Ever wondered what we get up to in the medical records department?
As part of the #OurWXpeople spotlight series, this week we are highlighting the great work carried out by the medical records team and we caught up with medical records manager, Ekundayo Badmus, to give us all the details on the department.
Hi Ekundayo, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hello, my name is Ekundayo Badmus and I am the medical records manager for the hospital. I have worked at Whipps Cross for around 12 years now, joining in 2009 as a deputy medical records manager
What does a typical day look like for you working in medical records?
I will start by saying that no two days are the same (which I’m sure my entire team can attest to) and there is never a dull moment. We are kept on our toes and besides the usual meetings we have to attend it’s actually really difficult to plan your day. A lot of the time we are responding to urgent or on -the -day requests that we will likely have to prioritise. At the same time we are also responsible for preparing patients records in the rare case we get very short notice additions to clinics. As highlighted in the below image, last year (2019/20) we supplied over 240,000 patient records for outpatients alone, this is equivalent to supplying 657 records a day and if you take out weekends that number increases significantly – so you have an idea of how busy the team can get.
Due to the pandemic the demand for patient records has reduced. For example, a large proportion of outpatients appointments over the last year have taken place virtually and the need to have a patient’s records right there and then was reduced, however some clinicians may decide that they need the notes before seeing a patient and that’s when we have to drop whatever we are doing and respond.
Has the pandemic affected the way you and the team work ?
Due to the pandemic and the suspension of a lot of services during lockdown it meant that the number of requests reduced. However, the work hasn’t stopped, this gave us the opportunity to have a much needed clean-up of all areas in regards to patient records. For example, we identified patients that have not visited the hospital in over 18 months and organised for these notes to be transferred to our off-site storage facility.
How has the team supported each other during the pandemic?
I have an open door policy and I encourage staff to come to me with any concerns they have.
At the beginning of the pandemic there was, as expected, a lot of anxiety felt by the team, so we started off with daily team meetings and 1:1 chats with those who were finding it difficult to process it all.
We also introduced new working patterns to the team. Due to the nature of our job for the majority of us we have to be on site, so introducing the opportunity that allowed staff to compress their working week into less days was helpful for some. So for example, staff can work 8am –6pm, Mon-Thur and then take Friday off. We also allowed staff to take their annual leave at a very short notice as and when they needed it.
How would you entice a prospective employee to come and work in the medical records team at WCH?
When recruiting I always have in my head that I recruit for the Trust not just for the medical records team.
So joining the team you will know that we will encourage you to aspire for more and keep progressing. As a Trust there are so many opportunities available to us and just because you start off in our team doesn’t mean that’s where you will stay.
If that is not enough to entice them, I would also say we are a wonderfully diverse team with lots of experiences to offer and our annual Christmas event where the team bring in a native dish for us to try is not one to be missed!
What are the qualities you think have helped you with managing your team?
Due to having quite a large team, you very quickly realise everyone has different needs, but I have to make sure I am as transparent as I can be, fair and consistent with the decisions I make as they will impact others and maintaining equity is very important to me.
I am a great listener and want each member of my team to feel seen and heard.
I lead by example and I don’t ask anything of people that I wouldn’t do myself.
I pride myself in knowing that the team will continue to deliver this service as it is or even better without me being there. I aim to equip my team with the relevant skills to continue delivering a great service with or without me.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I can’t leave without sharing my sincere thank you to the whole team, especially for their dedication and commitments, it is a real team effort and no one person is responsible for the great achievements of the team.
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