<< Back to events page

As quoted by the Chair of Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, Sir Thomas Hughes-Hallett, in an interview with Nurole, "The NHS needs commercial skills in so many areas: skilled marketers to help the public improve their own health; board members with good analytical skills; finance experts, techies, and - since I’m certain that there will be many more mergers in the NHS - M&A sleuths. Each board also needs a cynic: a really well-grounded person with experience in internal audit and compliance, who can challenge enthusiastic boards - this is public money, lives are at stake, is this the right thing to do?"

This session brings together board members from the NHS to discuss the best approach to bringing these skills into the NHS boardroom.

This session lasted 60 minutes and included questions from the audience.

• Ways to think more laterally about becoming more commercial as a board
• How to get the most out of commercial experience on NHS boards
• What NEDs from the commercial world should bring to your board and how to identify the best ones

You can find a recording of the webinar below, along with a summary of insights.

1. Risks of not adopting a commercial mindset. Too much clinical experience bias on a board can lead to blindspots on large commercial projects that are complex and high-risk. It's rare for someone with a clinical background to have the experience to support and challenge new digital transformation projects that might be being delivered for the first time in an NHS environment.
   
2. The change management process can improve. Underestimation in the importance of winning hearts and minds before, during and after big projects that affect staff and patient care.
   
3. Long board papers risk reducing decision-making quality. A briefing document that does not exceed 5 pages would be a solution. It should summarise: what decision is required, what the key options are and the recommendation being made. So NEDs can feel more prepared for meetings, rather than reading 200+ board papers. This should drive better decision quality.
   
   If this content was helpful, you can join our mailing list to hear about future events or suggest a topic for our events team, on our Events page