Press release: Comment on emerging themes from CHI reviews: key challenge is creating space for transformation
27 Nov 2002
Responding to today's report from the Commission for Health Improvement on emerging themes from its work, the Confederation commented that the NHS is on a necessary journey of transformation, the success of which will depend on creating an environment where this can flourish with changes to performance management, investment in leadership and teams, rediscovering middle management and administration, developing the information infrastructure and consistent messages from the top around decentralisation.
Gill Morgan, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation said: "These findings show there are areas of notable practice across the country which should be spread across the NHS. We need to create an environment where this can flourish."
The Confederation has produced a series of leading edge briefings on creating high performance. A number of ideas proposed for how to create a culture more conducive to high performance were:
- creating a performance management system that allows innovation, risk-taking and provides an environment for leaders to flourish and connect with frontline staff.
- changing measurement of efficiency and productivity
- investment in leadership - especially clinical leadership
- investing in teams
- rediscovering administration and middle management
- developing the information infrastructure
- thoughtful language and messages, particularly around decentralisation to support empowerment of local leaders
She explained, "The NHS is on a journey from a historic position where the NHS has been working at 100% with little space to step back and look at improvement. However, the resources are now going in and NHS management is committed to coupling resources with reform. We need to do things differently, not just more of the same. There has been a real tension between managing the short term pressures and finding the space to focus on the long term agenda of transforming the NHS."
Ends
Notes for editors
1. The NHS Confederation represents the organisations that make up the NHS. Our members include the majority of NHS trusts, primary care trusts and health authorities in England; trusts, health authorities and local health groups in Wales; trusts and NHS boards in Scotland; and health and social services trusts and boards in Northern Ireland.
2. The NHS Confederation has an ISDN line for radio interviews (020 7959 7283). To arrange an ISDN interview please contact the media office as above.
3. Leading edge briefings on creating high performance, published May 2002.
Contact details
- Contact Media Relations Manager Joanna Clason on 020 7074 3306 or 07798 571078 or Senior Media Officer Amy Darlington on 020 7074 3304 or 07767 770309. For out of hours media enquiries, please call the Duty Press Officer on 07880 500726.
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