‘From Surviving to Thriving’ was this year’s theme at the 4th Rhodes Annual Healthcare Forum at Rhodes House on 9-10 February 2019. This two day Forum brought together health professionals, Atlantic Fellows and Rhodes Scholars to discuss and network with each other on how to shift health goals beyond reducing mortality in order to create a world where everyone can enjoy thriving health.
The Forum started with a welcome address from the convenor Professor Sir John Bell (Alberta & Magdalen 1975), Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford, who remarked that there is a growing importance upon developing a strong social care model otherwise there would be a huge negative impact upon how we deliver healthcare more broadly. This was followed by a keynote from Dr Agnes Binagwaho, Vice Chancellor of the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda. In the afternoon, a panel gave insight into the challenges of achieving the goals of universal health coverage faced by low-to-middle income countries followed by breakout sessions where delegates deep-dived into the topics of disability, vulnerabilities and improving health in the UK Gypsy and traveller communities.
Mentoring at Rhodes House
Sunday saw Professor Sir Jeremy Farrar, the Director of the Wellcome Trust, speak on how academics must play a critical public role in promoting healthcare for all and the panel discussion on the barriers to receiving or researching healthcare for Indigenous people in New Zealand, Australia and Canada was articulately stated by leading researchers in that field.
Thank you to everyone who took part in this Healthcare Forum and a special thanks to BCG (Boston Consulting Group) and Centric Health for sponsoring the Forum. Please go to our YouTube channel for video clips from the weekend.
Rhodes Healthcare Forum Delegates