NHS Collaborate
Vision
As a community of primary care leaders, NHS Collaborate has an important role to play in shaping the future of primary care and attracting talented, passionate and ambitious doctors to general practice.
Initially grant-funded by NHS England, its vision was to connect leaders who want to make a difference at a very human level and build relationships based on trust to create a frontline-led, cross-sector platform to drive whole-system change.
Action
Our challenge was to shape a communications approach to connect leaders in ways that were completely new to them.
We threw away the traditional conference rule book and connected people in beautiful and unusual spaces entirely unconnected with their every day environment.
We used the arts and improvisation to connect people at a deeper level to build trust, and used a patchwork of modern communications tools to keep them connected.
Change
NHS Collaborate has become one of the most talked-about and fastest growing engines for leadership and cultural change in the health sector.
From a meeting of a handful of people in its early phase, today many hundreds of primary care leaders are connecting and supporting each other on a daily basis and NHS Collaborate is recognised as a national and influential movement.
It is playing a key part in the national GP retention scheme and has exceeded NHS England's original KPIs.
"I trust the Salix team 100% to deliver always. They are clear on vision, their action is always purposeful and they make change happen. They are passionate facilitators in and of primary care and have a skill in connecting people and building communities that is impressive."
Dr Mark Spencer, Fleetwood GP, former co-chair, NHS Alliance, co-founder, NHS Collaborate and founder, Healthier Fleetwood
“I have learnt so much through Collaborate. That the power of us is infinitely more powerful than the power of me. That we are becoming a movement simply by being connected and despite all the day-to-day challenges, staying resilient, taking risks, being vulnerable and most importantly, listening to each other. This is something unique and special in a sea of negativity and is helping keep me afloat.”
Helen Fogg, operations director, OWLS Federation, West Lancashire
