‘Summary of Chris Mullen’s (2013) Article: Cavendish: What Is the Prospect for Genuine Change?’

‘Summary of Chris Mullen’s (2013) article: Cavendish: What is the prospect for genuine change?’



In the article Mullen (2013) looked at the future of healthcare. It highlighted problems within the system in relation to leadership within healthcare and the support and supervision given to staff.



One of the problems highlighted was that there were too many titles within the system. This results in the public not fully understanding the role that each worker plays. This was more seen in healthcare as opposed to the medical profession where they have very few roles which are known and understood. Titles within healthcare such as “nursing assistant” are not based on patients needs and do not promote working across teams within the field to create flexibility. In order to accomplish this, a multi-skilled role would be needed where patients’ needs were the primary focus and staff could work across varying teams. Creating a title such as “healthcare assistant” whereby support workers could work between sectors of health and social care would be beneficial.



The many job titles given could have a huge impact on the closeness between health and social care making it easier for support workers to be flexible. In creating a more generic title between the two sectors there would be a more consistent and clear pathway for support workers to follow enabling them to work together so that career progression could be achieved with staff moving between organisations.



The Director of Nursing Services, DNS, is responsible for support staff in that they take a leadership role and provide expert advice which sets standards for recruitment, a framework for service delivery and determines policies. However this is also an area where there are many inconsistencies between organisations as not all DNSs take responsibility within this area. Another area they remain inconsistent is with support given to staff such as appraisals and personal development plans. It has...