There is much to welcome in We Are the NHS: People Plan 2020/21 – Action for us all, published last week by NHS England, such as its commitment to flexible working, apprenticeships, adequate rest time and facilities for staff, and more. Even so, the report left me thinking that it might have heralded the kind of culture […]
You have to be quite a courageous person to talk about love in a meeting. You have to be a really really courageous leader to talk about love in a meeting with other leaders! I’ve tried to do it quite a few times in various situations and very rarely does it land well. People tend […]
Often, I hear my grandfather say that ‘it’s not like it was in my day’ as if that is a good thing. For me that conjures thoughts of world wars, rationing, coal mines, disease, tenements and a serious lack of technology. However, recently I have been aware of some traditions or services making a bit […]
Since we began supporting Buurtzorg-inspired change in British health and adult social care four years ago, many children’s social workers and managers have urged us to apply the same knowledge and experience to their sector. As a small social enterprise with no core funding – every penny we spend (apart from my own initial investment […]
Britain’s nurses should proudly celebrate their profession’s great achievements, England’s Chief Nursing Officer Ruth May said last night when she opened the Nursing Times workforce awards, which I had the privilege of attending as the publication’s guest. The hundreds present went on to do just that, cheering every mention of the scores of nominated local initiatives […]
What does ‘leadership’ mean as we shift from treating people as passive recipients of health and care services to building communities that support us all to live the best lives we can? That was the underlying theme – from my point of view, at least — of the highly stimulating Nesta conference on the Future of […]
May has been a month of perpetual motion for me, and as it comes to a close I realise it has brought growing evidence that my wonderful team and I are part of an unstoppable movement for change in the way we all support each other in our communities and at work. It is easy […]
What do you think when you hear the phrase “health and social care integration”? If you work in or around British care services, it’s a phrase you’ll have heard so often you might no longer think about its meaning. Scotland’s chief nursing officer, Fiona McQueen, hears it as much as anyone — but she is […]
NHS staff retention has declined over this decade and showed no improvement last year, the Health Foundation’s annual workforce review reported this week. The problem is most severe in community trusts, with an average attrition rate of 20 per cent (p.3), which, of course, leads to increased demand elsewhere in the system. “If staff shortages continue, this […]
This was going to be a blog about a meeting. On Friday Public World had a lunch meeting with Buurtzorg’s Jos de Blok and members of the four neighbourhood nursing teams that we are currently supporting to introduce the Buurtzorg approach to health and social care here in the UK. We were excited about bringing […]