The findings of the recently published National Audit Office report makes stark reading . The report claims there is “still significant room for improvement in how trusts manage their consultants”. Currently the NHS employs approximately 40,000 hospital consultants, at a cost of £5.6billion per year. It is sad, but perhaps not surprising to learn that whilst 69.2% of consultants feel collaboration between clinical managers and consultants is “very high or quite high”, only 42.5% feel a comparable level of collaboration between non clinical managers and consultants.
Clinical managers best placed…
Not surprisingly 60.8% of consultants feel that clinical managers have the best skills to get the best out of consultants, with only 19.9% stating that non clinical managers have the best skills. Linking this in to the Francis report which calls for “a relentless focus on the patient’s interests” it is clear that there is a requirement for “frontline staff to be empowered….under strong and stable leadership”. To provide this, the inquiry calls for “strong support for leadership roles”.
So, in an ever-time and financial resource challenged NHS do you achieve this? How will organisations and their staff translate this into reality? Across the NHS there has long been the growing recognition of the need to provide clinical and nursing staff with formal and informal opportunities to develop their leadership skills. These leadership skills have been formally recognised by the relevant leadership frameworks, both for clinical, non-clinical and nurse leaders.
Embedding Leadership skills…
The step change that can now be seen is the importance of embedding these crucial leadership skills into the start of an individuals’ career pathway, culminating in their appointment into official leadership roles such as ward manager, nurse consultant, consultant or clinical director.
Organisations at the forefront of this movement are utilising core leadership competencies…. to assist in their recruitment process – providing final selection panels with key information on these previously unchartered areas.
Organisations at the forefront of this movement are utilising core leadership competencies from these frameworks, or their own Trust values to assist in their recruitment process – providing final selection panels with key information on these previously unchartered areas. This thinking is again reflected in the Francis report (which calls for a list of common selection criteria to be drawn up for good leaders), and the National Audit Office report which states that “trusts should ensure that clinical managers have the right skills and support to get the best out of consultants”.
“A Key determinant of organisational success”…
So what about the outcomes? Research by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and the Institute for Innovation and Improvement “clearly indicates that medical engagement in the leadership and management of healthcare organisations is a key determinant of organisational success.” Time will tell how much the new clinical leaders of tomorrow can take forward the challenging NHS landscape, but one thing is for certain- the skills they are developing and harnessing will only improve the quality, efficacy and efficiency of the services the NHS provides.
Dearden Search and Selection specialises in supporting NHS organisations select the most talented leaders. If you would like to discuss how to ensure your organisation is at the forefront of the movement to fully embed clinical leadership, contact us on search.selection@deardenjobs.co.uk or 01404 814248.