Launch of “The Healthy NHS Board: principles for good governance”
- Sir David Nicholson, Chief Executive of the NHS in England spoke about the NHS as a political battleground but highlighted the similarities between the policies of the main political parties including support for Foundation Trusts, commissioning and a focus on the outcomes and entitlements for patients rather than targets.
- Elisabeth Buggins CBE, Chair, National Leadership Council outlined the practical steps that the National Leadership Council have taken to help boards be the best they can.The Council are also launching a digital platform http://www.nhsleadership.org.uk/boarddevelopment/ that includes case studies, discussion forums and literature review to aid board development. Her presentation is available to download here.
- Robert Harris, Policy Director at MONITOR said that boards must understand the importance of reputation and transparency. Good governance is good management and leads to good value for money.
The panel discussion What does it mean for our Boards? facilitated by Andrea Sutcliffe, Chief Executive, Appointments Commission, looked at practical examples of how boards have added value to different elements of governance.
The panel discussion Reading the political runes was facilitated by Nigel Edwards, Director of Policy & Communications, NHS Confederation and included Anna Dixon, Director of Policy at the Kings Fund, Andrew Haldenby, Director at Reform and Matthew Swindells, Managing Director for Health for Tribal Group. The panel considered the possible outcomes of the election including a new conservative government where nearly half the MPs will be new to the system, another labour government and a hung parliament.
The final session of the day - Radical Solutions was led by Colin Price, Partner, McKinsey asked delegates to consider practical solutions drawing on past experience and “The Healthy NHS Board”. Colin discussed his research about the ability of organisations to maintain their vibrancy over time. The statistics showed the healthy lifespan of an organisation are decreasing at a faster rate. The organisations that survive have the correct balance of performance and health. The distinctive contribution of the board is to make organisations healthy. The presentation is available to download here.
Yves Buckland closed conference telling leaders to be bold and to take responsibility for their organisations future.
Tell us what you thought
We are keen to hear what you thought about the day so if you did not the get chance to fill in an evaluation form, we would still welcome your comments and feedback on the day. The evaluation form is available to download, please complete and email to marketing@nhsconfed.org or fax to 08447744165.