An interview with Susan Hodgetts MIHM MBA BEd Med, Chief Executive: Institute of Healthcare Management, UK

Citation

Craven, A. (2009), "An interview with Susan Hodgetts MIHM MBA BEd Med, Chief Executive: Institute of Healthcare Management, UK", Leadership in Health Services, Vol. 22 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhs.2009.21122aaf.001

An interview with Susan Hodgetts MIHM MBA BEd Med, Chief Executive: Institute of Healthcare Management, UK

Article Type: Talking Heads From: Leadership in Health Services, Volume 22, Issue 1

Interview by: Alistair Craven

Susan Hodgetts was appointed Chief Executive of the Institute of Healthcare Management and took up the post in July 2006.The Institute of Healthcare Management (IHM) is the professional organization for managers throughout health care, including the National Health Service (NHS), independent providers, health care consultants and the armed forces.

The IHM’s focus is improving patient/user care wherever and whenever they need health care; the route to achieving this is through the promotion of excellence in health care management.

Since 1 January 2008 Sue has also been acting as interim CEO for the National Centre for Involvement. Sue has extensive experience in the field of education and training both within and external to the NHS. Previously, Sue held high profile positions within education organizations and NHS education and training bodies including five years as Chief Executive of the Devon and Cornwall NHS Workforce Development Confederation, where she built the organization from its inception.

Sue has a passion for developing organizations in order to maximize the potential of both its staff and its resources. Sue’s hobbies include mountaineering, sailing, theatre and film and enjoying her leisure time with family and friends.

AC - Hello and welcome. What are the objectives of the Institute of Healthcare Management and can you tell us about your day-to-day role?

SH

IHM is a unique professional body, supporting the needs of health care managers in the NHS, voluntary and private health care sectors. Every day is different, but my role is to ensure that the organization is a model of good governance and is a good employer. My priority is to make sure that our members are looked after and supported in their professional life so we can provide opportunities through education or events to enhance their career. So I will be attending meetings, travelling around the UK to meet members and support our regions and divisions, offering one-to-one support for those who need it and commenting on the issues that health care managers have to deal with as well as finding new benefits for our members.

AC - What are the key leadership attributes you bring to your role?

SH

I bring a mix of transformational and transactional leadership skills – making those key decisions and energizing staff, but also thinking longer term with a commitment to build effective organizations using the more sustainable skills of designing, coaching and teaching to build a shared vision. I also like to challenge and be challenged, and enable others to expand their capabilities and participate in the continuous improvement of the organization.

AC - How does the IHM address the increasing need for leadership in the medical services world?

SH

Everything we develop and produce is fit for leaders in the medical services world. Management and leadership skills are transferable across contextual boundaries, one cannot assume those with medical expertise are automatically good leaders or managers – there are skills, knowledge and attributes to be acquired and learned and applied within different settings.

AC - From your experience, what are some of the key challenges facing health care managers?

SH

Key challenges must be dealing with the constant changes in terms of organizational structures and balancing the organizational needs with the needs of the employees. Also, dealing with the political agenda and managing the complex relationships between all members of staff both clinical and non-clinical, but the most important challenge is ensuring the environment is conducive to supporting excellent patient care and recovery.

AC - You have extensive experience in the field of education and training both within and external to the NHS. What are the particular training challenges facing the NHS today?

SH

The most important challenges are not new and have been continually present within the NHS – those of keeping up to date with the latest research and practice to offer a better service to patients. The budget for continuous professional development has been reduced nationally, so the opportunity for staff to keep up to date is reliant on their organization recognizing the importance of this. This is a particular challenge for health care managers who don’t have protected time for study (unlike clinicians) and this is the budget that is usually first to go when the finances are challenged. The other challenge is for an organization to improve productivity in a climate where there is an expectation to provide more for less without losing the skills, knowledge and experience to provide good patient care.

AC - In a prior role you were Chief Executive of the Devon and Cornwall NHS Workforce Development Confederation, where you built the organization from its inception. Can you tell us about this? How do you reflect on your achievement?

