Alternative views of System Reform

For the last 25 years governments have tried to reform the NHS. This paper explores the dynamics of the system that have defeated all these attempts and considers whether they will do so again.
Click here to read it and here to email a response

A shortage of trust

Once again there are calls for greater trust in the system, but if we are going to encourage this we need first to understand just what it is. This paper considers what is meant by trust, how we can place it wisely, and what we have to do to be judged as trustworthy. The accusation of lack of trust between SHAs and PCTs is used as an extended example, although the concepts apply equally to relations between all NHS organisations.
Click here to read it and here to email a response

Making the most of partnerships

Are you frustrated at the lack of progress made by partnerships in which you are involved? Are you irritated by the lack of partnership behaviour by your partners?
This resource will help you assess the potential of any partnership you are invited to join, and clarify the types of behaviour that will be most productive. It is the product of the Beyond Partnership Learning Set in which members shared their understanding of relevant theory, tested it against wider experience, and explored their current partnership experiences through action learning. This was a rich learning experience in which we became increasingly convinced of the need to distinguish between four different types of partnership, which are determined by circumstances largely outside the control of the partners. These types determine the potential of the partnership and the types of appropriate behaviour.
To see the resource click here. To email a response click here

Caring about Care

The health care professional’s desire to focus on patient care and to monitor performance in terms of quality, activity and equity, often clashes with the managerial focus on the monitoring of financial and organisational performance against externally imposed targets. If both would care first about care, and second about the organisation - as the best vehicle for delivering care – then there could be a coinciding of interests and energies that could be transformationally powerful. We could, in effect, have health care organisations that cared about care.
This learning set will explore what such an organisation might be like. That is, one that can bring together quality care and organisational efficiency in a dynamic relationship - with care at the centre.
Caring about Care will be of interest to Directors of Operations, Directors of Nursing, Medical & Clinical Directors, Directors of Commissioning, Turnaround Directors and their teams, PEC members and anyone who cares enough about care to want to join in!
For further information click here and to register an interest in joining the programme click here

Really Managing Health Care

This practical handbook is for anyone who manages clinicians and especially for clinicians who take on leadership responsibilities.
Critical response to the first edition included:
Really Managing Health care is a joy to read ..  interesting and extremely practical …enjoyed the case studies … British Medical Journal
Yes! This is a book that draws heavily on real life observations with an appropriate balance of theory and pragmatism … Nursing Times
To read the introduction and concluding thoughts click here. To order a copy click here

OD Partnerships Network

Really Learning is pleased to be a part of the OD Partnerships Network, further details of which can be found by clicking here

Becoming an Effective Strategist

At a time when greater emphasis than ever is being placed on coherent organisational strategy, skills in developing, articulating and implementing strategies that are robust clinically, financially and competitively are becoming more and more important.
Not only are effective strategy skills needed in their own right, but they are an increasingly important aspect of reputation management, not least because of the priority given to them as part of the FT diagnostic and PCT Fitness For Purpose processes.
The current emphasis on financial skills on the Board has prompted some to wonder whether there is a danger that the strategies developed over the next few years will be insufficiently focused on care itself, focusing instead on finance and on competition issues. This interactive development programme for strategy practitioners looks at means of developing strategies that are robust financially and take account of competition and collaboration on a number of fronts and yet are strongly rooted in effective clinical care.
For further information click here and to register an interest in joining the programme click here

Towards Organisational Stewardship – Developing Clinical Engagement

Meaningful engagement between clinicians and managers will be critical if health care organisations are to offer excellent care within the resources at their disposal, and meet access and financial targets that demonstrate this. For this to happen both clinicians and managers need to develop new skills, new attitudes and new ways of perceiving their interests.
At the heart of this change is the need for them both to concentrate on effective health care and to see stewardship of the organisation as the best means of ensuring this. In many organisations the current situation is that clinicians focus on care and managers on the organisation and its finances, and this shift of perceptions will require attention and energy in its own right. 
Really Learning and OD Partnerships Network have developed a programme of supported activities for ODPN members that enable this shift and which draw on the expertise and experience of network members, and on concepts that have been developed within the network.
For further information click here. To register an interest click here

Making Strategy Work

Developing strategies that work in practice requires a range of different skills and the ability to bring them together at the right times. This is a resource that explores just what skills are needed, and when and how to deploy them
For further information click here