IMatter: validation of the NHS Scotland Employee Engagement Index

"Employee engagement is a fundamental component of quality healthcare. In order to provide empirical data of engagement in NHS Scotland an Employee Engagement Index was co-constructed with staff. `iMatter? consists of 25 Likert questions developed iteratively from the literature and a series of validation events with NHS Scotland staff. The aim of this study was to test the face, content and construct validity of iMatter."

IMatter: validation of the NHS Scotland Employee Engagement Index
A Snowden, E MacArthur
BMC Health Services Research 2014, 14:535  doi:10.1186/s12913-014-0535-z

Read more here.

What does the future hold for the NHS

"The contributions gathered here address some of the most complex or controversial debates in healthcare – such as decommissioning, integration, engagement, and leadership." 

This collection from Birmingham University's Health Services Management Centre contains the following articles:

• Decommissioning and the leadership challenge in health care
• System leadership in a fragmented system
• Strengthening Communities to Deliver the Better Care Fund
• The role of leadership and collaboration in the development of a social impact measurement system for use in healthcare
• The NHS and Diversity: research on the real lives behind the differences
• Moving upstream: The case for prevention
• Telehealth and the NHS: are we asking the right questions?
• Learning lessons from other countries 
• A Health Workforce that’s fit for the Twenty-First Century
• Keep schtum or whistle: what makes some health and care managers resist corruptions to practices
• Nursing is hard emotional work - why is that ignored?
• Developing a culture of compassionate care: lost in translation
• Evaluating the future of healthcare: where does the truth lie?

What does the future hold for the NHS
Health Services Management Centre
University of Birmingham
June 2014

Read more here.

Medical engagement: a journey not an event

"This report has specifically focused on the importance of medical engagement as part of the cultural change needed within the NHS. The case studies highlight what can be achieved if there is a sustained and collective vision and will to create the organisational culture where all staff, particularly doctors, are motivated to share in delivering the highest quality care."

Medical engagement: a journey not an event
J Clark, V Nath
The King's Fund
July 2014

Read more here.

Socio-technical allocation of resources

"This Casebook describes a new approach to priority setting called Star (Socio-technical allocation of resources). The approach combines value for money analysis with stakeholder engagement. This allows those planning services to determine how resources can be most effectively invested, while the engagement of stakeholders means the decisions are understood and supported by those most affected." 

STAR – Socio-technical allocation of resources: engaging stakeholders in decisions 
M Airoldi
London School of Economics
March 2014

Read more here. You can access the accompanying case study here.

Four principles for a better public sector

"Innovative governments are making it easier for citizens to access public services."

Government by design: four principles for a better public sector
D Farrell, A Goodman
McKinsey & Company
December 2013

Read more here.

Using clinical communities to improve quality

"If there is one thing that we have learned about improving quality over the past 10 years, it is the importance of clinical leadership and engagement."

Using clinical communities to improve quality
Health Foundation
December 2013

Read more here.

Smart Guides to Engagement series

"The Smart Guides to Engagement series is for everyone working in or with clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). The guides have been written by experts to provide straightforward advice on all aspects of patient and public engagement in an easily digested format."

Access the 12 guides here.

Effective clinical and financial engagement

"Effective engagement between NHS clinicians and finance professionals has always been important and never more so than now as the NHS seeks to improve the quality of care for patients while becoming more productive and efficient."

Effective clinical and financial engagement: a best practice guide for the NHS
Department of Health
November 2013

Read more here.

Taking safety on board: the board's role in patient safety

"The paper looks at three main areas: the board’s core roles in relation to patient safety; how boards might deliver these roles; and the optimal relationship between board leadership, clinical leadership and regulatory oversight."

Taking safety on board: the board's role in patient safety
A Fresko, S Rubenstein
The Health Foundation
October 2013

Read more here.

