Management Capacity and Capability in the NHS
There has long been a tendency to denigrate and undervalue managers in the NHS. A widely held view is that the NHS is ‘over-managed’ and over-regulated to the point where further investments in management would be wasteful and counter-productive.
However, while research suggests that managers can help to raise the performance of healthcare, we still know surprisingly little about how managers add value and what capacity is needed. The very nature of management and leadership in the NHS is complex and unclear. What exactly is management and leadership in healthcare and who are the managers? Where does management and leadership happen, and how exactly does it contribute to improvement and innovation in service delivers?
The research
Funded by The Health Foundation, a team of researchers at the University of York and the Hull York Medical School aim to develop a sophisticated understanding of management capacity and how the capabilities of managers can be enhanced. Component one of the project focuses on a literature review and detailed qualitative research into the experience of managing innovation in six NHS trusts in England. Component two will then explore leadership capacity and capability in the newly created Integrated Care Systems of the NHS.
Our work has received considerable support from practitioners, professional bodies, regulators and NHS governing bodies. By emphasising the critical but often forgotten role of management in addressing key healthcare challenges, our work aligns closely with national strategies, including the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, the Messenger Review and Lord Darzi's report on the state of the National Health Service in England.