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In today’s complex health and social care systems, persistent quality issues—avoidable harm, inefficiency, inequity, and delays—often resurface due to a lack of systemic approaches. Seeing ‘Systems’ is a two-day interactive workshop designed to equip professionals with the tools to identify and address these root causes effectively.

This course offers participants the opportunity to reflect on the systemic influences shaping their work, enhance leadership skills, and build collaborative strategies to implement lasting improvements. By ‘seeing systems,’ participants will leave with practical strategies to foster transformational change and create more equitable, efficient, and sustainable outcomes in their respective fields.

This course is open to professionals from healthcare, social care, and VCSE (voluntary, community, and social enterprise) sectors who have an active role or interest in quality improvement and systemic change. Suitable for participants at all levels of experience, the course welcomes clinicians, managers, quality practitioners, and system leaders. While no formal qualifications are required, participants should have a collaborative mindset and a willingness to engage in discussions and share insights from their professional contexts.

Through a blend of case studies, simulations, and collaborative discussions, this course focuses on:

• Understanding systemic influences that impact healthcare quality and equity.
• Developing effective strategies to lead systemic change.
• Enhancing cross-sector collaboration to tackle fragmentation in care delivery.
• Reflecting on the cost of poor quality and exploring solutions for complex systems of care.

Key Modules:

1. Seeing ‘Systems’

• Introduction to systemic thinking and its role in improving healthcare.
• Identifying implicit and explicit ‘conditions’ shaping work processes.
• Examining failure demand and exploring approaches like integration and multidisciplinary teamwork.

2. System Change & Collaboration

• Applying systems insights to complex healthcare challenges.
• Distinguishing leadership within networks versus hierarchies.
• Exploring strategies for leading change within human systems of work.
• Developing actionable plans for sustainable improvements.

Participants in this course will leave with a comprehensive toolkit of skills, strategies, and insights to drive transformational change in their organisations and beyond. Specific outcomes include:

1.    Enhanced Systemic Thinking:

• Develop a deeper understanding of systemic influences and how they shape outcomes in healthcare and social care systems.
• Recognise patterns and underlying conditions that perpetuate inefficiencies, inequities, and poor quality.
• Move from reactive problem-solving to proactive, root-cause-focused strategies.

2.    Leadership Skills for Systemic Change:

• Gain confidence in leading within complex, networked systems rather than traditional hierarchies.
• Learn how to facilitate cross-sector collaboration and drive integration efforts effectively.
• Build capacity to inspire and mobilize teams around a shared vision for systemic improvement.

3.    Collaborative Problem-Solving:

• Strengthen the ability to work across boundaries, breaking down silos between departments, organisations, and sectors.
• Learn strategies to tackle challenges such as multidisciplinary team working and the integration of services.
• Foster meaningful partnerships that generate innovative solutions.

4.    Practical Strategies for Sustainable Change:

• Create actionable plans to address systemic challenges and ensure changes are embedded and sustained over time.
• Understand the cost of poor quality (failure demand) and how to mitigate it through improved systemic design.
• Explore tools and techniques for diagnosing and addressing fragmentation in care delivery.

5.    Personal and Professional Growth:

• Build confidence in navigating and leading within complex, uncertain environments.
• Strengthen relationships with peers and experts, creating a professional network that extends beyond the course.
• Reflect on personal contributions to systemic issues and develop strategies for individual leadership impact.

By the end of the course, participants will be equipped to enact meaningful, sustainable change within their organisations and the wider health and social care system. They will leave with a new perspective on their work, practical tools for systemic leadership, and the confidence to tackle complex challenges with clarity and purpose.

Nick Downham
A leading expert in healthcare quality, systems thinking, and organisational development. Nick has extensive experience working with frontline teams and leadership across primary and secondary care, both domestically and internationally. He has played a pivotal role in shaping some of the largest quality improvement and leadership programs in the NHS. Passionate about driving systemic change, he co-authored Improving Quality in Healthcare – Questioning the Work for Effective Change (2024, Sage) alongside Murray Anderson-Wallace.Dr

Rebecca Myers
A seasoned executive director, clinician, and organisational development specialist with over 40 years of experience in and around the NHS. Rebecca has held senior leadership roles across the NHS, social services, and voluntary sectors, including eight years as a director. Her expertise includes transformation, integrated care, and emotionally supportive workplace cultures. She is a facilitator for Schwartz Rounds with the Point of Care Foundation and holds a Doctorate in Management focused on risk and emotional labour in healthcare. She co-authored Courage in Healthcare – A Necessary Virtue or a Warning Sign.

The Seeing ‘Systems’ course is delivered as an immersive two-day workshop, combining structured teaching with practical application to ensure participants gain actionable insights.

The workshops are structured to balance presentations with practical, context-specific activities. Real transformation projects brought by participants are used as case material, making the learning highly relevant and immediately applicable.

The learning experience is highly peer based and context specific. Participants are invited to bring their knowledge of their work, and their experience into the discussion. 
 

This course runs for two days, 09:00 - 17:00, to be scheduled with your organisation.

There is no assessment for this course.

This course is available to organisations who would like to enrol up to 40 participants for this two day development programme. Please contact lsbushortcourses@ac.uk to discuss participation.