Shared Governance at NUH

At NUH, Shared Governance is defined as...

"Staff having collective ownership to develop and improve practice, to ensure patients receive caring, safe and confident care. It places staff at the heart of the decision making process and sees managers having a facilitative leadership role." (Taylor, 2016)

Staff volunteers from clinical settings link together to create a Shared Governance Council in their area. These Councils are then taught the skills they need to examine their practice and implement evidence based changes. It gives them ownership for improving their care delivery and builds their confidence and leadership skills.

Shared Governance artwork by Rebecca Barrett

Shared Governance Councils are supported by a dedicated team of Shared Governance Clinical Educators who provide them with training, guidance, coaching and signposting to help them fulfil their objectives and improvements. Recognition of their achievements is supported with opportunities to showcase Trust wide through Leadership Council, a monthly meeting chaired by the Chief Nurse, and nationally through conferences and awards.

Shared Governance is also known as Shared Leadership, Shared Decision Making and Shared Accountability.

For more information please contact the team — nuhnt.sharedgovernance@nhs.net 

Shared Governance Training Courses

The Shared Governance Team offers a range of internal and external courses which can be found below.

Internal Training

The Shared Governance Team offers a three-day Professional Development Programme for all Shared Governance Councils and a Shared Governance Managers’ Workshop.

The training that the Shared Governance Team delivers provides key information on the Shared Governance framework, including:

  • Why we have Shared Governance at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH)
  • Councils’ responsibility to involve patients in changes and improvements
  • Where and how to find evidence to support their improvements
  • The basic tools for running the Council
  • Knowledge required for a successful Quality Improvement
  • Allyship and inclusive leadership