Published: 21/02/2002, Volume II2, No. 5792 Page 20
Nobody ever said that running the NHS is easy.
Some days, however, are tougher than others.
Managers may have become inured to the permanent revolution that now passes for health service structural reform. They may be used to deficits and a constant deluge of 10-year plans.
They may even be able to deal with the press in an emergency.
But they rarely have to do all of this in a single day - unless they are attending the HSJ Management Challenge.
Participants in last year's event found themselves in Birdon: a city with a council keener on a care trust than local GPs and an acute trust with serious breast-screening problems (the Commission for Health Improvement was on its way). Over the course of the one-day challenge, they also had to face the wrath of the media when Elsie Jones, a diabetic pensioner with damaged hips, was practically thrown out of hospital because of bed shortages.
'The emphasis was really on the challenge, ' as one team member put it.
HSJ editor Peter Davies says the Management Challenge, now in its fourth year, was inspired by a similar event run by Local Government Chronicle. 'We were impressed by what they were doing and realised there was nothing similar for NHS staff, ' he says.
'We were particularly interested because it was not aimed at the top-tier, but at people aspiring to those heights. We realised there was very little training for NHS people at that level.'
HSJ approached the highly respected health services management centre at Birmingham University to come up with the scenarios and assessment procedures.
It has been involved ever since.
Senior managers have also supported the challenge by becoming assessors. This provides participants with top-quality feedback, networking opportunities and, perhaps, a chance to impress.
HSJ deputy editor Lesley Hallett says the Future Leaders Challenge was set up a year later to give NHS management trainees similar opportunities.
'It provides a chance to experience the decisionmaking skills needed in senior management in a safe environment, ' she says.
Mr Davies says the challenges have lasted because 'they are a bit different and good fun at the same time'.
'You do not just sit there being talked at, you take control of events.'
The challenge evolves. Last year, a district council role was included because of the national emphasis on joint working, but participants found it difficult to make the most of it. This year, because of the continued emphasis on joint working, there will be a social services role - but it is being written by someone with a social services background and teams playing it will have more support.
HSMC fellow Jean Hardacre, who is formulating this year's challenge, says the other new feature is incorporating more of the user perspective. 'We hope to get some user-organisation representatives to come along as assessors, ' she says.
'Having people like that reviewing the performance of NHS managers should be quite interesting for the participants.
Perhaps quite humbling.'
Participants in this year's challenge will find themselves in Middlechester, an urban area with an emerging strategic health authority and two brand new primary care trusts.
They will be expected to deal with the new structures, the primary care agenda and the role of local government in NHS decision-making.
And, of course, there will be those 'Elsie Jones' moments.
Two years ago, teams had to face up to news of a nonexecutive with wandering hands just before someone set light to a psychiatric ward. . The events may be fun, but do they deliver as training occasions? Evaluation by HSMC suggest they do - though, inevitably, there are negative comments from people baffled by the judging, unhappy with their own or others' preparation and the pace of events.
Some representative comments about last year's event were that it was 'very useful for team-building', for 'reminding me of the broad strategy for the NHS and partners' and an 'opportunity to develop new techniques and approaches'.
Representative comments about what participants would take back to work included 'improved working with colleagues who participated', having 'a little more sympathy' with other organisations, and a 'general confidence increase'.
One participant said their team had 'met with the chief executive to discuss feedback' and that this would 'act as a catalyst for future work'. l Kick start: this year's events The HSJ Management Challenge 2002 will take place on 19 June at Aston Villa Football Club, Birmingham. It is designed for 'tomorrow's board-level managers' in health authorities, trusts, primary care trusts and other NHS organisations. People can enter individually or in teams. The Future Leaders Challenge is a day later at the same venue.
For details of both events, contact Debbie Keogh on 020-7874 0649, or visit www. hsj. co. uk/hsjchallenge
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