Nurturing tomorrow's leaders

In his review of NHS leadership, Lord Rose asked, ‘How do we find and nurture the people that are needed to lead the NHS over the next 10 years?’ (Rose, 2015: 8). The report's 19 recommendations focus on consistent, proactive approaches to developing leaders, including training, performance management, bureaucracy and management support. Lord Rose states that, for the recommendations to be effective, they should be preceded by an NHS communication strategy that broadcasts consistent messages across the health system, and an NHS passport that includes the core values of the NHS.

Considering how we will find and nurture the people needed to lead maternity services over the next 10 years and beyond, I reflected on the leadership roles I have undertaken in my career and, in particular, my role as a consultant midwife (CM).

The CM role, implemented in the late 1990s (NHS Executive, 1999), saw the genesis of senior midwifery leaders who had (and continue to have) the authority, expertise and experience to develop practice and lead practice development. For such an important leadership role, there should be an accredited course that supports the development of consistent levels of experience and training across the maternity system. It is clear that we can no longer leave this to chance.