Using appreciative inquiry to initiate a managed clinical network for children's liver disease in the UK

With the three existing specialised paediatric liver centres working beyond bed capacity, this article aims to address the special problems arising from the tension between need for centralisation of skills, and advantages of decentralisation of care.

Three sessions using the appreciative inquiry method were conducted by the authors

This resulted in a new patient-centred set of priorities in developing a MCN and gave impetus to two regional MCNs and a National MCN movement for Paediatric Gastroenterology.

The authors describe the changes and how the AI method offers a powerful tool for positive change within the NHS. This article will be of special interest to those working within the paediatric liver services.