Leadership and engagement for improvement in the NHS: Together we can

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The NHS faces a number of challenges – driving up quality of care, making significant productivity gains, ensuring the government’s reforms work. To meet these challenges, individuals and organisations need to rethink the way in which power and responsibility are shared within teams and organisations and across the health and care system.

Leadership and engagement for improvement in the NHS: together we can makes the case for engaging staff, patients and boards and for building relationships across systems of care. Building on the work of The King's Fund's 2011 Leadership Commission, the 2012 review has taken evidence from a number of national and international experts. Their evidence makes a compelling case for leadership and engagement:

  • organisations whose staff are engaged deliver a better patient experience, fewer errors and higher staff morale
  • engaging patients in their care can ensure that care is more appropriate and improve outcomes
  • increasing recognition of the importance of integrated care requires leaders to be effective across systems, both within and outside the NHS.

To make engagement a reality requires action at all levels, from the NHS Commissioning Board to the teams delivering care for patients. It also requires commitment to training and development of clinical staff in leadership skills from early in their careers. The unifying vision for every leader should be engaging for improvement with a clear focus on improving patient care and population health outcomes.

Comments

Noreen Koyratty

Position
Administrator,
Organisation
Barts Health
Comment date
09 December 2020

I believe a true leader is approachable and involves staff/team in decision making and let the staff and team have a voice. A leader who listens to staff and patients is takes on the role to show and demonstrate and actions the problems and makes the service and patient care better. This has a positive impact on others and encourages people to prosper and show their potential.

William Agbeko

Position
Charge Nurse,
Organisation
Royal Hospital for Neurodisability
Comment date
25 July 2020

I will link engagement to participatory, which means involving staff and patients in decision making makes them own the process and have a sense of belonging to the team and not an outcast. This definitely boost the morale of staff and makes them think of better ways of helping one out.

Emma

Position
Physiotherapist,
Organisation
Royal Devon and Exeter
Comment date
11 June 2020

Having read this by the Kings Fund has confirmed the importance of staff engagement in god health quality outcomes. Experience has taught me that when I feel appropriately challenged in my role, listened to and able to contribute to service development, I am better at my job and feel empowered to make more of a difference.

Bee

Position
HRN,
Organisation
HPFT
Comment date
15 March 2020

I think awareness of staff engagement is crucial, being heard and looking at the amount of overload of paperwork, online courses, extra reading, revalidation, so much to do now and I wonder how much more nursing staff will be expected to do in order to constantly prove we are reaching targets.

Desiree Carr-G…

Position
Receptionist,
Organisation
St Augustine Private Hospital
Comment date
10 January 2020

Engagement is very important to staff and management because everyone has a chance to be apart of the bigger picture the reason everyone has a job and the reason why the establishment was created in the first place, to make sure the patience have an experience of a lifetime one that they will never forge and to provide quality health care.

Margaret

Position
Senior Staff Nurse,
Organisation
Chelsea and westminster Hospital
Comment date
30 September 2019

I totally agree with the notion "engagement" Reading all reviews above and the insight into the Kings Fund Review about Leadership and engagement in NHS" has given me a flush back into my current clinical practice area as a nurse. Of recent, I have become really concerned with the way leadership and management is going. There is no staff engagement at all. Certain groups of staff are not involved in the departmental decision making and as a result, this has affected staff morale hence a great impact on patient's experience. This has also lead to majority of staff living as they feel not valued and no involved at all.

Graham Cunningham

Position
Dental Clinical Lead,
Organisation
Cumbria PFT
Comment date
16 September 2019

Engagement with people generally and staff members is a must have requirement for a Leader. People lead in different ways but if you are leading a team that don't buy into what you say or do then you are on a hiding to nothing. The best Leaders get the best out of their staff and keep their staff motivated and contributing to good patient outcomes.

Rani

Position
Nurse Manager,
Organisation
MOH
Comment date
25 August 2019

Engagement with people especially staffs is definitely needed especially if you have services to deliver and to ensure that services is given properly the people delivering it should be well inform of what is the goal and vision of any organization .Hearing to their feedback on ways to improve the work process will bring better patient outcome

Jummy

Position
Staff Nurse,
Organisation
NSFT
Comment date
12 May 2019

Engagement is very crucial, leaders should learn how to engage their followers and get their followers to engage. In the NHS engagement is important for both staff and patients because it transforms, empowers, influence and improves care. Engagement brings about team work and goal achievements, it improves performance and brings about positive approach to work

Chris Hanlon

Position
Student nurse,
Organisation
Gloucestershire Hospitals
Comment date
14 February 2019

Often a great leader isn’t one who has doubt, to be in such a great position and not have any doubt shows a very rigid way of thinking. Working together involving all member of the team achieves outcomes, and prevents repeating care and treatment. Enabling staff to use skills not only motivates their working but how they support others too. A person gains respect from others they do not demand it!

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