A new regional leadership academy for NHS organisations will be hosted by Nottinghamshire Healthcare. The mental health and learning disability trust was successful in a tender process to host the NHS East Midlands Leadership Academy (EQIPP) which will have a membership of 24 NHS organisations from across the region.
Jointly funded by its members, the Academy aims to provide a dynamic, responsive, cost effective and innovative level of leadership development. Each member organisation currently delivers its own leadership development. However, the Academy will enhance this by providing a suite of programmes relevant for all where the needs of each organisation can be met by the same programme or develop the skills required to work across a number of organisations.
The Academy is designed to link in with the National Leadership Council and the five key priorities identified nationally for developing leadership throughout the NHS to ensure better care for patients. Developing leadership across the East Midlands cuts across a number of trusts and the decision for the Academy to be hosted by one of the member organisations was taken to ensure the priorities of the members are better represented and that the needs of the local health economy can be met through this route.
The physical base of the Academy will be at The Sir Colin Campbell building on the Jubilee Campus of the University of Nottingham Business School, close to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and the Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC).
Paul O’Neill, Associate Director of Learning and Development, Nottinghamshire Healthcare said: “We are delighted to be hosting the Leadership Academy, to provide such a valuable resource for developing the leaders of the future and supporting all the member organisations in achieving their leadership goals. With the Academy sitting in close proximity to the IMH and CLAHRC it will also be able to benefit from the expertise available from these organisations.”
Nottinghamshire Healthcare will not only provide the infrastructure to enable the Academy to run, but also will importantly provide a strong level of governance to ensure it continues to meet the remit for which it was designed and that there are sound systems in place to ensure consultation and approval from all members.
Professor Mike Cooke, Chief Executive of Nottinghamshire Healthcare currently chairs the Strategic Leadership Programme Board for the region and will take on the role of Chair of the Academy shortly. Director of the Academy is Karen Lynas, and Rachel Munton, currently on secondment from Nottinghamshire Healthcare has taken on the position of Deputy Director.
Programmes and content offered by the Academy will be developed via consultation with members and built to fit accordingly. It is set to run for an initial period of at least two years subject to review.
The NHS East Midlands Leadership Academy will officially launch to stakeholders on 13 May at the East Midlands Conference Centre.
