Recognising the challenges of change

Following the biggest reorganisation in the 65 year history of the NHS, the major health system transformation agenda continues. With a continuously changing environment driven by an ageing population, increasing costs of new drugs and treatments, as well as growing expectations of what health services can deliver, the NHS is reinventing itself to meet the evolving needs of its patients. Set against the backdrop of flat-line funding, it is not a surprise that those at the heart of the NHS are dealing with a ‘perfect storm’ of challenges.

The new entities and changed existing organisations resulting from the Health and Social Care Act 2012 have been in place since April 2013. Organisations with commissioning and ‘system leadership’ roles are now are fragmented – and the health sector is in a phase of stabilisation. While this is happening, the liberalisation of the healthcare market is allowing private providers to compete for contracts against established NHS organisations. Further, the exposure of the sector to greater market forces means that regulatory bodies have had to change and adapt to new remits, as they become more responsible for monitoring the providers, ensuring critical services continue and managing the exit of failing organisations from the system.

With such scale of change, the anticipated fully functioning state remains several years away. In any organisation or sector, change of this magnitude is difficult to get right and it takes time to embed before the intended benefits are fully realised. By identifying issues early on, and taking steps to address them, the journey to this final end goal can happen more smoothly.