Managing cultural change in a crisis

While there is no magic cure, a change in culture can deliver significant benefits including reducing the effects of staff burnout, delivering a higher quality of care and increasing productivity. It is well within the remit of leaders, who can use their power to influence workplace culture and drive positive change from within, argues Phil Taylor

Coronavirus has delivered profound shockwaves across the country. At a time when people are losing their lives, Government measures to halt the spread of the disease are adversely affecting people’s income, job security, life chances for the young and social contacts – all essential to physical health and emotional wellbeing. Many of these factors are identified by The Health Foundation (an independent charity committed to bringing about better health and healthcare for people in the UK) as the ‘five dimensions of the impact of COVID-19’. These encompass the direct impact of the virus in terms of death and serious illness; the impact on acute care for conditions that are not related to the virus; the disruption suffered by those with long-term chronic conditions; the medium to long-term impact of Government interventions to contain the virus by restricting movement; and the long-term impacts of service capacity and resilience in the health service.¹

Crisis magnifies perennial problems in healthcare