60 seconds with... Kathriona Davison
As Director of Operations and Transformation for The Royal London and Mile End Hospitals, what does your role involve?
In a nutshell, I am responsible for the operational delivery of the hospitals and working closely with each division to ensure our services are running as smoothly as possible, so we can deliver the best patient care. I’m only nine days into my role, but this will include implementing and reviewing plans to strengthen hospital performance across quality, operational standards and delivery.
Tell us a little bit about your background and where you worked prior to here.
I am originally from Cork, Ireland. I moved to London 33 years ago and haven’t looked back.
Career-wise I started as a medical secretary many moons ago. Eventually, as a working mum with three kids, I wanted to achieve more with my career so I decided to study a public management degree. This led me to roles in service and general management at a number of different hospitals and trusts. My last role was as deputy chief operating officer at Milton Keynes Hospital.
Why have you chosen to work at Barts Health?
I was looking for something different in my career and it became clear to me that my next step for progression would be to move into a director role.
Seeing that the RLH moved to ‘good’ in the CQC ratings said an awful lot to me about how open the organisation and staff were to improving performance. To come so far in such a short amount of time showed me that the staff really embrace change, and that was the type of organisation I was looking for.
What’s your proudest achievement so far?
Believing I could progress my career without going through the normal academic route and undertaking my degree as a full-time mum. It wasn’t easy, but when you’re determined nothing is impossible.
What would you like to achieve at the RLH?
In previous roles I’ve done a lot of work on improving both non-elective and elective waiting times. I am keen to bring this experience into my new role. Getting the flow right is fundamental and can have the biggest impact on hospital performance.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I’ve talked about being a mother of three, but I am also a proud grandmother of three. They are aged eight, three and one and I absolutely adore spending time with them. I also love to travel. My last holiday was Vietnam and I hope my next one is South Africa.