The demand for leadership in health in Canada
In Canada, the health-care system is constantly being bombarded by pundits who complain about public about lengthy wait lists, broadcast regular anecdotes about how a senior’s care was botched or neglected, and foment constant political turmoil about where the money is going to come from as a population ages and demands for services outstrips the capacity of the government to pay for them (see Figure 1) (Gouvernement du Que´bec, 2008).
However, it is not public and the media who are calling for change. Stephen Lewis (2007) and Roy Romanow (2007)[1], two well-known health experts, have stated that improved leadership is key to making the changes that are necessary (e.g. waitlist management, fiscal sustainability, primary care reform, end-of-life care (Ward, 2007)). It seems that many health Chief Executive Officers agree with them: in April, 2008, 150 CEO’s from across Canada’s health system attended an executive forum focused on the topic of transformational leadership in health care – a session devoted to learning
strategies for, and examples of how to lead meaningful change in service delivery at the unit, organization or provincial level (Canadian College of Health Service Executives (CCHSE), 2008).