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Senior doctors praise medical leadership approach

Senior doctors at Hywel Dda University Health Board (UHB) have praised the approach to medical leadership within the organisation,

highlighting its commitment to developing the leadership capability of medics across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.

The UHB’s approach is focused on engaging and enabling the workforce to improve the quality of its services. Using a whole system approach to quality improvement the collaborative programme features activities that give staff knowledge, skills and confidence to recognise and make changes which add value to the care received by patients, service users, their families and their carers.

Dr Phil Kloer said “We pride ourselves on the medical and multi-disciplinary leadership programmes we have created that promote, support and encourage continuous development and improvement.”

“The highest performing organisations in the world prioritise the development of clinical leaders and in Hywel Dda UHB we are aiming to deliver a healthcare system of the highest quality, with excellent outcomes for our patients and our population. We value our staff and the work that they do and want all staff, at all levels, in all roles, to feel competent and empowered to make the changes that they know will improve patients’ experience and outcomes of care.

“To do this, we are building a community of doctors and other leaders from across the organisation who can lead the development and delivery of excellent clinical services”.

The leadership and mentorship programmes include:

  • a new consultant one-year development programme;
  • peer mentoring and support for new consultants and GPs;
  • an Aspiring Medical Leaders Programme (AMLP), focusing on real time organisational learning and supporting the development of a healthcare system in line with ‘A Healthier Wales: Our Plan for Health and Social Care’;
  • a Medical Leadership Forum to develop leadership capacity and capability and address professional development and service issues affecting the whole system;
  • a multi-professional System Level Leadership Improvement Programme (SLLIP) to enable leaders to make sustained improvements throughout our services and systems; and
  • the multi-disciplinary Enabling Quality Improvement in Practice (EQIiP) programme

The health board has strengthened its investment into medical leadership having recently appointed Mr Mark Henwood as Deputy Medical Director for Acute Hospital Services – currently a Consultant Surgeon and Clinical Director for Scheduled Care who also leads on developments in UGI cancer services within the Health Board and nationally; Dr Sion James as Deputy Medical Director for Primary Care & Community Services – currently a General Practitioner with an interest in new technologies and innovative models of care; and Dr Subhamay Ghosh as Associate Medical Director for Quality & Safety – currently a consultant anaesthetist whose background is in teaching, training, research and development.

They have, together with Dr Meinir Jones, Associate Medical Director for Transformation and Value Based Health Care, taken part in a short promotional video talking about the importance of investing in our doctors and the activities being undertaken within Hywel Dda to improve patient care through empowering and strengthening clinical leadership.

Video: http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/862/page/100220

The health board’s efforts to recruit staff has successfully resulted in a number of medical appointments over recent months, including GP roles, consultants, specialty doctors and clinical fellows.

Dr Phil Kloer, Medical Director said: “We’re always delighted to welcome all of our new medical staff, and the knowledge, skills and experience they bring with them. We look forward to working with them in their different roles, helping with their professional development and becoming part of a community of doctors from across the organisation that can lead the development and delivery of excellent clinical services and a fulfilling career.

A wider comprehensive recruitment campaign continues across a range of specialities within the Hywel Dda area, including nurses and therapists –http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/862/page/75205. All vacancies are advertised on the national NHS Jobs website: www.jobs.nhs.uk.  

For up-to-date information regarding recruitment, campaigns or events, follow the health board on social media – LinkedIn /

Twitter: @SwyddiHDdJobs / Facebook: Swyddi Hywel Dda Jobs.