Helen Hughes writes for The Psychologist alongside Emma Findlay
Helen Hughes and Emma Findlay call for a seat at the table in the NHS for Organisational Psychologists.
Helen Hughes, an associate professor at Leeds University Business School, writes alongside Emma Findlay, a PhD researcher at Leeds University Business School, calling for a seat at the table in the NHS for Organisational Psychologists. Agreeing with the statement released by the October 2025 edition of The Psychologist flagging psychology as central to NHS reform, Hughes and Findlay demonstrate why organisational psychology is crucial for the further development of the NHS.
Hughes and Findlay state that:
The NHS needs psychologists who understand not just minds, but systems. Those trained in job design, team dynamics, and organisational behaviour can help redesign care pathways, support workforce transformation, and embed new models of care.
Their research, conducted at Leeds University Business School, is foundational for the positive impact in the psychological change of the NHS, aiding the empowering of patients and communities through redesigning the roles and social environments which enable this change.
Hughes and Findlay state that:
If we want to save the NHS, we must expand our view of psychology. It's time to recognise organisational psychologists as specialists who are critical to the design, delivery, and success of modern healthcare.
Hughes and Findlay demonstrate that if successful GPs are able to run local hospitals, and nurses can lead neighbourhood health services as Wes Streeting said, there is no reason why psychologists should not be leading system redesign.
Hughes and Findlay conclude by stating that:
Their skills are not a luxury; they are a necessity.
