Putting Nurses and Midwives at its Heart
NHS England has just launched a new Leadership and Management Framework, a milestone for the health and care workforce, developed with direct input from nurses and midwives at every career stage.
This new Leadership and Management Framework, establishes a unified code of practice, standards, competencies and curricula for clinical and non-clinical managers and leaders across the NHS in England. The Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) played a central role in its development as part of a four-partner consortium, ensuring that the voices of nurses and midwives – from frontline staff to executives – shaped the framework from the outset.
The launch fulfils a key recommendation of Kark (2019) and the Messenger (2022) Reviews. Both called for a single set of competencies for all NHS clinical and non-clinical roles, (Messenger) including Board roles (Kark).
The new framework spans the full leadership pathway, from early career through to executive level. By establishing consistent national standards, competencies and curricula, it aims to strengthen public confidence in NHS management, and to align leaders across the service around a shared purpose: improving patient care and outcomes.
A new national body, the NHS College of Leadership & Management, will provide an ongoing institutional home for the framework and support its implementation across the service. The College’s incoming Chair, Ed Smith, and the interim CEO, Steve McManus, will play a central role in driving forward next steps.
“I am extremely proud that FNF has played a key role in the development of this framework. It is a truly trail-blazing national project that will support nurse and midwife leaders to stay, thrive, lead and transform health and care. We look forward to continued collaboration with the Chair and CEO of the new College and to sharing what we have learned with the other UK nations and beyond.”
Professor Greta Westwood CBE, Chief Executive, Florence Nightingale Foundation
FNF will continue to work in partnership with the College and with health systems across the UK to embed the framework’s principles and share learning across borders.
The framework and self-assessment tool are now available for you and your teams to use. Get in touch to find out how we can help you and your team roll this out.
