Day one of our annual conference and exhibition has now come to a close – below is a round-up of the day’s activities. 

Day two plenary summaries

We opened day two with Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt, secretary of state for health, who outlined plans for a new national workforce strategy to be published next year. Read our storify summary.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, called for additional funding in the upcoming Budget, warning that hospital waiting lists could grow by a quarter to five million by 2021. Take a look our storify summary and our response to both speeches.

Other plenary speeches

We welcomed Claire Murdoch, national mental health director at NHS England who delivered a keynote speech on her ambitions for mental health and the Five-year-forward-view, joined by Dr Paul Lelliott, deputy chief inspector of hospitals (mental health) at the Care Quality Commission; and Melanie Walker, chief executive of Devon Partnership NHS Trust. Read our storify summary here.

Our conference came to a close with Professor Sidney Dekker, international safety expert at Griffith University who shared thoughts on just culture and the pathway to greater trust in your organisation. View our storify summary here.

Our budget asks

In our budget submission and blog, we urge the chancellor to seize the opportunity to help the health service escape from an impossible trap, as it struggles to meet soaring demand in the midst of an unprecedented financial squeeze.

2018 dates

We’re pleased to announce that our 2018 annual conference will take place on 9 – 10 October in Manchester. Do block out your diaries for next year and look out for further details soon.