Succession planning : a case for revisiting the process in critical care

Abstract

Succession planning is an organizational approach to vacancy replacement and is often associated with or directed toward senior leadership positions. Latterly, it has received less attention in health care research but as we approach a new era in which services provided by the National Health Service (NHS) and social care are transformed and how the impact of these 44 new services are evaluated as both successful and sustainable (Ham et al., 2017) succession planning is likely to return as a hot topic. As funding is reallocated and services are redistributed to favour more community-focussed care, there will need to be strategic leadership in critical care services to ensure these remain sustainable and of high quality.