Valuing Time
You probably already have a good understanding of what might need to change. Sometimes you are just too busy, have too many competing priorities and not enough time to make changes and create sustainable solutions. Sometime you need a bit of extra support, whether to challenge current practises, help empower your team or create a bit of space.
Health Service 360 is run by Lynda Holt & Professor Brian Dolan OBE, both have a strong clinical background, both have held senior management positions in healthcare organisations, both understand people and how culture and process impact on performance.
They believe there are three questions you should ask yourself regularly:
1. Do your people have the expertise, confidence and freedom to fulfil their role?
2. Do your processes support the high-quality care you want to deliver?
3. Does your organisational cultural value people and get the best from them?
Your People
As you might expect, the vast majority of people in the NHS sit somewhere between technically competent and extremely skilled when it comes to the clinical or specialist aspects of their role. Where we consistently find challenges is in interpersonal behaviours, communication skills and leadership ability – many are unaware of the impact they have on their team, their juniors and the organisation. 360 degree feedback, integrated leadership programmes and coaching all help to embed the skills and cultural behaviours your people need.
Your Processes
People can often get lost in process, (both staff and patients), we look at what you do and how you do it. It doesn’t usually take much poking and probing to get people talking and thinking about what works and what could be done differently. Often those who can most impact on the quality of patient experience have got lost in processes, sometimes feeling disempowered, tired and overwhelmed with little or no control of their work environment, even at quite senior level.
Understanding the differing skills team members have and how to utilize them positively helps people to work together and find creative ways to deliver best quality care. Often people need permission to use the skills they have, particularly if they are not the technical or clinical skills expected of their role. Consultancy support, a lean approach and support with implementation all give people the confidence and courage to make change. These frontline changes often improve patient experience without increasing the cost of service delivery.
Your Performance
The reality is there are performance and financial imperatives that just have to be met. We are frequently invited to work with organisations in the first instance because one or more of these imperatives has not been met. Although the NHS (and international health systems) are under huge pressure due to increasing demand and limited resources, performance dips are usually the compounded by either people or processes or both.