5th March 2009

Gosforth training firm wins innovative NHS Trust contract

Gosforth-based training consultancy Macnaughton McGregor has won a contract to improve the leadership and management skills of executives and managers at the North East’s biggest NHS Trust.

An initial group of 24 managers from the Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Trust have already completed a series of assessment and coaching sessions to identify individual potential and map out leadership and management development requirements.

This involved using the personality questionnaire known as Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which helped the managers to understand more about their style and make positive changes to get the best out of themselves and their teams.

The move is seen as a first within the Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Trust and will see significant improvements in the way it’s led in future.

The Trust employs more than 7,000 people, spanning the region from Berwick-upon-Tweed in the north down to Sunderland in the south and across to Hexham in the west.

Sites its manages include St George’s and Northgate Hospitals in Morpeth, St Nicholas Hospital in Gosforth and Cherry Knowles Hospital in Sunderland as well as several specialist mental health, learning and neuro disability services.

The leadership and development programme will help the Trust in nurturing its own management talent, while the 7,000 staff it employs benefit from shared knowledge and expertise.

In the long term, the work will improve the quality of the management team, ultimately helping to provide the 1.4 million people the Trust serves with faster and more efficient healthcare services.

Now, following the success of the first round of training, Macnaughton McGregor is expanding the programme over the next 18 months to include all Trust managers.

This will see more than 230 people equipped with a tool-kit of new skills and the self-belief that they can drive through changes to the way the Trust is administered.

Yvonne Carter, a specialist trainer in the Leadership & Management Development Department, has been working closely with Macnaughton McGregor’s director Audrey Macnaughton to scope out and deliver the programme.

She said that the Trust will have better and more insightful leaders who can help improve the motivation and productivity of all employees in the long term.

“Staff look to the words and actions of top managers for leadership and inspiration. So, it’s important that these individuals are given the opportunity to become better, more articulate and confident leaders.

“The Macnaughton McGregor programme offers a very pragmatic and hands-on approach to achieving this.

“Going forward over the next few years, I’m confident that it’ll lay the foundations for a new framework in which people can thrive, both as individuals and as part of a team, helping them to achieve their goals and become better professionals in the process.”

Audrey Macnaughton, who will continue to work with Yvonne Carter on coaching and leadership planning, said she will be using the experience of working with regional trusts to secure more work.

This includes being shortlisted for a contract with NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) in London.

She added: “Our programme with the Trust is about people being able to manage more effectively, equipping them with the confidence and skills to overcome the challenges ahead and engender new thinking and ways of tackling problems.

“Many who participate will be enabled to make real and long lasting change in the Trust as it looks to deliver a first class healthcare service.”

Macnaughton McGregor has been recognised for its training, coaching and mentoring success with clients such as North East Productivity Alliance (NEPA), DVLA, Greggs plc, BAE Systems, Calvert Trust, Caterpillar and various NHS trusts.

All programmes are carefully planned and managed to ensure that the consultant with the most relevant experience is chosen to lead the piece of work.

Macnaughton McGregor’s management and support systems ensure that a professional service is provided at all times thus enabling specialist expertise to be introduced as appropriate.

This approach means that clients have a senior individual as a point of contact and also have the benefit of drawing on other expertise as and when required.

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