Collaboration: Ideology and Reality

Healthcare organisations are routinely required to do more with less, and no greater evidence for this has been the Covid 19 pandemic. In responding to the call for action, organisations have shown they can skilfully adapt, rally expertise, and seek innovative ways to provide a safe, efficient service for patients. Essentially, we have witnessed a collaboration across boundaries, which has enabled us to learn what works, what doesn’t work, what could be done better, or possibly left out. Consistent in these developments has been the ability to create partnerships and generate a diverse, and engaged workforce, that has enabled resources to be effectively utilised.

Greater healthcare collaboration has been a priority for orgnaisations for many years, but it is alarming that it takes a pandemic before the ideology becomes a reality. Whilst partnerships can be formed and activated quickly, it is the ability to sustain effectiveness that can be difficult as workforce needs change and partnerships evolve. In my experience of building for sustained collaboration, it is critical that amending systems, policy and processes, does not exclude the investment in preparing and supporting the people who will be implementing and embedding collaboration in practice.