- Date published
- December 2007
- Download publication [125kb PDF]
This briefing describes how The Health Foundation’s Shared Leadership for Change initiative is helping teams to work together to improve diabetes care.
Background
More than 2 million people in the UK have diabetes and it’s estimated that a further 750,000 have the disease without knowing it. The incidence of Type 2 diabetes is increasing at a rate of 15 per cent a year in some areas.
Investing in leaders in healthcare is widely recognised as integral to improving the quality of patient care. Most leadership development programmes focus on the individual. But shared leadership works on the principle that teams work together more effectively if all members develop their individual leadership qualities.
The Shared Leadership for Change initiative
The Health Foundation launched an 18-month initiative called Shared Leadership for Change in 2005. It selected six multidisciplinary teams working within diabetes care to take part and made sure that a patient representative was included on each team.
The Team spirit briefing describes:
- how the initiative was implemented
- its results
- nine key lessons learned
- > further reading.
Case studies
Team spirit includes case studies from members of three of the six teams: a patient representative, a GP and a podiatrist. They talk about the improvements the initiative brought about for patients in their area, ranging from better eye care services, better communication along the care pathway and fast-track access to podiatry clinics.
It concludes that shared leadership can drive improvements in patient care in other areas by enabling clinicians to work together more effectively. The initiative has shown that investing in leadership development across teams has the potential to lead change and improve services at all levels.
Who should read this briefing?
Team spirit will be of interest to diabetes groups and others with an interest in diabetes care, including primary care trusts, strategic health authorities, patient organisations and policy-makers.
