ABPI and NHS Confederation partner with Communiqué Awards to share best practice

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and NHS Confederation are partnering with the Communiqué Awards to expand the reach of a new programme to share best practice in healthcare communications with industry and the NHS. 

Communiqué Awards workshops will share learnings of good practice in healthcare communications, which can be adopted and adapted by industry and healthcare communicators for the ultimate benefit of patients.

The news follows commitment from both the ABPI and NHS Confederation, in recent weeks, to form an industry-NHS partnership and run joint education and training initiatives.

During the ABPI Annual conference on April 26, the pharma organisation announced the creation of a new team to collaborate with the NHS at regional level, and pledged to share best practice to improve uptake and health outcomes in each region. 

Speaking at the ABPI conference, Miles Ayling, director of innovation and service improvement at the Department of Health, emphasised the importance of establishing joint industry and NHS training and education programmes.

"I very much welcome the establishment on the ABPI's new partnership team, which will help build stronger the links between industry and the NHS as described in Innovation, Health and Wealth (IHW). Beyond medicines, we are also looking at how all concerned can share skills, expertise and knowledge to improve the health of UK patients and help transform lives,” he said.

Following the conference, NHS Confederation announced the appointment of Sir Keith Pearson as chair of Health Education England – an organisation that will provide national leadership to the new system of education and training in healthcare. Healthcare Education England will come into effect as a special health authority from June 2012. 

The Communiqué Awards sharing best practice initiative with the ABPI and NHS Confederation is in line with plans laid out by the Department of Health's in its report Innovation, Health and Wealth: Accelerating Adoption and Diffusion in the NHS. 

“We need to be able to draw on the best available knowledge and experience of innovation to support adoption and diffusion at local level, and to cross-fertilise ideas and expertise across the NHS. We need to get the brightest and best innovators to share their knowledge, learning and expertise with the NHS,” the report states. 

The inaugural event will take place on October 25, at the Park Plaza Hotel in London.