STEM to STEAM Conferences

In October 2021, the Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, asked General Sir Gordon Messenger and Dame Linda Pollard, to examine the state of leadership and management in the health and social care sector.

Their findings included that there was a lack of consistency and coordination in the way that leadership is trained and valued. Furthermore, “institutional inadequacy” has developed over time.

This landmark independent 2022 report has focussed the Government on the biggest shake-up in health and social care leadership in a generation to improve patient care.


STEM to STEAM Conference 1

Holistic Healthcare Leadership

7th September 2022

The impact of the Arts on Healthcare leadership

We learnt how the content from a heath and wellbeing programme for Musicians was entwined into an MSc Module for Healthcare leaders. The experience resulted in seasoned healthcare professionals finding that confidence and resilience levels increased resulting in higher organisation outcomes.

 

STEM to STEAM Conference 2

Developing an Authentic and Holistic Culture of Collaboration and Respect

7th June 2023

The impact of the Arts on Healthcare leadership

This 2023 conference is the second in the STEM to STEAM series. Building upon our 2022 conference, this event has been designed to review how NHS Organisational Culture can be enhanced by drawing upon the holistic qualities that the ‘Arts’ bring.

With the millions of pounds spent on gathering data over the last two decades, neither the findings or recommendations highlighted in the 2022 report by Sir General Gordon Messenger and Dame Linda Pollard, should be a surprise to anyone senior in the NHS or in Government that “institutional inadequacy” has developed over time.

The panellists of the 2023 STEM to STEAM conference will consider what is missing in the current NHS leadership provision and digs deep into why it has failed to build an organisational culture that is aligned with the Seven key principles which guide the NHS in all it does.

“How do we expect to be using these old models of leadership that are so outdated with such a multicultural, multigenerational workforce.”

Interim Head for Nursing Workforce at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, Visiting lecturer at The University of Wolverhampton

Chrissla Davis

“I believe that the role of the arts has never been more crucial.” 

Cellist, conductor, broadcaster and former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

Julian Lloyd Webber OBE

“More and more you see the arts being squeezed. These wonderful things are done for a rarefied and small audience.” 

Chair of BBC Children in Need

Rosie Millard OBE

“…I’ve come away from this conference really energised and enthused about implementing the IBA framework into my practice. If I’m a better leader then I can be a better doctor for my patients.”

Consultant Geriatrician in the North East of England

Dr Adelina McLeod

“The key message that has come out from today is the importance of understanding yourself. The importance of understanding that everyone is unique.”

Chairman, DJS Research

Danny Sims

“We’ve heard about these four rooms, about the Physical, the Mental, the Emotional and the Spiritual and that you’ve really got to have a command of all of them.” 

Chief Executive & Founder of Aesop

Tim Joss

“…it’s surprising how many people don’t visit their spiritual room. Once they start to recognise that it’s almost like they are seeing the world through a different lens…”

Senior Policy Manager, NHS England

Nicky Houghton

Audience Feedback 2022

  • “We both found it wonderful right from the start. As  people said on the day, it was stimulating and made us happy to be there. To have such positive results in such diverse areas, all the panellists were articulate and inspirational. It certainly has evoked a lot of constructive conversation and reflections.”
  • “…the day was inspirational and I can see now how Birmingham City University will be able to transform the future of NHS leadership to benefit the nation…”

Audience Feedback 2022

  • “The highlight of the conference for us was the roundtable discussions from a diverse point of view on poor leadership performances that foster a culture of waste and hatred. Even though the conference was about knowing oneself to lead, I believe all the speakers are either searching for a change in their processes toward leadership as they all alluded to have gained a new meaning; either helped by the IBA course or by similar principles.”
  • “Best conference I’ve ever attended…”

Audience Feedback 2022

  • “…it was a fabulous day and everything resonated so strongly with me…”
  • “…I learned a lot and it was great to hear from people such as Katharine Lam and of course Julian Lloyd Webber.”
  • “It has helped me to understand the importance of self-understanding and how this can help to improve health and wellbeing. Thank you.”
  • “It’s opened my eyes to what the Arts brings to the world. Had never really thought about it before…”

Lack of sustainable change in the NHS

In October 2021, the Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, asked General Sir Gordon Messenger and Dame Linda Pollard, to examine the state of leadership and management in the health and social care sector.

However, prior to this 2022 examination, a series of reports had been produced and some, not all, are listed below. These reports show that there have been highly concerning results over many years surrounding the wellbeing of healthcare professionals in general.

The story so far...
2008
Dame Carol Black published her seminal Working for a healthier tomorrow review of workplace health. The report states

We must act now to build on the emerging consensus around a new approach to health and work in Britain. We will not be able to secure the future health of our nation without it.

2009
Dr Steven Boorman’s NHS Health and Well-being Final Report was published. It says

NHS organisations generally were not giving priority to staff health and well-being. Indeed, many NHS organisations displayed behaviours that were incompatible with delivering high-quality health and well-being services and support for staff. In particular, staff health and well-being services were often reactive rather than proactive, focused on responding to sickness and ill-health rather than actively promoting good health and well-being and a positive culture of workplace safety. There was a widely-held view that staff health and well-being was not seen as a priority either at organisational or local management level.

2013
The Francis Report identifies that an institutional culture ascribed more weight to positive information about the service than to information capable of implying cause for concern. It goes on to say that

 …there is a failure to tackle challenges to the building up of a positive culture, in nursing in particular but also within the medical profession.

2013
With the publication of the Berwick Report, titled A promise to learn – a commitment to act, in his letter to Senior Government Officials and Senior Executives in the Health Service, Don Berwick writes

…acting on rare and outlying behaviors and on exceptional cases of poor performance – though necessary, will not create an overall far safer and better NHS; it cannot. A culture of learning can. And the likelihood of such a culture’s thriving in the NHS depends, more than on anything else, on how you, the senior leaders, behave, speak, and invest.

2018
The BMA report Supporting health and wellbeing at work states

Keeping doctors healthy will have important benefits for the NHS by improving staff engagement, reducing costs associated with absence and turnover, and improving patient outcomes. An employer focus on the health and wellbeing of staff will have a long lasting and positive impact in terms of patient care and value for public investment.

2018
The price of fear: Estimating the financial cost of bullying and harassment to the NHS in England, stated

…the cost of bullying and harassment to be around £2.281 billion per annum to the NHS in England. These costs included sickness absence, employee turnover, sickness presentism, litigation and industrial relations costs.

2020
The Nursing and Midwifery Council Leavers’ survey 2020 reported that

21,800 nurses, midwives and nursing associates left the register between July 2019 – June 2020.  Some of the reasons leavers gave included: retirement (51.9%); staffing levels (10.9%); too much pressure, stress and poor mental health (22%); and negative workplace culture, bullying, poor management and difficulty raising concerns (18.1%).

2021
The Health Services Executive publish their report on Work-related stress, anxiety or depression statistics in Great Britain. Statistics for work-related stress, anxiety or depression statistics show that by top-level industry, stress, depression or anxiety is most prevalent in Education and Human health and social work activities. Statistically higher rates of stress, depression or anxiety were also found in the smaller occupational groups of Health professionals and Teaching and other educational professionals.

The main work factors cited by respondents as causing work-related stress, depression or anxiety were workload pressures, including tight deadlines and too much responsibility and a lack of managerial support.

With the millions of pounds spent on gathering data over the last two decades, neither the findings or recommendations highlighted in the 2022 report by Sir General Gordon Messenger and Dame Linda Pollard, should be a surprise to anyone senior in the NHS or in Government that “institutional inadequacy” has developed over time.