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Networks are increasingly important in addressing many of the challenges we face across health and care.  But networks are complex; you can’t control a network you need to motivate it.

The new White Paper setting out the legislative proposals for a Health and Care Bill is a clear encouragement to collaborate and integrate. It is explicit that national policy, legal and regulatory frameworks affecting the NHS have impeded, restricted and delayed the practical integration of health and care around families and patients even where the will has been there. 

I joined Kaleidoscope in late November 2020 to embark on my “flexi placement” as part of the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme (GMTS). Reflecting on my short but sweet time here, there are four key aspects of my placement that enabled me to flourish here and I intend to take with me on my NHS journey. 

If all your lockdown days are beginning to look much the same, and there’s nothing left to celebrate, then panic not. February 2 is Groundhog Day. Time to get the bunting out and prepare for yet another Zoom Party.

The hashtag #BeKind is now pretty ubiquitous. And that is nice. We love kindness at Kaleidoscope. But Charmian Walker-Smith suspects there are some people who are happier using a hashtag rather than lead by example. We need actions rather than words.

Memory, learning, history, loss, curiosity, energy. These are not terms normally associated with NHS improvement. But our week-long Changing Healthcare conference provided a week of stimulating talks by service and clinical champions, researchers, and thought leaders. It provided different ways of thinking about the past and the present. Tara Lamont summarises some of the key lessons.

As people age and live longer, the complexity of their health and social care needs means that a collective effort from several agencies is essential.   Although collaboration can be difficult, Meg Wright explores the benefits of a bolder approach to building stronger cross-sector relationships.

We describe ourselves as a consultancy of a different kind. Why? Because our mission is to seek a world that is kinder, more connected and joyful. That mission that runs through everything we do, from recruitment, to the way we treat each other, to the work we deliver. It really isn’t as fluffy as it sounds. Kindness should be at the heart of healthcare, here’s why.

Kindness? Isn’t that all a bit “motherhood and apple pie”? Something with the whiff of touchy-feely psychobabble? Not quite the sort of thing that serious busy people need to get excited about. David Haslam explores why kindness isn't just something to insert in your organisational mission statement and then ignore.