Join us for this exciting knowledge exchange conference which brings together UK medical educators and healthcare partners to explore the support of final-year medical students and foundation doctors as they navigate challenging patient encounters which have the potential to generate complaints. Being unprepared to deal with patient complaints can contribute to moral injury and vicarious trauma.
The importance of supporting our future NHS workforce during this critical transition has been recognised through generous funding from the Della Fish Foundation, culminating in this free conference. Colleagues from Edge Hill University Medical School and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman have collaborated to support student electives, internships, and final-year learning focused on patient safety science, moral injury, and complex clinical communication.
The conference will showcase a range of resources developed through this partnership, alongside materials produced as part of the Della Fish Foundation Grant. These include filmed panel discussions and a four-part role-play series following a patient journey from general practice into secondary care, culminating in mediation through local resolution. More Than Minutes will be capturing the entire conference, creating a digital resource to be share with all delegates immediately after the conference.
Afternoon workshops will provide valuable opportunities for participants to engage with and contribute to future collaborative initiatives. Our ambition is to cultivate a dynamic network of colleagues committed to ongoing partnership—working together to co-create innovative educational resources and develop new funding opportunities, while bringing together expertise from across the sector.
Stalls include: GMC, Care Quality Commission, Medical Defence Union, Maternal and Newborn Safety Investigations, NHS Resolution, Patient Safety Learning, Health Services Safety Investigations Board, Royal College of Anaesthetists- Safe Anaesthesia Liaison Group.
Speakers
Paula Sussex, CBE – Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Bio
Paula became the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) for England in August 2025. She is a graduate of the London Business School and a trained barrister. She joined the PHSO from the financial technology firm OneID where she has been CEO since 2023. Previously, she was CEO at the Student Loans Company from 2018 to 2022, and the Charity Commission, from 2014 to 2017. She has extensive leadership experience, particularly in delivering major transformation and change programmes and services in the public, private and voluntary sectors. She was awarded a CBE in 2022 for services to higher education.
Elizabeth Jenkins – Assistant Director, Legal Team, GMC
Bio
Liz joined the GMC in January 2022 as Assistant Director in the Legal Team within Fitness to Practise. She is a barrister by profession. Prior to her role in the GMC, she worked in private practice in London, she then joined the Government Legal Service as a prosecutor in what was then HM Customs and Excise.
Chris McCann – Acting Chief Executive, Healthwatch England
Bio
Chris joined Healthwatch England in October 2019. Healthwatch was established by the Government in 2012 as an effective, independent, statutory public champion for health and social care.Its role is to gather and champion the views of users of health and social care services, to improve policy development and service delivery in the Health and Social Care sector in England.
Prior to joining Healthwatch Chris worked in central government at the Cabinet Office where he worked as Head of Strategy and Policy for GOV.UK and Head of Media and Strategic Communications at the Government Digital Service.
Rachel Power – Chief Executive, The Patients Association
Bio
Rachel joined the Patients Association as Chief Executive in 2017 and has led changes in the charity, resulting in a more engaged membership and an increase in profile for the Patients Association and its goal of embedding patient partnership in the design and delivery of health and care services. She sits on the NHS Assembly and is also a member of the National Data Advisory Group, Personalised Care Institute Steering Group, and NHS England’s Patient Choice Steering Group.
Rachel’s focus is on empowering patients through the provision of information that enables them to be active partners in their care.
Event Workshops
Transition to Practice: supporting student transition into Foundation Year
This interactive workshop examines strategies for supporting students to manage challenging clinical interactions through de-escalation, effective communication, and rational detachment. It uses real-life student cases to explore practical responses to conflict while maintaining professionalism. It also focuses on coping approaches that support student doctors’ wellbeing, with participants co-developing a practical toolkit to build confidence, resilience, and safe practice as students transition into Foundation training.
Patient Safety Science: transforming human errors into positive learning opportunities
This workshop presents learning from Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and final year medical student preparedness for joining the NHS workforce. It focuses on models of learning which are interactive, case based and complex, using high-fidelity simulated clinical skills pedagogy.
Complaints as a Gift: enhancing active listening, de-escalation and self-regulation
This workshop uses a series of cases to illustrate learning from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. It focuses on sharing resources which can be used in educational settings to assist students with preparedness for future practice.
Moral Injury and Vicarious Trauma: Building case-based learning resources
This workshop combines the moral dimension of dealing with patient complaints with learning from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. It focuses on the use of case based learning resources to enhance student engagement with preparation for the realities of clinical practice.
The role of self-regulation in developing clinical reasoning for safe patient care
This workshop focuses on clinical reasoning as a core clinical skill which requires emotional self-regulation. It offers opportunities to consider how these skills can be embedded into undergraduate and postgraduate education to enhance the patient voice and patient safety.
Developing qualitative research projects across final year medical education regarding preparedness for practice
This workshop brings together colleagues who are interested in developing collaborative qualitative research opportunities, focusing on projects which will enhance preparedness for the realities of clinical practice.
Programme running order
Morning Session
9am – 10am
Refreshments and conference stalls
10am – 10.05am
Welcome Professor Mini Singh, Director of Edge Hill University Medical School
10.05am – 10.15am
Introduction Dr June Jones, Professional Ethics and Law Lead, Edge Hill University Medical School
10.15am – 10.45am
The Importance of the Patient Voice Paula Sussex, The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)
10.45am – 11.15am
The role of the GMC in the Fitness to Practice Process Elizabeth Jenkins – Assistant Director, Legal Team- Fitness to Practice, GMC
11.15am – 11.35am
The patient voice perspective (1) Chris McCann – Acting Chief Executive, Healthwatch England
11.35am – 11.55am
The patient voice perspective (2) Rachel Power – Chief Executive, The Patients Association
12.00pm – 12.10pm
Medical student internship with PHSO Elliot Williams, MBChB 3
12.10pm – 1pm
Lunch
Afternoon Session
1pm -2.30pm
Workshops (choice of one)
1. Transition to Practice: supporting student transition into Foundation Year
2. Patient Safety Science: transforming human errors into positive learning opportunities
3. Complaints as a Gift: enhancing active listening, de-escalation and self-regulation
4. Moral Injury and Vicarious Trauma: Building case-based learning resources
5. The role of self-regulation in developing clinical reasoning for safe patient care
6. Developing qualitative research projects across final year medical education regarding preparedness for practice
