The University of Birmingham and Alliance Manchester Business School are celebrating with the NHS Leadership Academy as a record 1,309 people have now graduated with a Masters in Healthcare Leadership from its flagship Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme.
The graduation of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme at the University of Birmingham on Thursday 5th July means that 1,309 NHS leaders will have received their Master’s degree along with the Academy’s Award in Senior Healthcare Leadership. The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme is delivered by a KPMG-led consortium, which includes National Voices, the University of Birmingham’s Health Services Management Centre (HSMC) and Alliance Manchester Business School.
This year, the date of the graduation is one that is significant across health and social care, with the NHS turning 70 years old and national celebrations taking place across the UK. The vast majority of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme graduates are employed within the NHS, and will use the enhanced skills they have developed and knowledge they have acquired to bring about positive change and improvement to patient care and experience.
Evaluation survey results across all cohorts of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme since 2013 have revealed that approximately half of participants gain job promotion during their time on the programme, with 89% attributing this directly to their learning experience.
Gill Rooke, Head of National Programme Delivery at the Academy said: “Coinciding with this landmark birthday for the NHS, today’s graduation is a timely reminder that compassionate and inclusive leadership are as important now as they were 70 years ago, and will be even more critical in the future given the pace of change and the challenges facing the health and care system.
The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme equips leaders with the behaviours, attitudes and skills to engage staff, lead with courage and compassion, and ultimately improve patient health outcomes. As the number of graduates from the RGA programme increases, the impact on the system becomes significant.”
Dr Annette Neath, Senior Fellow at the University of Birmingham and Anderson programme director said: “This is an amazing achievement and fantastic celebration of a collaboratively designed and delivered NHS leadership development programme.” ( HSMC)
Ann Mahon, Professor of Health Leadership, and Alliance Manchester Business School said: “The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme is an ambitious programme which offers a unique blend of academic and leadership interventions. As we celebrate 70 years of the NHS on graduation day, I am proud that we are equipping the NHS leaders of the future with the confidence to drive change to improve the patient experience in the next 70 years.”
The programme is aimed at mid to senior level leaders – clinical and non-clinical – working across health care in England. It aims to equip participants with the skills, knowledge and confidence to challenge the status quo and bring about real and lasting change to improve services for patients in the NHS and wider health and social care. Each participant undertakes 24 months of study on the programme, comprised of a mix of residential academic and developmental workshops, personal study supported by on-line tuition, action learning sets, and work-based assignments. A final dissertation draws together the results and learning from a major work-based project focused on improving health care for patients.
For more information about the NHS Leadership Academy and its programmes, visit their website or follow them on Twitter @NHSleadership.
