21/12/2009 by Patrick Keady.

Every week, I receive two or three phonecalls about assignments in NHS risk management, governance and safety. However, many of the proposed assignments would be a waste of NHS time and NHS money.

Earlier this year, a PCT asked me to lead on corporate governance, health & safety, risk management, information management, health records, complaints, claims, moving and handling and commissioning strategy.

I challenged the potential client to describe in a few short sentences, what they wanted me to achieve, and by when. They were unable to see or tell me what success might look like.

So, I offered them telephone coaching, free-of-charge. The PCT soon saw that my input would be very worthwhile in one discreet project, where my independent insight and skill-set was just right.

The project is mission-critical to the PCT. They were happy with my daily rates too ! And during the course of the phone conversations, the potential client identified in-house people that could lead on many of the other pieces of work.

NHS organisations need to clearly think about what they want to achieve, before contacting independent consultants.

About Patrick Keady

Patrick helps NHS organisations make better decisions. A former NHS Director of Governance and Strategy, he received awards from the BMA and IOSH. Patrick is a Company Director, a Trustee at a Chartered professional body and Editorial Board member at a peer-reviewed Journal. For more information, click www.betteroutcomes.org

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02/12/2009 by Patrick Keady.

Stephen Ramsden achieved so much at his NHS Foundation Trust. Just six weeks ago, the CQC rated Luton and Dunstable as the best acute trust in NHS East of England. HSJ reported today that he will be leaving the trust in the spring of 2010 after 12 years in the post.

And with 12 years as Chief Executive at his FT, he is a shining NHS example of what makes successful organisations …………successful.

Led by Jeff Immelt, CEO at General Electric, a study found one key trait that is common in all successful companies. Their managers stay in place for along time.

Staying in place for along time, gives them space to extend their abilities, to learn much more about their organisation, to develop the critical connections that make their organisations perform better.

This is what Stephen Ramsden did, as a Chief Executive at Luton and Dunstable. Medical staff become successful because they take similar speciality-specific steps to extend their abilities, to learn about their speciality and to develop critical connections.

Immelt also found the converse, asserting that ‘the places where we’ve churned people like reinsurance, are the places where you will find we’ve failed’. We’ve had examples in the NHS where people are ‘churned like reinsurance’.

We need more Stephen Ramsdens, not less!. And in turn, they need the support of their Boards, their employees, SHAs, Monitor, Governors and other key stakeholders.

Chief Executives need the time and space to get to know their organisations much better, to extent their personal abilities, to develop critical connections, to understand risks and how to manage them effectively.

And in return they will be better placed to ensure that their NHS organisations wrestle with the very real risks of escalating demand and constraining resources.

About Patrick Keady

Patrick helps NHS organisations make better decisions. A former NHS Director of Governance and Strategy, he received awards from the BMA and IOSH. Patrick is a Company Director, a Trustee at a Chartered professional body and Editorial Board member at a peer-reviewed Journal. For more information, click www.betteroutcomes.org

Posted in Safety, Risk Management, NHS, Governance, Patient, Strategy | Print | No Comments »