As the National Medical Director’s Clinical Fellow in the Healthcare Inequalities Improvement team at NHS England, I’ve had the privilege of contributing to national strategy and policy – challenging at times, but always revelatory [LW]. Of the many inspiring initiatives I’ve encountered, the High Intensity Use (HIU) Programme stands out [LW]. Our team enjoyed visiting […]
Latest articles
A prescription for caring in healthcare leadership – Book review by Dr. Cristina Costache
You can’t spell “healthcare” without “care”, but that doesn’t mean compassion and care are always present in healthcare environments. Compassion is central to teamwork, effective care delivery, good patient outcomes and employee satisfaction1. So how do we harvest and protect this important ingredient? Dr Joshua D. Hartzell’s book offers a “prescription” divided into 23 sub-prescriptions, […]
From Policy to Practice in Primary Care: Why the NHS 10-Year Plan Is a Call to Action for Realising Value-Based Healthcare. By Dr. Lynda Odoh
In reading the NHS 10-Year Plan, I was drawn by the phrase “a value-based approach,” repeated strategically and with intent about nine times. In one of those excerpts, it says: “The era of the NHS’s answer always being more money, never reform, is over. It will be replaced with a new value-based approach focused on […]
From blame to capability: What the NHS can learn from Australia’s approach to medical leadership. By Dr. MaryAnn Ferreux
The UK government’s recent consultation “Leading the NHS: Proposals to regulate NHS managers” has reignited long-standing debates about how we hold healthcare leaders accountable when things go wrong [1]. Regulation alone cannot prevent system failure. The NHS needs to change its culture, which can only be done by focussing on fostering compassionate, competent, and courageous […]
CV (Curriculum Vitae) writing for healthcare professionals: beyond the medical roles – A focus on clinical leadership. By Jarin Noronha
During my leadership fellowship with the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management at NICE, I was asked to create my ‘Non-Medical’ CV. What seemed like a routine task became a valuable opportunity for reflection. As I outlined non-clinical skills, like stakeholder engagement and project management, I realised how these added value beyond my clinical role. […]
Empowering Health Professions Educators in Southeast Asia: A Comprehensive Leadership Course. By Hui Meng Er, Siti Suriani Abd Razak and Dame Jane Dacre
Context Leadership skills are essential for health professions educators, who are expected to be involved in curriculum, institutional and stakeholder management, but are often overlooked. The absence of leadership skills has often been identified as the reason for the failure of education initiatives such as curriculum implementation, assessment reforms and programme accreditation (Aldrich & McLure, […]
If Community Care Matters, Why Do We Treat It as an Afterthought? By Zain Memon
Ubuntu – “I am because we are”. An African philosophy that emphasizes the interconnectedness and responsibility that we have to the communities that make us who we are. During my internship at a Family Justice Center in the United States supporting survivors of interpersonal violence, this philosophy was drilled into me every day as my […]
Kindness and inclusion in Leadership – are we brave enough? By Anna Baverstock, Harriet Jones, Petra Jankowska, Jeremy Smith and Mike Walburn
As colleagues in the NHS, our priority is patient care that meets the needs of every person, regardless of their background, identity or income. This is easy to say yet report after report shows us it’s hard to do in practice. We know quality of care is linked to workplace inclusion, colleague wellbeing, kindness and […]
Lessons without boarders – what the NHS can learn from global health leaders. By Bhavna Halai
At the recent Commonwealth Intergenerational Dialogue during the World Health Assembly, I found myself sat amongst global health leaders and frontline workers, each armed with all too familiar stories of the of challenges and determination from the health systems they serve. Whether in the UK, the Caribbean, or sub-Saharan Africa there were striking parallels around […]
The quiet challenge of transition: A view on scientific leadership. By David Díaz-Báez
Across universities worldwide, scientific production is typically structured in ways that should, in theory, allow for both the consolidation of knowledge and its periodic renewal. Yet, in many academic settings, research and institutional leadership positions remain occupied for decades, creating a particular form of stability—one that tends to inhibit, rather than promote, generational transition. This […]