Leading Change in Health and Social Care: Building Relationships, Diversity and Action

BMJ Leader. 2024 Jan 22. 

Leading change in the realm of health and social care is multifaceted and transcends the mere transmission of information through letters or reports. It’s about people, relationships, and trust. The late entrepreneur and philanthropist Chuck Feeney’s wise words, “It’s always about people,” underline the fundamental importance of human connections in driving transformative change in healthcare policies.

The core of healthcare policy development is people – the public, our communities, those who care, and those who receive care. It’s also about the people we collaborate with and through to make change happen. Change and transformation are not just about writing policies; they’re about building relationships and trust. It’s about cultivating hope, creating a vision, and taking the right action to deliver better outcomes for people, places, communities, and the environment, with the best utilisation of resources underpinned by equity.

This blog delves into leadership in healthcare policy development, emphasising the role of diversity, relationships, and action required to achieve better outcomes.