This report, published in partnership with NHS Providers, draws on the views and experiences of 12 departed or departing chief executives, or those changing jobs within health care. It aims to illuminate the realities of leadership in today’s NHS. The interviews illustrate both the positives of the job and its current difficulties. The difficulties need to be addressed if we are, first, to hold on to experienced leaders who are able to transform the NHS in an innovative way, and, second, recruit the next generation.
Catherine Beardshaw, former Chief Executive Officer of Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and one of the interviewees in our recent report, The chief executive's tale, gives a personal account of life as an NHS leader.
People today are under intense pressure to be “ideal workers”—totally committed to their jobs and always on call. But after interviewing hundreds of professionals in many fields, the authors have concluded that selfless dedication to work is often unnecessary and harmful. It has dysfunctional consequences not only for individuals but also for their organizations. The authors discuss three typical strategies for coping with demanding workplaces, and the risks associated with each. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
The Health, Safety and Wellbeing Partnership Group (HSWPG) has launched new resources and an infographic to support NHS organisations to develop cultures where staff are free from the fear of intimidating behaviour.
The partnership group recognises that bullying can have a detrimental effect on an individual’s overall health and wellbeing. The new resources include a webpage containing practical tools, evidence and support for tackling bullying, and an infographic that shows the impact of bullying and harassment in the NHS.
Article looks at skills required by chief executives in the future to lead a workforce of Generation Zs. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Findings from survey of employees to see what elements they thought were missing from their managers' performance management processes. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Kaizen, or continuous improvement, lies at the core of lean. Kaizen is implemented through practices that enable employees to propose ideas for improvement and solve problems. The aim of this study is to describe the types of issues and improvement suggestions that hospital employees feel empowered to address through kaizen practices in order to understand when and how kaizen is used in healthcare. Open Access Article
In the first of the blogs, Dan Robertson the Director of Diversity and Inclusion at the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion, talks about bias in leadership and his own experience of it in both the private and public sector. Dan is a highly respected expert on workplace diversity & inclusion management, unconscious bias and inclusive leadership.
Explains the difference between employee morale and employee engagement and looks at the best ways of achieving both. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Nurses have been called to lead change to advance the health of individuals, populations and systems. Conceptual clarity about leading change in the context of nursing and healthcare systems provides an empirical direction for future research and theory development that can advance the science of leadership studies in nursing. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Speaking at the NHS Providers annual conference, the Health Secretary announced new measures to bring in the sharpest graduates and aspiring leaders and turn them into chief executives of the same standard as the best in the NHS and the private sector.
Mr Hunt acknowledged the challenges hospital leaders face, saying that running a hospital is one of the most difficult jobs in Britain today.
Open access.Aims and method.To identify causes of stress at work as well as individual, organisational and personal interventions used by employees to manage stress in public, private and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Qualitative interviews were conducted with 51 employees from a range of organisations.
Results.Participants reported adverse working conditions and management practices as common causes of work stress. Stress-inducing management practices included unrealistic demands, lack of support, unfair treatment, low decision latitude, lack of appreciation, effort–reward imbalance, conflicting roles, lack of transparency and poor communication. Organisational interventions were perceived as effective if they improved management styles, and included physical exercise, taking breaks and ensuring adequate time for planning work tasks. Personal interventions used outside of work were important to prevent and remedy stress.
Clinical implications.Interventions should improve management practices as well as promoting personal interventions outside of the work setting.
Our new case study from East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) shares their experience of reviewing their existing staff benefits and reward offer to help meet their recruitment and retention challenges.
ELFT is part of the NHS Employers Total Reward Engagement Network. After attending the network sessions and gathering thoughts and ideas on what other organisations are doing, it was decided that a complete review of their approach was necessary to make sure they had the right rewards and benefits in place.
Lean, quality improvement and human factors offer proven techniques for driving efficiency, responsiveness and quality in healthcare and have been instrumental to performance improvement across a growing number of providers.
As a result, NHS organisations are now actively encouraged to adopt them to drive productivity and quality. But local adoption and ownership is essential to success.
NHSP16: engaging clinicians
The junior doctor contract dispute put the spotlight on the disengagement felt by many junior doctors. Yet effective engagement with junior doctors and other clinicians is essential if trusts are to deliver high quality and sustainable services.
This session heard from three trust chief executives - one medically qualified, one who started out as a nurse, and another from a non-clinical background - on the approaches they take.