Postgraduate Researchers in Science Medicine Conference 2005: Abstracts
Findings from a study of leadership and change in one UK NHS PCT
Merv Conroy
What does it means to a group of senior and middle managers from one UK NHS Primary Care Trust (PCT) to be leading the implementation of health service ‘modernisation’? The aim of the study is to hold up a mirror to the organisation and allow it to decide what options it has to improve the service culture for staff and outcomes for service users and carers. This ‘enabling’ process started in mental health services and has now been embraced by the PCT concerned across all service areas.
This longitudinal study reveals stories, salient themes and a serial of change. Accounts of the way managers handle the challenge vary. There are epic and heroic stories of leaders sensitively facilitating the change process, enabled for some by training and development. Running against the success stories are tragic ones of people suffering loss and feeling overwhelmed and many of how managers cope with the saga of change and what meaning they manage to make out of it. A common account of coping is to construct the endless serial of NHS change initiatives as farcical - laugh off the pressure or go under.
Mervyn Conroy, Management Learning, Lancaster University, Hillcote, 80 Gillinggate, Kendal LA9 4JB
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