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Speaking as one of that breed of PCT Managers currently in the spotlight for either “failing miserably” or “having made a real contribution to the NHS” depending on whose opinion you read, I could be forgiven for feeling despondent, pessimistic, undervalued, or a whole range of other negatives.
I’m not.
It’s true that PCTs will cease to exist sometime in 2013. It’s also true that huge management savings have to be made before that. So why aren’t I wringing my hands in despair, writing my CV, and looking for the next opportunity?
Well, there’s still work to be done, and the future is not Orange - in fact, we don’t know yet what it is going to be. I could behave like Corporal Jones from Dad’s Army (Don’t Panic!), wasting energy on fruitless speculation and activity, or I could make sure I am well informed about the unfolding story, and get involved in it.
Of course it helps that my Myers Briggs type is ENTP - this makes me someone who is curious, enthusiastic, self-sufficient, determined - and able to cope with unexpected change.
But what about those who aren’t? How do we support them at a time when they are struggling to make sense of yet another change? When there is insecurity, uncertainty and upheaval?
Organisations facing the need to make management savings may see it as a time to reduce investment in people, but this is just the time when we must continue to support staff. Coaching and mentoring are both cost effective if you have internal resource (and it could be argued that now is the time to skill up your people, or to look to partnerships to make best use of resources).
But it is also vital to give people the skills that they need for the job they have now, and for the job that they may be applying for in the future.
Time will tell if my optimism is justified
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From The People Grower
Anne Axford is associate director for learning and development at Portsmouth PCT.
Readers' comments (2)
Steve Allinson | 10-Aug-2010 9:46 am
Given our historic investment in change management skills for commissioners - remember the Modernisation Agency, PDSA cycles, wall paper and post-it notes etc? - arguably, we should have a significant part of our workforce welcoming and understanding of change and changce management. How many people were impacted by their resultant service and pathway redesign?
Please let our change managers not now lose sight of their colleague receptionists (who booked the meetings rooms), or the person in cgharge of staionery (and filled the cupboard with post it notes). Our change managers will have a great deal to offer their colleagues.
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Anonymous | 20-Aug-2010 1:47 pm
A good article. As a PCT senior manager with a similar Myers Briggs profile I am trying to take a similar view. However we have already shed lots of staff as a commissioning only organisation with a vacancy freeze for many months now. We are seeing all our staff for the "David Nicholson Fireside Chat" but it is hard to offer support services that no longer exist. It is also hard to spin GP consortia commissioning when staff clearly know it is the effective privatisation of the commissioning functions of the NHS. "First they came for the PCTs ..." is a charge that I have had difficulty responding to...
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