I recently posted this question on one of the groups that I belong to on LinkedIn. Not surprisingly it prompted a lot of comment and discussion, so what were some of the things that people highlighted as top priorities?
Getting Back To The Basics
A number of people stated how important it was to get back to basics and do the basics well. In many ways this was not at all surprising, especially given the ongoing coverage of events at Mid Staffordshire.
Extending Access To GP and At Home Services
I suspect that this might be driven by a lot of recent comment about the pressures on A&E. On the other hand it could be an indication that people want to access local services for a much larger part of the day than is available at present.
Creating The Right Type Of Culture
I sensed from some of the comments that were raised that there was a feeling that there was too much of a blame culture. In any major organisation things will go wrong and perhaps it might be that we need to look at how these incidents are responded to.
Staff
Despite all of the advances in technology, equipment, drugs, etc, the NHS is still very much dependent on the skills and quality of the staff to deliver great services. Some wanted to see more training and development opportunities and there was a general consensus that staff played a vital role in services.
The Reality: Everyone uses the health service from time to time and it is easy to lose sight of all the great work that is done day after day. At the same time, demands from those who use and work in the service will always mean that there are fresh challenges ahead.
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