Nurturing the next generation of NHS leaders is the aim of a new National Leadership Council (NLC) which was recently established by the Department of Health.
The council will have up to 18 members, including five part-time leads for the priority areas of clinical leadership, top leaders, board development, emerging leaders and inclusion.
So far, confirmed appointments to the council include NHS CEO David Nicholson; NHS medical director Sir Bruce Keogh; director general of workforce Clare Chapman; chief nursing officer Dame Christine Beasley; care quality commission CEO Cynthia Bower; monitor chair Bill Moyes; and acting CEO of the NHS Confederation Steve Barnett.
More details of an NHS leadership awards scheme, with categories including leader of the year, quality champion of the year, innovator of the year and mentor of the year, have also been announced.
The King’s Fund’s director of leadership, Karen Lynas, commented: "The big challenge for the NHS is clinical re-engagement – medical and nursing staff have felt disempowered, devalued and frustrated in their efforts to provide the quality of care patients deserve. The task facing the Council is therefore a challenging one.
"But there is welcome recognition in the government’s approach that the answer is not to be too centralist and that the development of leadership talent should be about freeing up the service to get on with it. The opportunity here is for the Council to be a catalyst for change, rather than a manager of process – we look forward with interest to seeing the progress of this work."
