INNOVATION
Theimpactofinvokingan innovativespirit inteams
Clinical leaders play a crucial role in encouraging creativity and innovation in their teams. Raj Purewal, business development and partnerships director at Trustech, the NHS innovation experts, explains how to keep the innovative spirit alive and deliver the most value from a good idea.
Innovation has been promoted as the key to increasing productivity and saving money across the NHS, while improving patient care; and it is changing healthcare for the better. The sector is taking strides forward in terms of new medical devices and equipment, diagnostics and screening tools, education and training materials, software and information services, and much more. However, some Trusts still struggle to ingrain innovation into the mind-set of the workforce. Many healthcare professionals still believe that innovation is not relevant to their area of expertise or that they can’t be innovative. These people simply do not realise that innovation can involve making small changes to practice, as well as devising ground-breaking new approaches to patient care.
There is indeed a requirement for all NHS organisations to demonstrate how they are driving innovation, and developing delivery mechanisms, for long-term success and sustainability of the overall healthcare system. A legal duty also exists for CCGs and the NHS Commissioning Board to promote innovation. As innovation experts, Trustech works with many NHS organisations to develop their innovation strategy and strengthen leadership in this field; it is an area that demands increasing attention.
Senior leaders have a significant impact on an organisation’s innovation and there are ways they can raise awareness of the importance and value of innovation across their organisations.
Breaking barriers
One of the greatest barriers to innovation is not a lack of creativity, but recognition of the impact an idea could have. Teams therefore need to be aware of the positive effect of innovation. The impacts are far-reaching,
and innovation benefits the NHS organisation involved, as well as the individuals behind the idea, the extended NHS community, and – of course – patients. Time pressures remain an issue; there is
often no ease up on the demands placed on individuals who work in healthcare. As a consequence it can be perceived that there are too many hoops to jump through, and therefore a lack of time to form or discuss new ideas. Similarly, a lack of recognition can cause staff to fear failure and that is when the ideas stop coming forward. Instead, the innovation cycle should be viewed as a learning process. Not all ideas are going to make it, but the more that surface, the greater the opportunity for advancement.
Immense impact
Innovation works towards transformational change for the NHS and identifies new ways to raise standards and develop ground- breaking, sometimes world-class ideas. Patients are increasingly knowledgeable and innovations that successfully make it into a mainstream healthcare setting often fulfil the growing expectations placed on the NHS. By improving patient outcomes we can create happier, healthier patients and communities. Trusts that employ individuals who develop innovative ideas benefit by securing better ways of working, and improving quality and productivity, which also leads to all-important cost-savings.
Notable income streams can also result from a good idea. The NHS, and indeed the inventor, through collaboration with manufacturers and developers, can earn royalties from products sold globally. As hospital budgets continue to be scrutinised, opening up new income streams can protect valuable frontline services. Innovation can
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help fill this growing void, and Trusts across the country are steadily recognising the long- term, sustainable income streams that can be generated.
Cultivating the right culture
There are a number of enablers to innovation; and clinical leaders can encourage more staff to think about improving efficiency and enabling innovation. The right working environment for instance has a significant effect on the workforce, and an innovative culture creates the foundations for a steady flow of ideas. Inspire teams to adopt an innovative spirit, and those exciting ‘eureka’ moments may soon spring into life. Innovation leadership must be embedded in all organisations across the NHS, and senior management must be part of this. As well as facilitating innovation across the organisation, they should lead by example, and innovate themselves too.
According to research, seven dimensions of organisational culture relate to the level of innovation. It is these areas that clinical leaders must examine: risk taking; resources; information; targets; tools; rewards; and relationships. Take the relationships area as an example; innovation is not developed in isolation, it can be complicated, and collaboration is vital. Staff must not feel isolated in their pursuit of new ideas. So much more can be achieved by working together; talking with different healthcare professionals, patients or other organisations specialising in innovation helps staff gain a 360 degree view rather than operating in silos.
OCTOBER 2016
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