The language of leadership permeates the NHS and often contains cliché and jargon. In June 2011 David Cameron gave a speech on the NHS reforms which was highly figurative and peppered with metaphor and simile. Here are some examples of the language he used – ‘frontline’; ‘in the driving seat’; ‘level playing field’; ‘cherry picking’; ‘sticking with the status quo is not an option’; ‘a National Health Service not a National Sickness Service’; ‘one size fits all’; ‘reinvent the wheel’; ‘let me be absolutely clear’.
At present while 40% of doctors are female, only 28% hold consultant posts and only 8% of all consultants are female surgeons (Elston, 2009). This raises interesting questions about the nature and future of clinical leadership in surgery.