Plymouth consultant selected for prestigious leadership programme

Paul McArdle, Consultant Surgeon and Director of Quality from Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, is one of only 18 health professionals in the UK to have been selected for the prestigious GenerationQ, a pioneering leadership programme from the independent healthcare charity, the Health Foundation.

The fellowship has a track record of developing leaders who understand how complex health systems work and who inspire others to transform healthcare quality and bring about sustainable, system-wide change.

The GenerationQ programme equips fellows with the skills to drive forward and influence improvements across healthcare services and organisations – skills that are needed more than ever in today’s NHS given the funding squeeze and emphasis on quality.

Mr McArdle said: “I am really pleased to have been accepted onto the programme. It was a competitive process requiring a written submission and a fairly rigorous 24-hour assessment at Ashridge college. I was eventually selected as one of 18, out of a total of 120 national applicants from all aspects of the health service, so I feel very honoured to be accepted on the programme.

“As the medical lead for quality for Plymouth Hospitals, it is a real opportunity. The programme is very practical as it provides support for leadership development, whilst I am supporting and delivering quality improvement. This is an area of priority for the Trust in the development of its service lines, over the next few years. It would be great to see quality improvement becoming a part of the way we operate as a hospital trust and that people will develop these skills at all levels within the Trust.”

Dr Jennifer Dixon, Chief Executive of the Health Foundation said “We are delighted to have found 18 such talented people to participate in GenerationQ. Previous fellows have used the skills they have learnt through the programme to make real impact on the quality of healthcare in the UK. We are excited to see what these new fellows will do.”

Previous fellow Dr Ian Bullock, Chief Operating Officer, National Clinical Guideline Centre, Royal College of Physicians said “The experience of GenerationQ has been a rich stream of learning underpinning my leadership and quality improvement commitment, and how I have applied this ‘in action’ in my role at the Royal College of Physicians.”

GenerationQ provides an innovative learning experience, including residential leadership forums, the support of individual executive coaching, action learning in facilitated peer groups, the opportunity to engage with systems beyond health and extensive feedback.

The fellowship is an 18 month part-time programme to complete a postgraduate certificate or diploma. Fellows will develop personal skills and strategies for resilience, equipping them to confront the main challenges facing healthcare leaders today. They will put into practice a significant improvement project in their organisation.

The Health Foundation’s GenerationQ programme will be open for the next round of application in spring 2014.

For further information about GenerationQ visit the Health Foundation website www.health.org.uk/generationq