those sessions will cover a wide range of key issues facing today’s healthcare industry, beginning with leadership. “This session is sponsored by RCSI,” says Neville. “With health service reform top of the agenda in Ireland and in many other countries, this session will look at the leadership challenges associated with organisational transformation.”
Sponsored by Mason Hayes & Curran, the governance session will explore best practice and how this might be applied in Ireland, specifically in the context of the proposed establishment of five new regional health areas as part of the Sláintecare reform plan.
The care of the elderly session is sponsored by Mowlam Healthcare and will look at ways of meeting the healthcare challenges presented by a growing older population.
Partnership in action, sponsored by Bon Secours Health System, will examine the need to build on the partnership formed during the pandemic, with the aim of addressing the increasing healthcare needs of the population.
The sustainability session will address the need to continually improve public health and the quality of care while preserving natural resources and reducing environmental impact.
The innovation session will examine the broad spectrum of advances in healthcare, from breakthrough drugs and devices that can change outcomes on a global level to small changes in specific settings that improve productivity, efficiency, and patient experience.
Sponsored by Smith & Nephew, the digitally enabled change session will look at how the pandemic has accelerated the need for digitalisation and AI to be wholeheartedly embraced in order to address some of the key challenges facing our healthcare system here in Ireland.
“We are tremendously fortunate to have sponsors of this calibre on board,” says Neville. “The event is also being supported by Novartis and Blackrock Health.”
He points out that all seven conference sessions will be chaired by Fergus Clancy. “Fergus is immensely experienced and is chair of a number of healthcare organisations including the Mater Private Network, TriCastle Healthcare Partners, and Mobile Medical Diagnostics. He also has experience in the charity sector. He will be able to link the different sessions and draw learnings from them.”
A relatively new addition to the line-up of events that make up the Future Health Summit is the Outstanding Contribution to Healthcare Award presented at the gala dinner, sponsored by Medforce and its new brand Steering Point, on the opening night. “We instituted the award last year to recognise the contribution of Irish individuals to healthcare here at home and overseas,” says Neville. “Our first honouree was NHS medical director Prof Yvonne Doyle. She helped to lead the British response to Covid-19 and had a highlighted public role throughout the pandemic. It was great to be able honour her in her own hometown.”
We want to foster awareness of the increasing importance of health technologies and innovations and their application to improve healthcare quality and safety
— David Neville, CEO of organisers Investnet
One of the main highlights of the event is the Innovator Award. Sponsored by global hospital operator UPMC and leading medical technology, services and solutions company Medtronic, the award is presented to an emerging business that successfully integrates technology into its mission to improve healthcare quality.
“The Innovator Award recognises young start-up companies less than three years old,” says Neville. “Our aim is to showcase innovation and shine the spotlight on start-up companies and entrepreneurs operating in the healthcare sector. We want to foster awareness of the increasing importance of health technologies and innovations and their application to improve healthcare quality and safety. Companies participating in the award can engage with fellow trailblazers in the health technology field, as well as the numerous delegates and speakers attending the summit. For shortlisted companies it’s a chance to meet and get in front of an international audience of healthcare leaders and decision-makers. It’s also a unique opportunity to engage with the two award sponsors.”
Former winners have gone on to enjoy considerable success. “LetsGetChecked and TickerFit were previous winners,” says Neville. “Peter Foley, founder of LetsGetChecked, came back to speak at the 2021 Future Health Summit.”
He believes this year’s Future Health Summit will be the biggest and best yet. “We had 550 delegates in 2022 and we are expecting over 600 this year. The move to the new venue helps and we continue to add new elements to the event to add to the delegate and exhibitor experience. We are looking forward to a really great event.”
The Future Health Summit 2023 takes place on Wednesday May 24th and Thursday May 25th at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre. Tickets are on sale here