Dancing in Winter

Leeds Beckett University and York Street Health Practice are just starting to plan research on the work, model and care the practice tries to provide to people in Leeds who are homeless or in the asylum system. I met the other day with my good friend and Leeds Beckett colleague Dr Erika Laredo. Erika teaches Youth and Community Studies and has been a key element in the work between York Street, the university and Adult Social Care in working to create the academic and practical space where best practice and theory can emerge. We met for coffee to discuss York Street and I tried to explain how we work, what we do and the model of care we use. In the context of this dialogical exchange I realised more fully and deeply then ever that Erika could not properly understand York Street and neither could I without seeing it in terms of what was happening in the NHS nationally. It was only in the bigger picture that York Street makes so much sense and offers so much possibility. The metanarrative here was this. This bigger theme was the real story of which York Street was both product and response.

 At the end of the day I thought of the people I had spoken to or had contact with that day. The answer was both surprising and charming. There was my great and true colleagues from Leeds Community Healthcare like Steve Keyes, Catherine Hall, Eleanor Wilman, Anne McGee, Jo Speight and Lisa Falkingham. There was Anne Cooper the Lead Nurse For Informatics at NHS England. There was Alicia Ridout from the Health Innovation Services at The University of Leeds, Maxine Craig, OD Lead at South Tees NHS Trust, Becky Malby from the Centre for Innovation in Healthcare Management and the Leeds LAMSOC ( medical students championing quality and caring leadership ). There was Dave Ashton and the inestimable Yvonne Coghill. There was of course my good colleagues at York Street working for the homeless. And there was an inspirational student nurse called Louise Goodyear who is at Wolverhampton University. What struck me was all these people connected with the NHS represented a movement - a force might be a better word that represents what the future of our service could be. Feeling both humbled and proud at the same time I saw how York Street was part of this energy that was working to create new ways of thinking and being a health service. In fact I believe the connections were precisely because people were moved and held by the same visions and hopes.

So what is this movement? What does it mean? What does it seek? What happened at Mid Staffs Hospital is the clue and key here. It  shows us the old system at its worst. Hence the need for fresh thinking and ideas about where we go. Across this service people and movements are working to ask the questions, have the dialogue and seek the solutions we all need. Creative innovative thinking and practice are mushrooming all over the system.

What are the signs of this movement and its people? There are probably many. The following come to mind.

    * Innovation

    * Openness to others and new ideas.

    * Effective and learning / teaching partnerships with the third sector and faith communities

    * Compassion and goodness as central values

    * The use of digital technology to enhance the speed and quality of access to healthcare

    * A move away from 'We know' to 'We offer - let's work together'

    * A real commitment to dialogue

    * A listening to needs and hopes

    * Positive risk taking

    * Seeing gaps and issues and raising them

    * The use of intuition. Einstein's point about the intuitive mind rings so true here. 'The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.' This movement celebrates the gift.

    * This movement values systems but sees beyond to people and communities as central and as living and vibrant assets.

When I think in images of the old and new, I see two things. When I think of the old system I think of a great mechanical machine that works to produce something. To be fair much good was done through and in the old system. Yet the image of machine echoes true to me. And this new movement? The image that comes to mind is a dance where the dynamic interchange goes on and on in different forms and shapes. The Hindu faith tradition has a wonderful way of describing the cosmos and life itself. It calls it a  dance - a dance of energy, power, being and opportunity. The symbol of   dance helps understand this move across Health. There may be disagreements and debate but there is a direction. There may be different voices and ideas but there is real vision,potency and participation. 

Mid Staffs probably represented the worst point in the history of the NHS. It was a dark night for our service. The shock, scandal and heartbreak we all saw and felt expressed our devotion and commitment to the NHS. Health had entered a winter season. These new movements, services and people are a counter sign to that. They are the signs of a better and new tomorrow for the NHS. They are the signs of hope and renewal. They are the signs of spring.

John Walsh. York Street Health Practice