05 May What do NHS Trust leaders want … from the next NHSE CEO?
With the runners and riders for Sir Simon Stevens’ replacement already widely debated, read on to discover what NHS commissioners and providers are hoping for in the imminent recruitment process.
With the COVID recovery and waiting lists backlog firmly a priority for NHS top brass, the long-term challenges for Stevens 2.0 are no small feat, starting with workforce, funding, social care and primary care in no particular order.
OVID Health’s network and experience working with and for NHS clients, we’ve put together a job requirement summary, a wish list if you like, of what NHS CEOs will be looking for in their new leader:
1. A resilient and energetic leader who commands respect from Whitehall and beyond
2. Someone who is a collaborator and willing to bring together different parts of the system to deliver the transformation required – including seeing through the incoming NHS Bill
3. Someone who’s honest about the funding, demand levels and workforce challenge ahead – and who can be frank about what the NHS faces
4. An ability to tough it out and make some difficult decisions on sorting out primary care
5. A champion for the NHS inside Government at a time when social care desperately needs a committed advocate
6. A focus on balancing the control of resources and allowing/enabling local decision-making – accountability is viewed as being both currently onerous and ineffective
7. A passion for seeing the big picture and focussing on what health and care services can do to tackle health inequalities without attempting to do everything and achieve nothing.