Trans-disciplinary community groups: an initiative for improving healthcare

Purpose - In the context of budget constraints and the current quality crisis facing UK healthcare, the purpose of this paper is to examine the use of trans-disciplinary community groups (TCG) - an innovative and inexpensive initiative for improving patient care. Design/methodology/approach - Using an action research study, TCG was implemented within a private healthcare firm for vulnerable adults. Qualitative data were gathered over 12 months from 33 participants using depth interviews and focus groups. Findings - TCG led to improved patient activities and increased patient decision-making and confidence in self-advocacy. Key prerequisites were top management commitment, democratic leadership and employee empowerment. However, staff nurses resisted TCG because they were inclined to using managerial control and their own independent clinical judgements. Research limitations/implications - Whilst the findings from this study should not be generalized across all healthcare sectors, its results could be replicated in contexts where there is wide commitment to TCG and where managers adopt a democratic style of leadership. Researchers could take this study further by exploring the applicability of TCG in public healthcare organizations or other multi-disciplinary service contexts. Practical implications - The findings of this research paper provide policy makers and healthcare managers with practical insights on TCG and the factors that are likely to obstruct and facilitate its implementation. Originality/value - Adopting TCG could enable healthcare managers to ameliorate their services with little or no extra cost, which is especially important in a budget constraint context and the current quality crisis facing UK healthcare.