Mon 23 Nov 2015
Client: Shanghai Songjiang District Health and Family Planning Commission
Programme: Understanding UK Health and Care
(Delivered in UK, Autumn, 2015)
The client
Following the successes of the 2014 health programme delivered by Dods Training for a group of visiting clinicians and management staff from Shanghai, we were approached by another delegation from the Shanghai Songjiang District Health and Family Planning Commission.
The problem
With a growing population of 1.8 million, Songjiang district is a large district pioneering health care reform in Shanghai. As with the group in 2014, the delegation were keen to visit the UK and glean best practice regarding structure and management of the UK healthcare system. New and innovative approaches to the management of health and social care structures were of particular interest to the delegation.
Our actions
In addition to having run a similar course in 2014, Dods Training has an especially strong grounding in, and knowledge of, the health sector in the UK. In early September, Dods organised the Health and Care Innovation Expo 2015 boasting hundreds of expert guest speakers and hosting around 5,000 visitors a day. As well as running large-scale health events, Dods regularly collaborates with the Department of Health and senior management in the NHS. Utilising our wider Dods contacts as well as our own network of over 200 training consultants we put together an intensive, five-day programme followed by two weeks of meetings around the UK.
The week’s lecture programmes was led by a former Secretary of State for Health and explored the structure and management of the UK healthcare system.
Day one established the history and cultural-political importance of the NHS as well as introducing participants to the Programme in general and outlining expectations and aspirations. Day two focused on funding and commissioning structures and featured a senior speaker from the Department of Health. Day three specialised in integrated health and social care and looked at innovative ideas in the context of integration. Day four encompassed a visit to Parliament where delegates heard from speakers from both the Commons and the Lords regarding healthcare in the UK. Day five reinforced the learning from the week and focused on how the UK ensures high quality and consistent care within its health service
In addition to the training programme, the group also stipulated they wanted to meet with practitioners and management staff within hospitals and relevant health organisations. Working with our well-established network, Dods Training organised and coordinated a range of such meetings including site visits where relevant. The meetings reinforced the learning gleaned in the week of lectures. For example, the group had the opportunity to visit one of the flagship CCGs for integrated care, a concept they had studied during the first week.
Conclusions
The programme was very well-received and we hope to run repeat events for similar delegations.
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