In order to better understand how to be an effective leader, in August 2019 I embarked on a Leadership and Transformation Fellowship. It comprised of a year long secondment to the management consultancy health team at Deloitte LLP, followed by nine months as an Anaesthetic Transformation Fellow at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, (with changes to timings to accommodate the pandemic). I was especially interested to learn how management consultancy intersects with our own quality improvement endeavours as clinicians.

Management Consultancy

I gained skills working on a range of projects which included: the transformation strategy of two acute NHS hospital trusts; clinical workforce redesign and service options appraisal at an Arms’ Length NHS body; and national pandemic support.

Anaesthetic Transformation Fellow

I led a multidisciplinary project to create a Surgical Enhanced Care Unit (SECU) which provides post operative care for high risk elective surgery in a Covid protected setting whilst our critical care was unavailable. In the last year SECU has safely treated 129 patient. I also engaged in hospital-wide and departmental projects.

Lessons Learnt

- Transformation in the NHS is possible; whilst the pandemic has been disruptive it has revealed opportunities for dynamic change by motivated leaders.

- Effective change is best achieved when stakeholders are involved in a collaborative fashion, improving the likelihood of a meaningful impact.

- Building relationships is key, and can be challenging for a rotating trainee.

This Fellowship provided me with a unique opportunity to encounter a comprehensive range of healthcare leadership, from private sector and central NHS bodies, to trainee led projects. The experience has been invaluable, and I would highly recommend supporting trainees in leadership, as the benefits to the NHS would be innumerable.

My Fellowship was funded by Health Education England, the Royal College of Anaesthetists and Deloitte LLP.