Unlocking the apprenticeship Levy to drive lasting improvement at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

To meet that challenge, the Trust has focused on one critical question: how do you grow confident leaders who can drive sustainable, data-informed change and improvement across complex systems?

Enter Henley Business School. We partnered ICHT to deliver a tailored and learner-focused programme, designed to embed a culture of meaningful, lasting improvement within the DNA of this organisation and the wider NHS across England.

The Trust has worked to build an organisation-wide improvement culture for the last decade, with learning, improvement and innovation defined as a strategic goal since 2019.

However, a critical skills gap remained at a higher level.

“We realised we needed to strengthen expert-level improvement capability among senior leaders – the people responsible for large-scale change across services and systems.”

Lara Ritchie, Imperial College Improvement Partner

Henley was identified as a partner equipped to provide the leadership behaviours and strategy knowledge to drive change and cement the Trust’s culture of continuous improvement. Imperial colleagues added relevant context and provided case studies for the curriculum.

The Trust selected Henley’s Improvement Leader apprenticeship as a programme that aligned with its needs: a degree-level, expert-led curriculum that enables learners to develop and apply new skills and knowledge directly to real workplace challenges.

More than 30 colleagues from a range of disciplines and services across NHS organisations, including 7 from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, have enrolled at Henley to complete the Level 6 Improvement Leader apprenticeship.

This 18‑month programme is designed to grow confident, capable improvement leaders; the results have been transformative for the learners since the first programme started in September 2024.

Identifying the need for continuous improvement looks good on paper, but staff must feel empowered to put new knowledge and skills into practice to make any real difference within an organisation.

Dr Sinem Bulkan, Programme Director for the Improvement Leader Apprenticeship, spotlights how Henley supports real-time impact and innovation.

“This programme focuses on data analysis, problem solving, strategic thinking, project/change management, and process mapping. It helps learners move from reacting to change towards proactively leading and thriving amid ongoing challenges. Using applied knowledge and increased confidence as drivers of change, they are encouraged to deliver sustainable improvements that go beyond quick-fix thinking.”

The Trust shares this commitment to making improvement theory a reality. It strives towards a “business as usual” approach to learning and improvement; staff are encouraged to make changes based on direct experience which have a tangible impact on clinical services, patients, services users and systems.

This culture of collaboration and a shared desire to refine the Trust’s offering is reflected in the stories of just two Improvement Leader apprentices.

Ibrahim Hemaida was the Matron for Ophthalmic Services and focused on key operational pressures during his time on the apprenticeship - specifically improving productivity in elective theatre capacity (including cataract surgery) and reducing time from referral to treatment.

Crucially, Ibrahim looked beyond the everyday pressures of a specialist NHS service. During the apprenticeship he developed a directorate improvement strategy and helped build wider multidisciplinary team skills and knowledge. The result was not just an isolated change, but a stronger foundation for continuous improvement.

Joanna Turner, a paediatric nurse by background, spent 18 months as an Improvement Fellow and tackled a recurring challenge in emergency care: children returning for follow-up assessments that could often be delivered safely and effectively at home.

Her work supported the development of the Paediatric Assessment and Treatment Care at Home (PATCH) service, enabling more needs-based care and reducing unnecessary returns to emergency settings. PATCH has since expanded across North West London and now serves 11 boroughs, with positive feedback from children and families.

This service redesign demonstrates how the apprenticeship supports leaders to transform pathways. It not only improved the efficiency of this vital service, but also enabled care provision that better meets the needs of children.

The Trust is committed to creating a work place which values the importance of lifelong learning, where all colleagues can thrive. That’s why its approach to using apprenticeship funding is rooted in values of equity and access.

As postgraduate education becomes more expensive year-on-year, levy-funded apprenticeship routes create a more accessible option for professional learning and development.

Dr Bob Klaber, Executive Director of Strategy, Research and Innovation at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, has seen the human element of the programme at first-hand.

He said:

“Henley is a fantastic organisation that we've worked with over a number of years. The Improvement Leader apprenticeship focuses on knowledge and skills, but it also has a really deep focus on behaviours. My experience of change is: you get things done through your ability to build relationships with other people.”

This supports the Trust’s commitment to developing into an anchor institution with a system-wide improvement community that transcends specialisms. To do this, it must enable fairer access to education opportunities for all staff.

The investment in apprenticeships is already seeing direct results. By enabling service efficiencies and building networks that support collaborative learning, the programme is strengthening the Trust’s ability to deliver better experiences for patients, families and staff.

The impact of this programme extends beyond Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. The most recent cohort has brought together apprentices from across the wider NHS, reflecting a growing appetite for shared learning and development. By championing a culture of staff empowerment and leadership, the programme supports any NHS Trust with a wider commitment to continuous improvement in service delivery.

Importantly, the apprenticeship is turning improvement theory and approaches into everyday practice. It has created managers who can identify where positive changes should take place - and then confidently implement them.

At Henley, we’re excited to see how current and future apprentices will enhance the vital services that they deliver.

“Personally, it’s been a really positive and informative collaboration with Henley Business School,” Lara added.

“This programme has helped our leaders to sustain changes which will improve the quality and safety of care provided to patients for years to come. In the long term, we hope to really harness and build on the data-driven approach to continuous improvement, which will then lead to meeting our long-term, more complex organisational objectives.”