After arriving at the conference late on Sunday evening I was excited to get down to the convention centre and experience the hubbub of this year’s Lib Dem gathering of MPs, Lords, and activists.
We all had a busy day scheduled with one-to-one meetings between Ciarán, Chief Executive of Macmillan, and various politicians. As well as these meetings we also attend events, put on by other organisations where different issues are debated – these are called fringes.
Highlights from the fringe events on Monday included a discussion on work hosted by The Work Foundation. They looked at the need for greater collaboration between health and social care, as well as improving the welfare system to support the growing number of people diagnosed with long term chronic illness. This included supporting people with cancer to get back and remain in work if they wish – a high priority for Macmillan.
We know that less than 50% of people with cancer are told about how their treatment may affect their ability to work. And less than half of employers are aware that cancer is covered under the Disability Discrimination Act. We are launching a campaign in October to raise awareness of employers’ obligations to their employees. To find out more about what Macmillan is doing, visit: http://www.macmillan.org.uk/work
I also attended a ‘Dragons’ Den’ fringe where 3 charities pitched their ideas on how to save money while improving the NHS. The panel, which included, Baroness Liz Barker (former Lib Dem Health Spokesperson), a commissioner and a patient, scrutinised each idea in turn. The most popular reform was the extension of GP training from 3 to 5 years. The panel thought that the extra training would improve the quality and safety of the care GPs give to their patients.
Monday also saw Nick Clegg give his first conference speech since he joined the Conservatives to form a coalition Government. The Deputy Prime Minister’s speech centred on why the Lib Dems should be in the coalition and what they have achieved already. He placed a lot of emphasis on getting people back to work. Macmillan is eager to work with the Government on this issue so that future reform meets the needs of the people with cancer who wish to get back to work.
