Hospital executive degree 'first in UK'

Liverpool John Moores University has designed a unique degree course for one of the UK’s toughest jobs – hospital senior manager.

The university is providing the UK’s largest private hospital group, Circle Health Group, with a new, bespoke degree-level qualification to drive up standards as the sector comes under increasing scrutiny. The one-year course has already begin enrolling its first cohort of students.

The course from Liverpool Business School is a UK first and recognises the complexity of the role of hospital senior management, with training ranging from patient safety and clinical standards, and overseeing the hospital estate, hospitality services and commercial issues. It also looks at navigating the management of specialised consultants and interacting with coroners and families.

Whilst courses exist in general healthcare management, there is currently no UK qualification available in hospital executive management.

Circle Health Group Chief People Officer, David Cooper, said: “Managing a hospital is one of the toughest jobs in the UK, with enormous responsibilities that include life and death, scrutiny from multiple regulators and managing some of the most specialised professionals in the country.

“Too often there has been a culture of naming, shaming and blaming, which has only made their job harder. We choose a different approach: backing our leaders with the bespoke training and teaching they need to become the best in the sector and giving them all the tools to thrive in this extraordinarily complex role.”

The latest data suggests that nearly two thirds of NHS hospitals have a ‘first time’ CEO, while one-third of the sector’s CEOs have been in their current post for 18 months or less.

Such high turnover rates in UK hospital management - which has accelerated since COVID – are associated with the unique pressures of the role, which involves managing complex healthcare procedures, finances, estates and a wide array of stakeholders.

The Government is currently consulting on a new system of regulation for hospital managers to raise standards after several high-profile public reviews over the last two decades identified serious failures in NHS leadership with tragic consequences for patients.

Liverpool John Moores University’s Head of Management Development and Innovation at Liverpool Business School, Lisa Knight said: “Our strong focus on healthcare leadership and management has seen us build a portfolio of training for both private providers and NHS trusts.

“We are delighted to reach the milestone of this pioneering degree-level qualification and to do so with Circle with whom we have built an award-winning partnership over many years.

“Training people in high-pressure jobs to be effective and to thrive is vitally important for delivery of services but also for the retention of valuable staff in their roles.”

Circle Health Group has consistently been at the forefront of innovating in training and development within the UK healthcare sector, with over 60% of the workforce engaged in continuous professional development and more than 8,000 staff members accessing development courses as part of an award-winning culture of lifelong learning and improvement. As a result, Circle has been voted one of the top 5 best big companies to work for in the UK, with some of the best retention and job satisfaction rates in the sector.

In 2023, Liverpool Business School, which specialises in leadership development, and Circle, together won a Gold Award for their joint Senior Leaders ‘Towards Outstanding’ programme which positively impacted retention, motivation and the organisation’s learning culture.