Senior Clinical Leaders Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme
Together, we can create a fairer, healthier future for everyone.
Health inequalities aren’t just differences in people’s health - they are differences in the care, support, and opportunities that shape our ability to live well. By understanding these gaps and working collectively to close them, we can empower communities to thrive and ensure that every person has the chance to enjoy their best possible health.
Health inequalities can therefore involve differences in:
• health status, for example life expectancy
• access to care, for example availability of given services
• quality and experience of care, for example levels of patient satisfaction
• behavioural risks to health, for example smoking rates
• wider determinants of health, for example quality of housing, employment, index of multiple deprivation
The Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Senior Clinical Leaders Programme (HII SCLP) has been shaped by a dedicated piece of work exploring senior clinicians’ perspectives on what meaningful leadership development in this area should look like. Through in-depth interviews with experienced clinical leaders, the project identified shared priorities, learning needs, and practical gaps - ensuring the programme is grounded in real-world leadership challenges and designed to support action at senior level.
The NHSE objectives for this programme include:
• To help develop senior clinical leadership capabilities for system leadership, often without authority.
• To build a shared, deep understanding of healthcare inequalities, health inequalities and their social determinants.
• To move participants from awareness to meaningful, actionable strategies.
• To integrate health inequalities into organisational strategy and governance.
• To identify evidence-based outcomes in health inequalities to aid governance and reporting.
• To foster cross-sector collaboration, including with patients, communities, and external partners.
• To enhance leadership in addressing bias and inclusion in healthcare.
• To identify and leverage strategic levers for driving change.
• Share case studies from a range of settings addressing different aspects of health inequalities.
• Will be aligned to implementation of the 3 shifts and health inequalities commitments outlined in the Ten-Year Health Plan, Manifesto Commitments on Healthy Life expectancy and meeting statutory duties on tackling health inequalities.
All places are fully funded by NHS England.
We are aiming to create a diverse multidisciplinary cohort of up to 45 participants. Each delegate will have 5 pre-identified local leaders/champions to work alongside the cohort member (making 270 nationally), to establish senior leadership capabilities to promote a social movement for change and facilitate future local delivery planning by the organisations within a system. This will require development of leadership for both within an organisation but also across a system, often without authority.
In summary, our programme content includes:
• An initial Insights questionnaire to understand the cohort’s current leadership experiences, the status of their local system, and their expectations of the programme.
• Establishment of a named 225 strong Social Movement Ignition Group – Leading in your System, through active promotion of approaches described by Marshall Ganz. Leadership taking on the responsibility of creating conditions that enable others to achieve a shared purpose in the face of uncertainty. The use of First Follower Methodologies to scale the movement in your local Integrated Care Systems.
• Group Coaching online • Digital Action Learning Sets (DALS).
• Module content with slide sets and training plans developed with HII colleagues to maximise the expertise and knowledge from both organisations.
• Pre-reading workbooks and module materials available on the NHS Futures Platform.
• Face to face sessions held across the country in London, Birmingham and Manchester.
• Online sessions to also include DALS, Group Coaching & Development Sessions via MS Teams.
• Continuous support from NHS Clinical Leaders Network (including free access to events, signposting to other free development and subsidised development opportunities and free further development sessions). Also, strategic connection to delegates of National GP Leaders Development Programme (GPLD), NHS IMPACT Operational Improvement Training Programme, National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NHIP), Galvanising Leadership in Neighbourhood Teams (GLINT), National Advanced Foundation Trust Programme / IHO Programme and members of the Core20PLUS Ambassadors, HII Expert Peer Members and Shelford Group.
