Nurse leadership in sustaining programmes of change

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Change
• Nursing Leadership

Background:

• Limited research exists on sustaining National Health Service (NHS) programs.
• The Productive Ward (PW) program aimed to improve acute hospital environments.
• Evaluating sustainability post-facilitation team disbandment is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the sustainability of the Productive Ward (PW) program in an acute hospital.
• To identify factors conducive to sustaining organizational change in healthcare.
• To understand the impact of leadership on program longevity.

Main Methods:

• Service evaluation of 11 wards implementing the PW program.
• Data collection on sustainability metrics, absenteeism, environmental changes, and role evolution.
• Analysis of themes from literature and collected data.

Main Results:

• Sustaining change in dynamic healthcare environments is difficult.
• Ward sister leadership skills and qualities strongly correlate with program sustainability.
• Factors beyond the PW program influenced its long-term success.

Conclusions:

• Effective leadership is critical for sustaining healthcare initiatives.
• Strategies to embed change require ongoing support and adaptable leadership.
• Further research is needed on long-term program viability in the NHS.