Introducing Clinical Champions: Driving Quality, Confidence and Change in Practice
By Dr Natalie Jones
Why we need them — and how to build them
Over a decade ago, I began introducing clinical champions into therapy services to accelerate improvement in specialist areas. Instead of waiting for external direction or relying solely on senior leadership, we enabled skilled practitioners to step into focused leadership roles connected to their passions and expertise.
Later, I introduced this model into primary care, suggesting the development of clinical champions in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and other long-term condition priorities. The outcomes were clear: increased specialist capability, stronger pathways, and better quality of care for people with complex needs.
At the heart of this approach is a simple belief:
“Nurture leadership from within. Equip people to influence change.
Harness specialist expertise to improve outcomes”
What is a Clinical Champion?
The evidence tells us that champions are powerful agents of change when they hold specialist knowledge, credibility and local influence (Gifford et al., 2018; Doumit et al., 2017).
A clinical champion is a frontline clinician who:
holds specialist interest or expertise in a clinical area
leads improvement work related to that speciality
shares knowledge and builds capability in others
supports evidence-based decision-making
influences pathways, processes and culture
Champions are not a hierarchy.
They are connectors, bridging leadership with everyday practice, and helping teams translate evidence into action (Damschroder et al., 2009; Michie et al., 2011).
Their strength lies in peer credibility. Colleagues trust them, learn from them, and are more likely to follow their lead (West et al., 2015).
Why Champions Work (the theory underneath)
The success of clinical champions isn’t accidental, it’s backed by decades of research and implementation science:
Distributed leadership encourages responsibility and innovation at every level (West et al., 2015).
Communities of Practice strengthen collective learning and knowledge exchange (Wenger, 1998).
Social Influence Theory shows that peers influence behaviour more effectively than top-down instruction (Gifford et al., 2018).
Implementation frameworks like CFIR (Damschroder et al., 2009) and COM-B (Michie et al., 2011) highlight the importance of motivation, capability and opportunity — all of which champions support.
In short:
Clinical champions work because they are immersed in the context where change needs to happen.
What Difference Can Champions Make?
✔ Improve adoption of best-practice (Gifford et al., 2018)
✔ Strengthen clinical confidence and decision-making (Doumit et al., 2017)
✔ Reduce unwarranted variation in care (West et al., 2015)
✔ Improve pathways for long-term conditions (NHS England, 2022)
✔ Increase personalised, holistic approaches (The King’s Fund, 2018/2020)
✔ Support prevention and early intervention (RCOT, 2025)
✔ Enhance quality improvement and assurance (Michie et al., 2011)
✔ Drive equity by improving access and consistency (NHS England, 2022)
✔ Strengthen collaboration and culture (West et al., 2015)
How to Introduce Clinical Champions
A practical starter guide
1. Start with purpose
Define the clinical priority that needs improvement.
Align it with local strategy, outcomes and population health aims (NHS England, 2022).
2. Choose the right people
Champions flourish when they are:
respected by peers
clinically credible
motivated by improvement
curious and reflective
able to influence subtly
(Doumit et al., 2017)
Seniority isn’t the goal — impact is.
3. Create time and structure
Without protected time, champions cannot lead change (Gifford et al., 2018).
Provide:
a clear brief
leadership connection
access to data
time for improvement activity
4. Build a community of champions
Learning accelerates when champions learn together (Wenger, 1998).
Provide shared space, discussion groups, and peer coaching.
5. Align to organisational priorities
Connect the role to quality, safety, workforce development, and long-term condition outcomes (NHS England, 2022; RCOT, 2025).
⭐ Tips for Success
⭐ Define expectations clearly
Use simple role descriptors and improvement objectives.
⭐ Celebrate small wins
Quick successes build influence and motivation.
⭐ Use data
Baseline audits, pathway mapping, variation analysis — all help demonstrate progress.
⭐ Offer CPD and leadership development
Champions are change agents; invest in them.
⭐ Make the work visible
Update meetings, posters, case studies, micro-teaching.
⭐ Build psychological safety
Innovation requires space to test and learn, not fear failure.
Benefits You Can Expect
For Patients
more personalised care and prevention
better continuity
more confidence in their condition management
For Clinicians
improved capability
stronger clinical reasoning
reduced variation in practice
For Organisations
clearer pathways
better alignment with priorities
stronger quality improvement culture
For Systems
more consistent care across neighbourhoods
stronger population health outcomes
more mature multi-professional collaboration
(NHS England, 2022; The King’s Fund, 2018/2020)
Challenges to Expect
Time pressures
Role clarity
Variable engagement from colleagues
Measuring impact
Maintaining momentum
Implementation science is clear, change is hard, context matters, and sustained improvement needs internal leadership (Damschroder et al., 2009).
Champions are one of the strongest levers we have. To read more about champions click below 🖱️👇
Champions don’t replace leadership-
they bring it closer to where care truly happens.
Final Thoughts
Clinical champions unlock the capability that already exists in the workforce. They build safety, confidence, quality and connection. They help services become places where evidence is lived, shared and owned by everyone.
If we nurture leadership from within and equip clinicians to influence change, we can build services that are continually learning, improving and elevating the quality of care.
References
Gifford, W., et al. (2018). Clinical champions as drivers of change. Health Care Management Review.
Doumit, G., et al. (2017). Role and effectiveness of clinical champions in implementing evidence-based practice. Implementation Science.
West, M., et al. (2015). Collective leadership for cultures of high-quality care. The King’s Fund.
Michie, S., van Stralen, M., & West, R. (2011). The Behaviour Change Wheel: COM-B model. Implementation Science.
Damschroder, L., et al. (2009). The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Implementation Science.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge University Press.
NHS England (2022). The Fuller Stocktake: Next Steps for Integrating Primary Care.
