Offering peer coaching to hospital consultants is supportive and cost effective

There is a workforce crisis in the NHS, with high levels of staff burnout and stress, but there is no routine support for senior medical staff. The Doctors Development Unit (DDU) was set up with the goal of proactively supporting consultants by offering up to six 1–2–1 coaching sessions, provided by...

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Main Authors: Judith Cave, Claire Hannah-Russel, Liz Donovan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Future Healthcare Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2514664525000116
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author Judith Cave
Claire Hannah-Russel
Liz Donovan
author_facet Judith Cave
Claire Hannah-Russel
Liz Donovan
author_sort Judith Cave
collection DOAJ
description There is a workforce crisis in the NHS, with high levels of staff burnout and stress, but there is no routine support for senior medical staff. The Doctors Development Unit (DDU) was set up with the goal of proactively supporting consultants by offering up to six 1–2–1 coaching sessions, provided by peers who were trained coaches.The DDU has supported 202 staff members in 3 years, including 97 new consultants and 95 established consultants. Qualitative interviews, focus groups and a questionnaire performed to evaluate the DDU found that it fostered wellbeing by making consultants feel heard, included and supported. The DDU had a positive impact on doctors’ wellbeing and stress management. For every £1 that was invested into DDU, at least £1.47–2.43 was generated.Offering up to six sessions of peer coaching to consultants in the NHS is a well-received and financially sustainable method of supporting senior medical staff.
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series Future Healthcare Journal
spelling doaj-art-73f0ac4e6d9e43b4b1777251a0d53f3d2025-08-20T02:11:55ZengElsevierFuture Healthcare Journal2514-66452025-06-0112210023210.1016/j.fhj.2025.100232Offering peer coaching to hospital consultants is supportive and cost effectiveJudith Cave0Claire Hannah-Russel1Liz Donovan2University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Training Development and Workforce, Tremona Road, Southampton, Hampshire, UK SO16 6YD; Corresponding author.Department of Psychology, University of Bath, 10 West Claverton Down, Bath, Somerset, UK BA2 7AYUniversity Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Training Development and Workforce, Tremona Road, Southampton, Hampshire, UK SO16 6YDThere is a workforce crisis in the NHS, with high levels of staff burnout and stress, but there is no routine support for senior medical staff. The Doctors Development Unit (DDU) was set up with the goal of proactively supporting consultants by offering up to six 1–2–1 coaching sessions, provided by peers who were trained coaches.The DDU has supported 202 staff members in 3 years, including 97 new consultants and 95 established consultants. Qualitative interviews, focus groups and a questionnaire performed to evaluate the DDU found that it fostered wellbeing by making consultants feel heard, included and supported. The DDU had a positive impact on doctors’ wellbeing and stress management. For every £1 that was invested into DDU, at least £1.47–2.43 was generated.Offering up to six sessions of peer coaching to consultants in the NHS is a well-received and financially sustainable method of supporting senior medical staff.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2514664525000116CoachingCareer developmentLeadershipStaff retentionRealist evaluation
spellingShingle Judith Cave
Claire Hannah-Russel
Liz Donovan
Offering peer coaching to hospital consultants is supportive and cost effective
Future Healthcare Journal
Coaching
Career development
Leadership
Staff retention
Realist evaluation
title Offering peer coaching to hospital consultants is supportive and cost effective
title_full Offering peer coaching to hospital consultants is supportive and cost effective
title_fullStr Offering peer coaching to hospital consultants is supportive and cost effective
title_full_unstemmed Offering peer coaching to hospital consultants is supportive and cost effective
title_short Offering peer coaching to hospital consultants is supportive and cost effective
title_sort offering peer coaching to hospital consultants is supportive and cost effective
topic Coaching
Career development
Leadership
Staff retention
Realist evaluation
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2514664525000116
work_keys_str_mv AT judithcave offeringpeercoachingtohospitalconsultantsissupportiveandcosteffective
AT clairehannahrussel offeringpeercoachingtohospitalconsultantsissupportiveandcosteffective
AT lizdonovan offeringpeercoachingtohospitalconsultantsissupportiveandcosteffective