Leadership in the NHS and Imperial College London

LONDON, February 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

The Director of Education at Imperial College London's Faculty of Medicine* says we need to refine our ideas about NHS leadership. Professor Jenny Higham commented - at a recent leadership forum at The Broadcast PR Business - that traditionally consultants have been reluctant to take up leadership roles. This is because there have been problems in the perception of hospital management - often termed the "dark side".

Professor Higham said in the interview with Cranfield School of Management's Professor Kim Turnbull-James:

"There now needs to be a re-working of the concept of medical leadership. Hospital consultants sometimes avoid putting themselves forward but this is changing. The teaching of leadership has filtered right down to medical students where they are told they can and will often have a role as leaders in hospitals although the emphasis is very much on being part of a team. We show that leadership is much broader than being the hero at the top. Medical students at Imperial are asked to show leadership in making practical improvements for patients."

"Clinical excellence can be combined with leadership skills. While there are excellent professional managers in the NHS, there is a desire to have more clinician leaders. I expect a blended environment in the future NHS, but the clinical voice is very much at the centre of what we do."

*Imperial College London is a the global third ranked university for clinical, preclinical and health teaching after Oxford and Harvard (The THES world university rankings 2011 - 12)

View the video interview at http://www.broadcastprbusiness.com

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