Welcome to my new blog! I thought this was
the best way to share with you some of my experiences to date, as well as those
yet to come! So please do register for updates and I’ll try to blog as often as
possible (and when I get the hang of it!).
I have been the Chief Officer for Hambleton Richmondshire
and Whitby CCG for four months now; and what a four months it has been….
It’s fair to say it was a slight ‘baptism of fire’ when
invited to speak at the Fit 4 the Future Clinical Summit event held in November
before even officially in post, but it gave me a real insight into the
exceptional talent of the wider clinical profession we have in our area. Not
only that, it was a chance to get a sense first-hand of the real challenges
faced by clinicians such as the rurality of our patch and the demographic of
our population.
So a little about me; before becoming Chief Officer of the
CCG, I was Director of NHS Partnership Commissioning, leading a unit
commissioning a range of services including mental health, vulnerable people,
children and continuing care. I have also previously held a number of executive
posts in North Yorkshire including Director of Nursing, Director at NHS
Harrogate and District Foundation Trust and as Managing Director of Community
and Mental health Services in North Yorkshire.
More recently, I spoke at our Patient Congress event in
February where I challenged the group to really think about their health – from
stopping smoking to swapping cakes and biscuits for fruit. But as a CCG, we
must lead by example! So I have tasked our staff to think differently too and
offer healthier options where possible.
Making healthy choices really is a passion of mine and I’m
hoping to develop a self-care theme across all our work which ultimately lead
to better outcomes for our health and potentially, reduce the use of certain
NHS services.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Dr Vicky
Pleydell. Vicky was the CCG’s Clinical Chief Officer from the very beginning
and achieved so much in her time. She created a truly passionate and successful
organisation and I really hope to continue this work. There is such a great
team at the CCG who truly value our patients and the input of stakeholders.
There is no doubt that the next few years are going to be
challenging for the CCG and the NHS in general – but I’m determined our
population will continue to receive the best care possible. I shall personally
do my utmost to achieve this.
