Integrated Discharge Team Development Programme

Background

In April 2017, The Staff College: Leadership in Healthcare (Staff College) secured the support of Simon Stevens, CEO NHS England, Prof Sir Bruce Keogh, then National Medical Director, NHS England and Matthew Swindells, then Deputy CEO NHS England to endorse a pilot to test different approaches to system leadership development for two Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs).

Our input

Through our work with the Sussex and East Surrey STP, it was identified that a key challenge for the system was delays to the discharging of patients from hospital into community settings.

Although there was an ‘Integrated Discharge Team,’ in reality this was 3 separate teams, from 3 separate organisations with different remits and limited cross-team working.

We worked with the team for 3 days over the course of 3 months to provide a space for them to work together on a collective vision of how the service could work in the future.

Aim
To develop individual awareness, team cohesion and a collective vision and set of priorities for the future of the Integrated Discharge Service.

In order to
Optimise the ability of the Integrated Discharge Team to lead the change required across the system to deliver an integrated model of care for patients.

What impact has attending had on you as a leader?

Enabled everyone to bring different ideas together and discuss change to the IDT in a safe environment. I’ve see what positive and negative leadership looks like.

Has made me consider ways to maximise efficiency by sharing of tasks and working closer together.

Redefined my leadership role.

Enabled free speech and encouraged involvement. Felt my opinion valued.

Raised awareness of strategies required for collaborative working.

What impact has attending had on the way you work together as a team?

Helped us see common goals. Opened up areas for further discussion – clarified some grey areas.

Well facilitated, able to reflect on communication style when working in a group. Better understanding of priorities, system working and appreciation of roles.

Issues/white elephants in the room were discussed with open and honest reflections on the whole team and the make up/roles within the team.

Understand how different peoples leadership styles and impact on working together.

Established ways of joint working and overcoming obstructive elements.

Shared goals and struggles – highlighted existing strengths.

What impact has attending had for the Integrated Discharge Service?

We have moved forward in some areas and seen what wasn’t work in others.

Very positive – open discussions – reached a conclusion which although not radical – certainly a step forward enough to make positive change.

It will improve the way we communicate with each other enabling all of us to develop.

Agreed model going forward. Joint ways of working. Better shared responsibility and pressure.

Has started to move the team forward in a new direction.