Adopt, improve or defend - an AID for QIPP

"Commissioners in Wigan have embedded a systematic approach to achieve challenging QIPP targets by identifying and addressing variations in local healthcare."

Adopt, improve or defend - an AID for QIPP
C Melling, W Sanders, M Cripps
RightCare Casebook
September 2013

Read more here.

Implementing shared decision-making

"Normalizing shared decision making requires intensive work to ensure teams have a shared understanding of the purpose of involving patients in decisions, and undergo the attitudinal shifts that many health professionals feel are required when comprehension goes beyond initial interpretations."

Patchy 'coherence': using normalization process theory to evaluate a multi-faceted shared decision making implementation program (MAGIC)
A Lloyd, N Joseph-Williams, A Edwards, A Rix, G Elwyn
Implementation Science, 2013, 8:102

Read more here.

Improving the safety of patients in England

"Place the quality of patient care, especially patient safety, above all other aims."

A promise to learn - a commitment to act: Improving the safety of patients in England
National Advisory Group on the Safety of Patients in England
August 2013

Read more here.

Commissioning care and support for older people with high support needs

"Many models of care and support are based on mutually valued relationships and older people's contributions, but most operate beneath the radar of public sector commissioners."

Commissioning care and support for older people with high support needs
J Carrier
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
July 2013

Read the summary here.

Involving people in safety

"On 1 May 2013 the Health Foundation hosted a roundtable event to explore how the public, patients, their families and carers can be involved in improving patient safety. People with expertise and personal experience of involvement in patient safety came together to share their knowledge and learning in order to build understanding in this area, and to recommend some practical next steps."

Involving people in safety: a summary of learning from a Health Foundation roundtable
The Health Foundation
June 2013

Read more here.

Engaging with Black and Minority Ethnic communities

"We see many examples in the NHS of where ‘barrier busting’ is happening, led by inspirational and dedicated leaders. This paper highlights just some of these examples, detailing ways in which providers and commissioners have developed innovative solutions and approaches to better cater for and engage with BME communities."

Engaging with BME communities: insights for impact
NHS Confederation
June 2013

Read more here.

Role of complaints in transforming public services

"Getting complaints is much better than not getting complaints – they show that people think it’s worth complaining and that they will be listened to, and that they believe that they have power to influence the system."

Grumbles, gripes and grievances: the role of complaints in transforming public services
R Simmons, C Brennan
NESTA
April 2013

Read more here.

Exploring the dynamics of physician engagement and leadership for health system improvement

"The purpose of this literature review was to synthesize the existing knowledge regarding physician engagement and leadership and to identify key recommendations to enhance physician leadership skills, physician alignment with other components of the healthcare system, and the capacity to foster and improve the accountability of physicians for improved organizational and system performance."

Exploring the dynamics of physician engagement and leadership for health system improvement: prospects for Canadian healthcare systems
J-L Denis, et al.
GETOSS
April 2013

Read more here.

40 ways to support patient leadership

"Patient Leaders are patients, service users and carers, who work with others at strategic level to influence change in health and healthcare. Patient leadership is more than patient and public engagement and can make a unique contribution to improving services. This Guide - the first of its kind - explains what patient leadership means and the role and purpose of patient leaders."

Bring it on - 40 ways to support patient leadership
Centre for Patient Leadership
April 2013

Read more here.

Learning modules to support the implementation of evidence-informed practice

The Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health has produced a set of online modules to support the implementation of evidence-informed practice. They work most effectively in Internet Explorer, and cover the following topics:

• Opening module
• Leading organizational change
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Needs assessment
• Implementing evidence-informed practices
• Monitoring and evaluating outcomes
• Closing module

Access the modules here.

VIPER: Voice. Inclusion. Participation. Empowerment. Research.

"VIPER is a research project looking at disabled children and young people’s participation in decision-making."

Policy briefing: Hear us out! 
VIPER: Voice. Inclusion. Participation. Empowerment. Research.
Council for Disabled Children
February 2013

Read more here.