"Thank you for everything."
When I applied for the job of Medical Director at Newham University Hospital in spring 2019, I had no idea that my life was about to change completely and forever.
To be completely honest, I knew very little about Newham’s people and culture before I came to work here – I wanted to develop my career by becoming a medical director, and it seemed like a good opportunity, so I took the job when it was offered to me.
"I’ve learnt more about people (and myself) than in any other phase of my life."
It was a difficult start. The hospital and its people were severely bruised by a critical CQC report, multiple changes in leadership, and a history of things “not getting done”. What I had learnt in previous jobs did not fully prepare me for the task ahead, and I’ve made a lot of mistakes along the way.
Since I started working in Newham, I’ve learnt more about people (and myself) than in any other phase of my life. People are complicated and have life stories that are not always obvious (unless you look for them). Not all East End boroughs are the same. People are vulnerable, and sometimes that vulnerability is displayed in aggression, or anger, or childishness, or standoffishness; if we can empathise, we can respond to the request for help that is often implicit. We all need our teams and networks to support us, and sometimes allies pop up unexpectedly. Most people in the hospital want the same thing (the best for our patients) but have different ways of expressing ourselves – all are equally valid. People really are what makes Newham glow and vibrate and shimmer – we are what makes it remarkable.
In the past 3 years we have all travelled on a journey together. The Covid-19 pandemic caught everyone by surprise, and it has brought the hospital together in new and unexpected ways. I’m still in awe of the response to the emergency, quickly and massively in the dark days of March 2020, through to the sustained but equally impressive response from tired staff in the Omicron winter of 2021/22. During those months and years, I have witnessed many acts of selflessness, generosity, and frank bravery.
But over and above these pandemic heroics, we have done so much more. Obstetric and maternity services have received praise from our regulators; we have succeeded in securing unprecedented amounts of new funding for staff and buildings; wards and social areas have been refurbished (with more to come); changing areas have been radically restored and are now something to be proud of; we have improved our safety culture so that staff feel more able to raise concerns, and incidents are investigated compassionately and without blame; our staff have been nominated for and have won national awards; we can communicate with our patients that don’t speak English using digital technology; we have opened an acute admissions unit with new models of care, training and research; and we have converted more than 90% of our medical records (including prescribing) to electronic systems with consequent improvements in patient safety.
For doctors (because of course that’s where my heart truly lies), we are the only hospital in the group to achieve complete job plans for almost all our consultants; we have resuscitated (financially and emotionally) several departments that were struggling to find purpose in their work (through no fault of their own); we have worked with trainees to improve the quality and safety of training at Newham, with the reintroduction of training posts to Radiology and high praise for training in several departments from Health Education England; and we have set and maintained standards of care despite considerable challenges.
And that’s not even the half of it! None of these incredible achievements are the work of one single person – they are the results of many dedicated and talented people coming together to make things better for the people of Newham, and its gives me such a buzz to have played a part in that.
"Newham is what the NHS aspires to be."
Although I have many happy memories of this funny little hospital, the one thing that I’ll remember from my time in the borough is that Newham is what the NHS aspires to be. This is the intangible essence of the NHS that we don’t always see on the evening news, that doesn’t always win the national awards and that quietly gets on with the day-to-day business of health care for no other reward than the privilege of being able to do it. This is also what I want you all to remember and hold close – people are alive because of you, children have parents and grandparents have grandchildren because you get up the morning and come to work. Of this much, I am sure.
Thank you for everything.
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