BCS help win a bid for nursing informatics global conference

BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, has helped win a bid to hold a global digital health conference dedicated to nursing informatics.

The International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) nursing informatics conference will be held in the summer of 2024 in Manchester.

It’s expected to attract several hundred delegates who come together to share their experience and learn about latest developments and best practice in the world of nursing informatics.

Nick Hardiker, lead organiser of the bidding team and member of the BCS nursing specialist group executive committee, said: “Informatics is increasingly coming to the fore as a necessary foundation for sharing data effectively and improving patient safety and health outcomes – it is no longer a niche activity but is rapidly becoming integrated into the daily work of nurses, midwives and other health professionals.

“Covid 19 has seen rapid digitalisation across health and social care settings, and nursing practice environments are no exception. This conference will allow delegates from around the world, from nurses and midwives in practice, through to senior academics and policy leaders, to come together to learn how informatics can be used to its fullest potential, ethically and efficiently.”

The consortium that developed the successful bid was made up of a team of senior health service representatives from across all four of the devolved UK nations and the Republic of Ireland, along with leading health informatics academics. Together the bidding team form part of the Five Country Digital Leadership Group (DLG) for nurses and midwives in the UK and Ireland.

NHS chief nursing officer for England Ruth May backed the bid, saying that the conference will “provide opportunities to re-energise nursing informatics as a clinical academic discipline”.