The Power of Collaboration in Healthcare
How collaboration can transform your teams performance.
Collaboration is a fundamental component of successful organisations. It enables individuals to work together to achieve a common goal or purpose. Effective collaboration comes with a myriad of benefits for both individuals and teams. In healthcare, collaboration can take place within or across multidisciplinary teams, as well as between healthcare workers and patients, their families and carers. It can lead to innovation and the discovery of new ways of doing things that help improve healthcare outcomes.
Collaboration is a core value at ACHS, and is not just a guiding principle within our organisation—it is central to our wider mission of working with our valued Members to inspire excellence in the healthcare industry. In a recent workshop, Improvement Academy (IA) Director, Assoc Professor Bernie Harrison, shared insights and exercises with ACHS staff to highlight the importance of collaboration.
In the session we discussed how fostering collaboration is essential, as it empowers staff to feel part of a team and drives a sense of purpose in what they do.
The goal is to collectively rally around meaningful goals, aligning with our patients' needs.
- Dr Amar Shah
Chief Quality Officer, East London NHS Foundation
Key Factors of Collaboration
There are several factors essential to effective collaboration. Recognising and understanding their importance is crucial to driving success. In the workshop, we identified the following components that are important in building collaborative teams:
- Shared Purpose
- Motivation
- Accountability
- Communication
- Reflection
- Engagement
Consider how these elements above are applied within your team dynamics. Are there additional elements which are crucial to fostering collaboration in your specific workplace?
Collaboration in Quality Improvement
Dr Amar Shah - Chief Quality Officer, East London NHS Foundation Trust draws out themes of collaboration in his extensive quality improvement initiatives work across the National Health Service (NHS) in England.
His ACHS Member Masterclass, ‘What does it really take to embed a culture of continuous improvement’ tells a story of how strategic collaboration among diverse stakeholders, including patients, healthcare professionals, and administrators, fosters a culture where people's expertise and collective efforts drive meaningful change and sustainable improvements in healthcare delivery across the NHS.
This simple yet powerful question guides all our improvement efforts: What really matters, and how can we solve it together as a team?
- Dr Amar Shah
Chief Quality Officer, East London NHS Foundation
Register a free account on the Improvement Academy e-Learning platform to get unique insights into Dr Amar Shah’s quality improvement initiatives that has impacted millions of patients and healthcare workers.
