Clinical Leadership: Finding the leader of 2011

“Big improvements in care and quality of life do not always come from fancy drugs, professors, academic institutions, or, dare I say it, high profile surgeons but from simple commitment to patients and staff, and the ability to use the evidence that is already out there,” says Sam Everington, general practitioner in east London and a member of our judging panel.

The art of clinical leadership has never been in more demand. In the United Kingdom and worldwide, government and healthcare systems are looking to doctors to tell them how to organise and deliver healthcare. It is no longer enough to just lead a small clinical team; clinicians are now taking responsibility for whole patient pathways and the budgets that follow them.

And there are plenty of clinicians stepping up to meet the challenge. Many of the submissions combined leadership with managing limited resources, overcoming organisational …