SH

This was a significant period in my career. Apart from endorsing the importance of providing a secure framework for an organization to thrive in, it also taught me the importance of the more intangible skills of how to and who to influence, how to measure impact and work politically. I was privileged to work with some very talented people, my peers across the country as well as some local mentors. I am very proud of the achievements of the WDC.

AC - According to the web site, you now recognize “how important coaching is to the Institute and our members”. Can you elaborate on this? Do you see a difference between coaching and mentoring?

SH

Coaching is a way to examine and improve the way that you are working as an individual and an organization. It is a formal process that gives one time to reflect on specific projects, relationships or strategic planning and to look at how effective you are within those contexts and how to improve the processes and outputs.

I have always thought it a false economy to sideline or indeed cut the opportunities for development and learning. Developing people is motivational, not only for the individual, but also the team and the organization.

An experienced coach will offer the opportunity to do all of the above, recognizing your strengths and weaknesses and offer appropriate support. A mentor, however, is a more informal support, looking at the whole person, focussing on the individual rather that the project (although there can be a cross over), but the mentor often works in a voluntary capacity.

AC - According to your diary, you recently met with the Department of Health (England) to talk about the accreditation of health care managers. Can you tell us about this?

SH

I believe this is a vital piece of work. Health care managers are the only profession within the system without a requirement to formally renew their professional status. Therefore by offering an accreditation system, there would be a greater parity with clinicians, a marker for inspection processes concerning the abilities of managers, and more confidence in the profession to deliver and update their skills and competences on a regular basis. All IHM members are expected to keep a CPD programme for themselves, but this should apply to all health care managers.

AC - According to your president, Stuart Bain, health care managers are “accountable to their boards, the local communities they serve, Parliament and subject to the scrutiny of the media too.” How would you say these particular pressures impact on management practice in the health care sector?

SH

Balancing good governance, patient safety and community involvement within a politically demanding context (which inevitably leads to media scrutiny), is unique about being a manager in health care. This balancing act takes a special type of manager and is why the issue of CPD and supportive frameworks, which include activities such as coaching, are so important.

AC - Interestingly, your “History in the Making” project began the work of creating an oral history of the role of the health care manager. It includes stories that bring together the rich experience of many NHS managers. Can you tell us about this project and its value for the future?

SH

The IHM took on the role of trying to capture the experiences of health care managers since and in some cases before, the inception of the NHS. We felt it was important not to lose the rich history that is not captured anywhere else, as well as offering material that may be useful to new recruits and academics. It is an ongoing project.

AC - To quote your Head of Learning, “It saddens me to see the ease with which key development and learning activities can still be sidelined and seen as ‘not necessary’ to business and organizational success and development.” How widespread would you say this problem is? What do you think needs to be done to tackle it?

SH

I have alluded to this in previous questions – I have always thought it a false economy to sideline or indeed cut the opportunities for development and learning. Developing people is motivational, not only for the individual, but also the team and the organization; it leads to improved services and increased competency of the workforce.

Balancing good governance, patient safety and community involvement within a politically demanding context is unique about being a manager in health care.

Historically the problem has been widespread, with a more financially stable NHS this may decrease. I believe it is being tackled through the leadership and management strategies, and of course taking on an accredited health care management proposal would also reduce the possibility of this happening again.

AC - Finally, in the Select Committee on Health you alluded to the “tensions, some stronger than others, between clinicians and managers” and went on to state, “It is important for managers to gain credibility with clinicians.” What can you tell us about these tensions?

SH

Historically there have been tensions in the health care service between managers and clinicians. This is generally because they have two different points of focus – the manager is looking towards the organization, the politicians and the whitepapers that will shape the next shift in the organization, whereas the clinician is focused on the patient, research and the clinical expert. They speak different languages. The clinicians see the manager without a robust framework for CPD, whilst they have a very clear CPD programme with specific targets and levels of development.

In some organizations many barriers have already been broken down as clinicians and managers have learned to respect each other and have taken on roles that enable this understanding (clinical leaders). They may also have worked on joint projects to improve productivity within the organization (lean thinking projects) and therefore have gained a healthy respect for the other. I do believe that there has been a shift, but there is still a lot of work to do.