NHS Boards: Opening the black box

Arrival from 12 noon. Seminar starts at 12.15pm and ends at 1.45pm.

Tea, coffee and sandwiches provided (please register if you want these, and to guarantee a seat!)

Two presentations will be given:

• Developing a realist perspective for effective healthcare boards: theories, structures, focus and dynamics: Naomi Chambers, Professor of Healthcare Management

• Effective hospital board governance of safe care: Russell Mannion, Professor of Health Systems, Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham, will discuss findings from a major national study, funded by the National Institute for Health Research, that is investigating the linkages between hospital governance and patient safety processes and clinical outcomes. The research shows that boards play an important role in nurturing appropriate open cultures within their organisation and use a variety of hard and soft intelligence in discharging their oversight duties for patient safety, but many board members lack adequate training in quality and safety..

The seminar will be of interest to board members and secretaries of NHS organisations, leadership and organisational development consultants who support the development of boards and senior managers, and quality and safety professionals in NHS acute trusts.

About the speakers

Naomi Chambers has 30 years of experience in health services management and research, with a focus on corporate governance and organisational development. She leads the delivery of the NHS Leadership Academy’s Nye Bevan programme for senior leaders. Naomi has been a non-executive director in various healthcare organisations since 1996, and is currently Vice Chair of the governing board of North Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

Russell Mannion’s research specialisms include evaluation of health systems reform, patient safety and quality improvement, clinical governance and performance measurement and management. His work on organisational culture, health care quality and patient safety was used as evidence at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Inquiry chaired by Robert Francis QC. He has won several international awards and prizes for his research including the Baxter European book Award.