Hunt to give 2015 HSJ annual lecture

The lecture, held in conjunction with advisory firm FTI Consulting, was launched last year to provide a high profile annual platform for a leading figure in healthcare to set out their long term vision for the UK’s health service.

“There are many examples of similar stages outside health policy, most famously the chancellor’s annual Mansion House speech. The NHS – the UK’s most highly respected institution and one of the defining characteristics of our nation – deserved equal treatment,” said HSJ editor Alastair McLellan.

The event will take place in London before an invited audience of healthcare leaders on the evening of 29 October. It will be filmed and broadcast on hsj.co.uk. The full text of the lecture will also be published on the site.

The first lecture was given in December by NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens, who used his speech to launch the implementation phase of the NHS Five Year Forward View.

Mr Hunt set out the beginnings of a “25 year plan” for the NHS in July in which he painted a picture of a service relying less on targets and more on transparency. He also claimed that future health secretaries would have to battle their “inner Stalin” when giving NHS organisations greater freedom.

Mr Hunt has just celebrated his third anniversary as health secretary, making him the second longest holder of the post since it was created 27 years ago. In November he told HSJ that he had asked the prime minister to keep him in post until 2017.