FMLM welcomes emphasis on leadership in the government’s Ten Year Health Plan for England

Responding to the publication of the government’s Ten Year Health Plan for England, the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management (FMLM) Chief Executive, Professor Rich Withnall, said:

“Patients, staff and leaders have awaited this 10 Year Health Plan for England with high levels of expectation.  Whilst some clues were provided in last month’s excellent NHS Confed Expo, a palpable appetite for detail remained amongst delegates. 

“I’m pleased the government has now provided clarity, ambition and challenge. The three transformative shifts are necessary and welcomed, but strong and capable leadership will be required to deliver them. Hence, it’s very appropriate that great leadership, and how to enable it, is at the very heart of the Plan.

“With FMLM’s work on the NHSE Leadership and Management Framework, Code and Standards nearing completion, I am particularly pleased to see the Secretary of State’s intent to accelerate delivery of the recommendations in General Sir Gordon Messenger’s review of health and care leadership, and recommitment to establishing a new College of Executive and Clinical Leadership to define and drive excellence. 

“The College will help upskill and enable staff to meet the new leadership standards, ensuring consistency across the country and the sharing of best practice in support of the Plan’s ambitions around quality. FMLM looks forward to continuing to work with the Department of Health and Social Care, the four NHS administrations, and existing professional bodies to inform the development of the new College.

“Having recently accredited NHSE’s Clinical Operations training programme, FMLM is also pleased to see greater emphasis on career development for all NHS staff, including personalised career coaching, to help with retention. This in combination with the expansion of the Graduate Management Trainee Scheme will help develop a pipeline of future leaders. 

“The Ten Year Health Plan for England provides a welcome roadmap for radical and urgent change.  Within this, more meaningful appraisals, better reward of high performance, increased accountability and decisive action to address underperformance are all appropriate propositions.  Their delivery will require compassionate leadership and enhanced support mechanisms though.  A culture of experiential learning without fear of failure must endure if individuals, teams, organisations and systems are to achieve their full potential for the benefit of the patients they serve”. 

Speaking about the plan, Dame Celia Ingham Clark, FMLM Chair, said: 

“There is much to like within this ten-year plan, with many sensible and wide ranging aims reflecting the scale of interest – and the importance placed on getting this right – by stakeholders. 

“Its proposed ‘three shifts’ are what the sector has long advocated for, so it is pleasing to see this recognised. 

“While previous plans have too often stalled on contact with reality, the ambitious and stretching aims outlined here are achievable with the right support. 

“Key to their delivery is strong leadership and accountability, and we are delighted to see recognition of this within the plan. The leadership standards FMLM has been working on in partnership will help create better leaders, and we welcome the move to create national and regional talent management systems to spot leadership potential. 

“The creation of a College of Executive and Clinical Leadership would transform and level-up the quality of managers and leaders within the NHS, giving patients greater reassurance about NHS services and quality of care. 

“Wider moves to improve quality, transparency and choice are to be lauded, but care must be taken to avoid unintended consequences. For instance, the introduction of league tables and allowing patients to search and choose providers based on quality data is at face value very sensible, but could result in certain areas seeing spikes in demand; potentially unbalancing the system and derailing the shift towards greater community care.

“At a system and trust leadership level, earned autonomy is welcome, as is a new diagnostic and intervention programme for persistent underperformance. Patience and support will be key here though, and we would urge consideration and restraint before pulling the lever to outright replace failing leadership teams. 

“Overall, this ten-year plan is a huge step forward in enabling our leaders to lead while  developing the leaders of the future; but care must be taken with its implementation.” 

-ENDS-