Abstract
The Final report is a summation of all the 4 quarters reports, report on the care improvement projects and reflecting on the year spent on the Florence Nightingale Foundation Leadership Programme in 2016.
Background
The author is a mental health nurse and quality improvement coach. When the programme started the author was a matron on Bevan Ward at City and Hackney Centre for Mental Health then moved to Kent & Medway Partnership Trust by the end of the year as a Lead Nurse for Quality and Practice. The author was drawn to the Foundation’s leadership by realising that they had to grow as a leader. Reflecting on own progress and feedback form others the author a sort a leadership programme to develop as a leader.
Objectives
The objectives of the programme for author were develop on their political awareness, skills and art to navigate the political scene of their organisation. The author aimed to learn how to influence the organisation and interact beyond their own team and reach the executive of the organisation. In the programme the author set out to learn more about themselves and learn how to enhance their personal qualities and skills.
The programme was set out in a bespoke manner; it had core leadership programmes and programmes chosen by the scholar to attend. The core programmes included Leading Change and Organisational Renewal, Co-consultation and RADA Communication for Leaders. The author chose to attend the 10 day residential programme at Cranfield University, The High Performance Leadership and sessions of coaching. The programmes employed various means of learning and models which have all given the author new skills, enhanced new skills, formulated new view point and new practices to aid in their transition to be an effective leader.
In the course of the year the year the author was allocated a mentor, Prof Dunkley-Bent. Communication was by phone, email and face to face. The author was offered encouragement, guidance, space and time to reflect. The author was offered opportunities to network.
Patient care improvement
The programme had a care improvement programme which the author had to engage in. the author was engaged in restrictive practice in mental health with a focus on seclusion. The project was based on Bevan Ward Psychiatric Care Unit in City and Hackney East London Foundation Trust. The author and the team on Bevan set to reduce seclusion on Bevan ward by 50% by November 2016 using the Model for Improvement. The team with contributions from the patients used, initiatives which they mapped on their driver diagram and measured, the number of seclusions as the outcome measure. The other measures were, staff sickness rate, number of incidents on the ward, number of debriefs, and incidents of violence. The results were that the project did not reduce the rate of seclusion, the rate of seclusion remains constant at 1.8 seclusions a month. The project was able to reduce incident of violence and aggression by 67% and developed a structure debrief tool with they were able to use in 25% of all seclusions. The project was faced with various challenges in the course of the year which included unstable leadership on the ward, high staff sickness rate, high staff turnover, high dependence on bank or temporary staff and costs.
However, whilst the original purpose was not realised, the reduction in violence and aggression is welcomed.
Conclusion
The author reflects on their journey during the year and concludes that the programme has brought about opportunities, new networks, new learning and growth. The project also improved patient care and this would be shared in various networks established and the project is set to continue on Bevan ward.
Finally, the author feels privileged to be an FNF scholar and says this with pride. He ensures that as a scholar, he will share his experiences and learning with others as others have done. Doors and opportunities opened that were in the past impossible. The prospects that await him from this point on will be faced with a full toolkit and with friends from the Foundation. In summary, a transformed leader and a Florence Nightingale Scholar.