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Attain, UK’s largest independent healthcare consultancy, shares learning from working with a quarter of all sustainability and transformation partnerships to transform and improve health and wellbeing
What can the sector learn from this experience and what does it mean for the NHS?
Quality improvement and financial rigour are not mutually exclusive: initiatives that enhance one, if implemented responsibly, can often enhance the other
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Clinical cases for change are the most persuasive to stakeholders: these link to the NHS’s values and are critical to winning “hearts and minds” at every level, across all stakeholder groups
Action and engagement are not mutually exclusive: both are essential in any change process, the former sets the direction, the latter takes partners (staff and organisations) on the journey
Underperforming trusts are often a symptom of wider problems: often the causes of underperformance are built up over the course of several years, with system partners holding some culpability. Addressing issues in a single organisation will only address part of the problem.
Interventions to improve quality typically win significant buy in from staff: delivering better and safer services or outcomes for patients is an effective motivator across all staff groups
Transformation is more about “culture change” than meeting in year targets: momentum built during transformation needs to quickly become “business as usual” or the energy will be lost
Mandated change will have more immediate external support and momentum, but locally driven change will have more natural local buy in: leaders need to create comparable urgency in internally led change to enable effective transformation
Special Measures status (organisational or system wide) can be a driver for rapid improvement: despite the obvious stigma, it can provide a burning platform and a clear unambiguous way forward. However, over extending the length of time of Special Measures is detrimental to momentum morale and recruitment.
A new direction is easier to achieve with new leadership: leaders need to be seen to “own” and be accountable for the change to encourage staff to commit to it
Interventions are more persuasive if they are seen to be owned by the whole health economy: for the most part, it is not in the gift of any organisation (in isolation) to transform itself. A wider “health economy” view is critical.
Are you doing everything you can to ensure transformation is successful?
Attain is one of the most respected and effective providers of healthcare advisory and delivery services. To achieve this, they do everything they can to help make the NHS its patients, partners and staff better off.
Transforming and improving means Attain delivers tangible results, doing more than just “getting the job done”, they do the right thing and exceed expectations.
Attain can do this because they are driven by deeply held values and an ethical commercial model. Health and wellbeing means improving not just the lives of patients and staff across the NHS but in the wider community. Their profound understanding and personal experience of issues within the healthcare sector means they always work with dedication, commitment and professionalism focused on improving outcomes.
For further information, please visit www.attain.co.uk or contact Paul O’Connor at paul.oconnor@attain.co.uk
