The supervisory ward manager's role: progress on Compassion in Practice action area four.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Nursing Leadership
• Health Policy

Background:

• The 2012 "Compassion in Practice" initiative outlined six key actions for healthcare improvement.
• Action area four specifically recommended supervisory roles for ward managers and leaders, separate from ward staff numbers.
• Recent policy shifts have focused on promoting Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) leadership within the National Health Service (NHS).

Purpose of the Study:

• To review literature on supervisory nurse leader roles from 2007 to 2017.
• To assess the progress of implementing supervisory nurse leader roles.
• To evaluate the impact of supervisory roles on ward-level care quality.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of research published between 2007 and 2017.
• Analysis of policy documents and reports, including the Francis Report.
• Examination of healthcare provider adoption rates for supervisory nurse leader roles in England.

Main Results:

• Supervisory nurse leader roles can enhance ward-level patient care.
• The Francis Report endorsed the concept of supervisory nurse leaders.
• Limited adoption of supervisory roles by English care providers, potentially due to voluntary rather than mandatory implementation.

Conclusions:

• The implementation of original Action Area 4 (supervisory nurse leaders) should be prioritized over a sole focus on BME leadership.
• Commissioners and providers should consider reinstating and enforcing supervisory nurse leader roles.
• Adherence to the original recommendations could better support lessons learned from the Francis Report and improve care quality.