How ya gettin’ on with yer Christmas shopping?
I’ve finished mine. A bottle of Penderyn seems to do it for everyone I now.
Although, I am stuck with one present.
It’s a real conundrum. What do you buy for the man who has everything and knows nothing?
What shall I buy, for Wes Streeting?
He’s had such a poor start, upsetting everybody, I thought perhaps a copy of Dale Carnegie’s, How to Win Friends and Influence People.
On second thoughts he seems to go out of his way to avoid making friends, so perhaps a Millwall football shirt… ‘No one likes us and we don’t care’.
Having seen his advert to replace the peerless Richard Meddings, as chair of NHS England, I had another idea.
The advert is a standard sort of thing but… it’s been amended with;
‘Maintain effective working relations with ministers and senior government officials, ensuring reporting requirements are met and that there is an open book approach to sharing information that enables ministers to fulfil their statutory duties to Parliament and the public.’
And…
‘… the chair must also… lead and champion the ‘one team’ approach between NHS England and the [DH+]…’
What our great leader is getting at is this… NHSE was designed (in the Lansley reforms) to be an arm’s length body and to keep ministers at, well… arm’s length.
Streeting wants to shorten the arms, or better still, tie them behind the back of the NHSE chair and effectively run the Board himself.
It looks like he doesn’t have party support to be given the parliamentary time to change Lansley’s laws. So he using the backdoor.
In another addendum he wants someone with…
‘… an understanding of the contribution local authorities make to delivering positive health outcomes…’
A hint that they already have the candidate they want, chalked-up… probably Penny Dash.
With all this in mind, a perfect Xmas present dawned on me…
… a puppet. Our boy Wes wants Santa to bring him a puppet to sit in the NHSE chair.
If not a glove puppet that he could get his hand right up the back of, then certainly a marionette with strings he could pull.
Emu comes to mind…
Lord Charles was always a kiddie’s favourite. Sitting on the knee of a ventriloquist.
Perhaps we could look further afield to Jim Henson’s array of popular prospects from the Muppet show…
… muppet seems about right? I can’t see any serious, experienced corporate chair getting within a mile of this.
Kermit the Frog has an appeal for being pragmatic. Miss Piggy on the other hand, likely to explode in unpredictable rage. Too much of a handful… so to speak.
What about Fozzie, the stand-up comic bear? Sweetly insecure and probably likely to disappear with a nervous break down.
Certainly not Street’-wise.
I think I’ve found the answer. Scooter, the loyal stage manager and gofer.
Perfect…
… that’s solved the last of my Xmas list problems.
Of course it will only be the start of Silly-Boy’s problems. Reshaping the Board with luvies will backfire.
Because boards need:
An element of detachment. Critical for directors running a board because it ensures objectivity, independence, and the ability to make decisions in the best interests of the organisation, not politicians.
To avoid conflict of interests. Which is why Alan Milburn with his collection of health related jobs must step away.
To foster strategic thinking. Streeting is only interested in the next headline. The board should be interested in a globe shortage of health workers, an increasingly dependent and burgeoning elderly population and getting to grips with the impact of spiralling advances in technologies that none of us know what they mean for health services.
Accountability. Impossible if they are sucked into delivering short-term political headline grabbing.
Constructive debate… obviously impossible with Streeting who has declared war on both NHS managers and GP partnerships.
Professionalism… yes, running and being a board member requires a level of professionalism, not cronyism.
Credibility… impossible if Streeting goes ahead with this. They’ll be seen as Punch and Judy… a puppet show.
Detachment, which equips directors to fulfil their responsibilities with integrity, impartiality, and a focus on the organisation’s success… not political wins.
Boards balance the need for informed engagement with the necessity of clear-eyed oversight. Not least, operational effectiveness juggling the Treasury and the DH+.
After some reflection… I’ve changed my mind…
I think I’ll send Wes the Millwall shirt.
News and Comment from Roy Lilley
Contact Roy – please use this e-address roy.lilley@nhsmanagers.net
Reproduced at thetrainingnet.com by kind permission of Roy Lilley.
