Life as a chief of medicine-Taking future hospital guidance to the front line.

Abstract

The Future Hospital Commission developed a comprehensive and ambitious proposal of how hospitals should be run, with clinical leadership at its heart. A medical division led by the chief of medicine was integral to the vision and these senior physicians would be central to the running of hospitals alongside managers. The real-world experiences over 8 years of one chief of medicine are explored and compared to the guidance set out by the Future Hospital Commission, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary triumvirate working, values, behaviours, quality improvement and the impact of crises like the COVID pandemic. The chief of medicine role can play an important part in delivering the outcomes promoted by the Future Hospital Commission, but the role is likely to vary throughout the NHS dependent on local factors. Future guidance could focus on equipping the leaders of the future to design and improve services, and to develop the multiprofessional teams that meet the needs of their specific challenges that they face.