Board drive for clinical leadership (New Zealand)

Citation

(2010), "Board drive for clinical leadership (New Zealand)", Leadership in Health Services, Vol. 23 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhs.2010.21123cab.004

Board drive for clinical leadership (New Zealand)

Article Type: News and views From: Leadership in Health Services, Volume 23, Issue 3

Keywords: Clinical governance, Leadership, Change management, Patient care, New Zealand

The Otago District Health Board needed to take “a really good look” at clinical leadership within the organisation if it wanted “Putting our patients first” project methods adopted throughout Dunedin Hospital.

Speaking at a board meeting, board member Richard Thomson said the board needed to set a vision which “makes it quite clear to clinical staff … ” where it wished to go.

If the lean thinking methods of the “Putting our patients first” project were adopted by the board, it had to be prepared to support those in clinical leadership roles and make sure they were still comfortable being in that position and facilitating change.

Those currently in clinical governance had mostly volunteered for the role and did not get any additional time, training or remuneration to fulfil it, he said.

”We are never going to be able to make those changes if that is the basis on which we do clinical leadership.”

The “Putting our patients first” project is being piloted in the emergency department and aims to introduce vehicle manufacturer Toyota’s lean-thinking methods to reduce waste, increase efficiency and improve patient flow.

Emergency specialist Dr Tim Kerruish, who is leading the project, told a board committee the project had made some gains, but may not get further without a change in culture at the hospital.

Chief executive Brian Rousseau said he was increasingly hearing from senior clinicians about the government’s push for more clinical leadership. Clinicians were acknowledging they had been “standing back and advocating for management to make the decisions they should have been making”, but there was “a real desire” to get involved again.

Board discussion about the issue was prompted by a presentation from chief nursing and midwifery officer Leanne Samuel about significant philosophical and practical changes, which had been made at a UK hospital in a shift towards patient-focused care.

That hospital had been aiming to give patients the right care, in the right place, in a timely manner and by the right health professional, she said.

Their project had involved breaking down traditional models of care, which had been in place for more than 20 years, and the first five years had been difficult.

She had been told getting staff to change had been “like cutting teeth and drawing blood”, but now that hospital was in the enviable position of people wanting to work there, Mrs Samuel said.

Board member Branko Sijnja said: “What you are saying is music to the ears, but we need a huge shake-up to do it. We can’t just fiddle with a few areas”.

For more information: www.odt.co.nz