Hugh Flanagan
5 comments By Hugh Flanagan
I agree.
Deja vu... Written in 1997!
"Management of the NHS is necessary and vital to effective delivery of health services. It is not a process that can be avoided, whoever does it. New Labour needs effective managers in the NHS if they are to bring about the changes they want to see. Manager bashing, which New Labour is showing signs of continuing, is counter productive and encourages a climate of threat for managers which subsequently translates into bad management practice with its inevitable consequences for service quality and productivity."
Published in Health Manpower Management Vol 23, no 5, 1997 (now Journal of Management in Medicine).
Plus ca change?I add my best wishes to Peter for a happy retirement... Though I imagine he will continue to have much to do with the NHS?
His comments on leadership, from a practitioner at the top level, are spot on as the comments show. The complex NHS does not need 'heroic' leaders who stand in isolation. It is not good for the NHS nor for the individual leader. Though I do agree with the comment above that leaders need to be visibly courageous. Those in formal roles need to be seen to give a lead but that lead is not based on a belief that 'the leader' should have all the answers and always be the visible person at the front. Effective leaders seem to have the ability to behave flexibly moving from giving a lead to enabling others to take a lead as appropriate to the needs of the situation. They also have the ability to read their situations [the context, their role, the team capability] accurately and know when to ask for help and support. The courage to act on their reading, whether it is stepping to the front themselves or supporting others to step forward and letting go themselves is integral to the role.
As Peter commented the NHS is in one of the most difficult periods in its history and leaders at all levels in the NHS need courage!Staff often know what can go wrong with a clinical system but have no opportunity to point this out and/ or perceive the trusts culture as "discouraging" them from saying so. Enabling staff to share perceptions and beliefs about how systems actually work in practice can lead to startling insights into the reality of how things work or not. And can lead to the proactive identification of risks in the system and the potential of the system to cause harm to patients.
I agree with all the comments above - the majority anonymous which is possibly indicative of the democratic deficit in the NHS?
Grantham a&e row is one of many examples resulting from the fear of politicians to instigate a meaningful public debate on the purpose and funding of the NHS. See comment from Meg Hillier chair of PAC.Bickering and worse will continue to be the norm over Nhs financial performance unless and until the government has the political bottle to instigate a meaningful public debate on the purpose and funding of the NHS in our society.
Commented on: 4 December 2014
Healthcare leaders attack 'scapegoating' of managers