How can citizens lead the health system of the future?

People in Health West of England’s Hildegard Dumper asks how citizens can play their part in shaping and leading the health system of the future. Hildegard is chairing a session on cities, health, people and leadership on 17 November, as part of the health strand of Festival of the Future City.

This is part of a series of blogs, where key players in Bristol’s health sector write about a health related subject of their choice. If you want to contribute, email [email protected].

On 17 November at the Watershed we will be debating whether the
citizens of the future need to be more engaged in shaping the world they live
in – the services they receive, the systems and structures that make it
possible to live the quality of lives we lead. The question is whether the
current models of leadership enable this to happen and do cities need to be led
differently in the future to encourage engagement?

The
NHS Five Year Forward Plan has described a vision of the NHS as a social
movement. This relies on each and every individual playing their part and taking
responsibility for the success of the NHS as active citizens. However the
challenges are great. The health sector has a very hierarchical structure with
a very top-down approach to leadership. Within it is a culture of working where
the people at the top of the hierarchy drive forward decisions, often with
little consultation with the people around them. Working collaboratively is
still a new approach, with many staff not having the skills or experience to
work in this way.

The
evidence suggests that the current model of leadership is not effective and does
not make it possible for the full diversity of society to be involved. Take for
example the failure to engage women in leadership positions in the NHS structures – 80 per cent of staff in the NHS are women, whilst just 40 per cent of chief
executives are women and 20 per cent of medical directors. This arguably indicates that the
leadership models within the NHS are not ones that women feel comfortable with.
Others are likely to feel the same.

So
what kind of leadership is needed? How can the public support the vision as set
out in the Five Year Plan?

One way to change the culture of working within the
NHS is to encourage more people to understand how the NHS works and contribute
in a constructive and positive way. People in Health West of England is building up a pool of trained
and skilled people to work alongside us to help design and steer the work of the health sector in the West.
These people have the potential to become ambassadors to health staff and the
wider community, the friends and family around them. Our emphasis is less on
individuals in leadership positions, but more about having a pool of people
with a range of experiences and perspectives that work with us to improve NHS
services. I am looking forward to hearing from others in the panel and in the
audience about what models they think we should be adopting.

Book to attend Cities, health, people and leadership now.