The best managers would be doctors

When Shakespeare wrote, “Now, gods, stand up for bastards . . . ,” he probably didn’t have NHS managers in mind, but Salisbury’s defence of us managers has something of that flavour.1 In slightly faint praise, she says we might be able to relieve doctors of “administrative responsibilities,” but there is little sense that we could also be creative partners. A more common view, I suspect, is that managers are at best a necessary evil and at worst oxygen thieves who stop doctors and clinicians from doing their job.As someone who came to the NHS from outside, I am disappointed by this. The managerial function, as distinct from managers, is an important component of delivering effective medical care. There will always be questions of prioritisation, and change is both inevitable and to be embraced: we need structured mechanisms to cope with these. Ally that with a funding stream that is…
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