Member News
ePolitix.com speaks to Shonali Rodriques, director of the Health Hotel, about the organisation and its party conference plans.
What is the Health Hotel?
Shonali Rodrigues: The best way to describe the Health Hotel is that it is a not-for-profit mini-conference that takes place at the three main annual political party conferences, brought to you by over 50 different organisations with a strong health policy interest.
We organise over 40 health debates, three receptions and an exhibition to try and put health at the forefront of the party conference agenda. These attract over 5,000 attendees during the party conference season.
How do you think the Health Hotel can help to facilitate the debate on issues relating to health?
Party conference is a cacophony of voices trying to be heard by policy makers. Sometimes there are over 100 events happening in any one time slot. The Health Hotel tries to help by distilling health policy issues into the top 12 topics and gathering as many stakeholders as possible to contribute to those topics.
As well as the amplifying messages through collaborative working, this makes it much simpler for attendees – such as MPs, peers, party members, local councillors, and prospective parliamentary candidates – who wish to debate health policy issues at conference.
What are the issues being debated this year?
Our top issues centre around the general election and the concerns about the future of funding in the National Health Service. We discuss cancer, dementia, patient safety, palliative care, healthcare in education and personalisation at our fringe events.
Why is it important to debate these issues?
Health is a topic of universal concern to all and the Health Hotel tries to create opportunities for these issues to be discussed so that policy makers are able to make informed decisions that will benefit all.
The members of the Health Hotel bring to the debate the expertise of a collective who between them represent hundreds of thousands of patients, nurses, doctors and health professionals throughout the UK.
How do you take forward the debate after conferences?
When everyone returns to Westminster after conferences, Health Hotel member organisations continue to take forward the issues discussed at party conferences in their public affairs activity going forward. The relationships that members build as a result of being a part of the Health Hotel ensure that the collaborative work on these topics continues throughout the year.
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