Regulation among leaders for service improvement

Abstract

The NHS consistently appears in our national news. High profile headlines about poor care and avoidable deaths, alongside the junior doctor contract dispute and the most recent winter crisis, have exposed low morale and a service under immense pressure. There is a mistrust between clinical staff and senior leaders, with the former being responsible for clinical care within a work environment and culture dictated by the latter. Doctors, nurses and allied health professionals must register, at their own expense, with their respective regulatory bodies to practice and face sanctions for breaches of their codes of conduct. Although healthcare organisations are regulated and monitored, no such mandatory licensing is required to manage UK healthcare. This article highlights that policy and strategic decision making by senior leaders and politicians directly impacts on patients. In this commentary, the authors argue that, to protect patients, it should become necessary for policy and strategic decision-makers in healthcare to adhere to the same mandatory regulatory standards that healthcare professionals do. Otherwise, we fail to place patients at the heart of policy decision making and reforms.