“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss” *
Whatever the outcome of today’s election, one thing is a given – transformational change is needed for the NHS to survive and prosper in both the immediate and long-term future. Change is needed to address the growing financial, demographic and workforce pressures, as well as rising public expectations; change is needed if the NHS is to deliver the first class health service to which the public demand.
There will be a new political landscape – both locally and nationally – and the danger is that this will cause anxiety within organisations, leading to inertia while the NHS wait for details, clarity and guidance in the post-election environment. However, the NHS can’t afford to wait; the challenges it currently faces will not change significantly and it needs to keep driving forward to overcome those challenges without delay.
Leaders within the NHS, need to be clear, strong and united about why change is needed. Even if they could afford it, a return to the old style of healthcare delivery would simply not be in the best interests of its service users. They need to make a strong and convincing case for change now.
They need to have robust facts and figures at their fingertips, alongside a demonstrable understanding of what delivering and receiving a quality health service means to the workforce and service users alike. Meaningful data helps to develop and communicate a case for change that inspires local ownership and commitment amongst system partners, staff and the public. The NHS Confederation in their excellent publication “Reconfigure it out”[i] provides powerful evidence for the need for change, and also guidance on how to deal with resistance to change.
To inspire those who will be required to deliver new service models, possibly in unfamiliar environments, leaders need to share stories of possibilities and successes, and they need to listen to others stories, concerns and expectations for the future and, especially, their ideas for how change could work – they might just have a novel solution up their sleeve! Leaders must make emotional connections that will engage staff and the public’s hearts and minds as well as craft carefully constructed arguments based on robust and meaningful facts and figures. Each conversation should instil a sense of urgency and ownership for delivering the changes that are so essential regardless of the outcome of the election. The NHS need to make a case for change that crosses the political divide, stands up to scrutiny and weathers the political storm.
NHS leaders are not salesmen pitching to potential customers, trying to sell the benefits of a new model of care. It is about so much more than that. It is sharing a common awareness of how, in any of their lifetimes, they may have delivered, witnessed, or even been on the receiving end of, superb health services that have saved lives where previously there would be no hope, they have also seen the NHS stretched to breaking point with the inevitable associated failings in quality and care.
But leaders cannot delay – things will not improve until they start this process of transformational change. They need to communicate the fact that delay will only make things worse, and that, while change can be hard for those affected, trying to maintain the status quo, even with promised cash injections, will only get harder. So, tonight, whilst we all wait for the “swingometer” to point us towards the new political landscape, NHS leaders don’t become paralysed by uncertainty and fear. Instead concentrate on making a case for change that resonates, that is grounded in evidence, and that paints a picture of what the NHS could achieve. For one thing is certain, whatever the result, leaders need to make radical changes to deliver an NHS of which they can be truly proud.