Leadership in the NHS

Helpful BMJ editorial on clinical leadership in the NHS. As I've pointed out before in this blog (eg. see past entry), there has been a problem in the NHS with professionals feeling "that they have to carry out instructions in which they have little personal investment and hence ownership".

What's interesting is how this gets tied up with the latest NHS reforms, which seem to be designed to encourage more of a professionally based system. Perhaps it's just a way of getting professionals to go along with them.

We're still waiting for the outcome of the government's "listening pause", although David Cameron has given a speech ahead of the Future Forum report next week (see Guardian article). Ensuring Monitor is motivated by the interests of patients, introducing clinically-led commissioning rather than GP-led commissioning and only authorising commissioning groups when they are ready are not major changes to the thrust of the reforms. What we need more information about are the plans for the introduction of any qualified provider and how payment by results will work.