Leading Edge

Are managers always to blame for the poor working culture in the NHS, or is that just a convenient excuse for politicians who find the root causes of our problems too hard to solve?

With ambitious plans but little money to spend, a Labour government will need the skills, nerve and insight of managers to make its promise of a 'decade of renewal' in the NHS a reality.

The Lucy Letby case demands a comprehensive and thoughtful response. Statutory regulation of managers may be a part of that, but won't be a quick fix. Right now, we need to tackle a culture that deters staff, patients and the public from raising concerns about NHS care.

While the NHS pension scheme is eye-wateringly huge, it is eminently affordable, taking in billions more in contributions than it pays out in benefits. It remains one of the safest investments going, writes Jon Restell.

We need to challenge the widely-held belief that all-powerful managers are blocking change in the NHS. It's a lack of empathy for the difficult choices and hard realities that managers face which is holding us back.

I’m no Nostradamus, but I do have some predictive ability. Here are my highlights for the NHS in 2023.

The government's response to the multiple crises facing the NHS has been negligent. But ministers will not change course unless forced to do so. That's why I'm asking MiP members to vote yes to industrial action this autumn.

Times are tough, but MiP's National Committee has set a challenging but optimistic agenda for the next two years.

Balancing finances, operations, workforce and quality is difficult work. It needs to be honestly acknowledged, not hidden behind espoused values that pretend these trade-offs don’t exist.

England’s uplifting performance at Euro 2020 shows how a culture of openness, honesty and shared purpose can deliver rich results. As managers, we can all learn from the team building skills of Gareth Southgate and his backroom staff.