As PCC’s Chair David Colin-Thome wrote in the previous article: “The government’s plan to develop Neighbourhoods presents an opportunity for high-quality, low-cost care – through collaboration, as equal partners, between health workers, care workers and everyday citizens” He goes on to talk about the need to develop “trusted relationships across boundaries” and to work on “coordinated actions that build community cohesion.“
NHS England Neighbourhood Health Guidelines 2025/26 demands “a collaborative high-support, high-challenge culture, which fosters strong relationships between all system partners, including the NHS, local government, social care providers and the VCFSE sector”
Collaboration is the key here. That’s not a new idea and when asked many of the leaders attending our training will be able to demonstrate some ways in which they work well with others across primary care. Why though is it still so challenging to work truly collaboratively? The answers to that probably include the way the funding flows, workplace culture and public expectation and understanding. To extend that way of working across neighbourhoods, primary care will need to continue to improve its collaborative working starting at team and organisation level and upscaling its leadership behaviours.
Collaboration is complex – culture, people, power and politics can be high hurdles. Clearing or finding a route around the hurdle may require new ways of working and we know that new ways of working can be demanding and tiring.
PCC’s leadership development support is here to provide answers and importantly offers the opportunity to share experience and learn from one another. We explore what skills are needed for collaborative working and look at how leaders can stay energised and be energising when modelling new ways of working. Role-power may be of less impact when working with peers from different organisations so we stimulate discussion around how to influence without authority. In addition, we know that building trust needs emotionally able, compassionate leaders and that feels trickier when we are less familiar. Our training provides theories to support the development of compassionate leadership and challenges people to look beyond what and who they know to broaden the knowledge and strengthen patient services. We’ve lots of experience and can share stories from leaders across the system.
“Well facilitated sessions offering support and discussion around practical leadership issues. Honest practical and authentic”
Action learning sets are an efficient and effective way of providing leadership development, and our content-led training is also delivered with an action-learning approach to maximise the opportunity for group coaching and shared learning. Contact enquiries@pcc-cic.org.uk to find how we can help you.
