Thank you, it’s been emotional

The last few weeks have been very emotional.

When you have a six-month notice, you spend a lot of it just getting on with the job and not really thinking about the end. And then as the date has got nearer and nearer, the reality has hit me, that I am not just leaving Pennine Care, but also leaving the NHS and something that has been such a massive part of my life for the last 30 years.

When I dropped out of doing a pharmacology degree when pregnant with my daughter at 19, I didn’t think my path would lead me here. I am not sure where I thought it would lead me and I have done some interesting jobs finding out along the way, bar work, waitressing, quality control and sales to mention a few.

But I am so massively grateful it did bring me here and for the challenge, personal learning and friendships of the last 30 years.

I’ve been so lucky to land in a place that shares my values; and I must have done something right in a former life to have had the joy of being part of services that I am passionate about, and where for the most part, I have woken up excited about the day and looking forward to going to work. I consider myself privileged to have spent the majority of my working life in the public sector and to have made even a small contribution to society, but also that work hasn’t felt like work, but much more enjoyable and rewarding.

And I am especially glad that I got to finish my career in Pennine Care and with such lovely people. There really couldn’t have been a warmer, friendlier and more compassionate organisation to end my working life with. Whilst the last four and a half years have had their ups and downs, they have undoubtedly been amongst the most enjoyable and rewarding in my NHS career.

You know that I love climbing and mountaineering and so I was thinking about what over the last four years has been the equivalent of being on top of the mountain in the sunshine; and what has been the equivalent of being hemmed in by a storm and forced to pee into a bottle because you can’t get out of your tent!

There has been a fair amount of stormy weather that has occasionally grounded us. The battle for adequate funding with our commissioners, the multiple discussions about system working and the development of the integrated care system have made me feel like my head is exploding, and of course, over the last two years, dealing with the pandemic and the sadness of losing people and the stress of working in such a challenging way and supporting colleagues working under such exceptional pressure.

But there have also been lots of positive moments of achievement; the work on our strategy and establishing us as a mental health, learning disability and autism organisation, of our work on equality, diversity and inclusion and cultural change; the development of our new triumvirate structure and the progress being made in lots of areas of service improvement and development.

So, lots to be proud of, but I know that our successes wouldn’t have been possible without the commitment and dedication of all of our Pennine People.

I’ve been very lucky to work with many talented senior leaders and managers, dedicated clinicians and professionals, hard-working corporate colleagues, a great Board and Council of Governors who put in a lot of their time for little reward, and a brilliant exec team who have made my job easy, just be being lovely, fun, but capable people.

In particular, I wanted to thank three special women, Clare Parker, Evelyn and Karen Hamer.

When I left Cumbria to come here, I invited people to join me in Pennine Care and what I called the Manchester branch of the Cumbria Survivors Club (it was a very rewarding, but immensely challenging time in Cumbria!). Clare responded to this and so we have worked together for over eight years. And I know she knows this, and I know you know this, but she is a fantastic director and has been an amazing deputy to me. She has kept me going in so many ways and I am so grateful she has been such a big part of my story.

And Evelyn, I couldn’t have asked for a kinder, more caring and supportive Chair to spend my time with, within my last NHS role. We have been on the journey together in Pennine and she has been a wonderful companion to travel with. She has kept me on the right path, and brought insight, wisdom and gentle challenge to guide and steer me.

Karen Hamer is the best PA I have ever worked with. She has kept me organised and I simply wouldn’t have been able to do the job without her. She’s always right there behind me, picking up the pieces, sorting things and enabling me to do what I need to do.

So, thank you all for the last four and half years, it has been a complete privilege to be your chief executive. I will miss you, and I am trying not to think about the massive space in my heart that leaving the organisation and the NHS will leave.

 

But I am ready for a change. My body is ready for a change! I have had so many colds, infections and injuries over the last year or so, I need to create the time to make the most of my health before my body packs up completely.

So, I don’t have a plan other than to spend more time doing the things I love; and enjoy not working and having the responsibility of being chief executive. As someone once said to me, there is no such thing as an aspiring chief executive just one that is either perspiring or expiring!

So, I wish you all the very best for the future. This organisation is full of caring, feisty, determined and talented people and I know under your collective leadership that Pennine will continue to go from strength to strength.

Thank you for making my time here such a positive one.

They are everywhere, in history, literature, the news and amongst us all

International Women’s Day this Tuesday was an important opportunity to recognise women’s incredible achievements, raise awareness and encourage others to advocate for gender equality.

With only three weeks until I retire (eek, doesn’t feel real) I’ve been thinking about the amazing people I have worked with and how lucky I’ve been to have truly inspirational female bosses at the very start and end of my career. 

They didn’t only help my personal development, but they have challenged bias and helped establish the value of women as leaders.

Sharon Beamish, my first boss when I joined the NHS 30 years ago, was extraordinary. She started as a domestic assistant in her local hospital and through grit, talent, drive and determination ended up as a chief executive. Sharon was proud of her working-class background, spent seven years doing a part-time degree while working and earned so much respect across the West Midlands where she worked.

You often hear about people who get to the top pulling the ladder up after them. Sharon never did that, she encouraged and invested in other women to succeed and was a wonderful coach. I worked for her for five years and she encouraged me to move into mental health through supporting a secondment, as she knew I had a special interest in the area and needed to move on. Great leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.

And then I’ve had Evelyn at the end of my career: an exceptional person and leader. Evelyn has challenged so much bias throughout her life and, like Sharon, has worked immensely hard to get to her position and hugely supports people’s personal development. She is passionate about tackling inequalities and was awarded an OBE for services to ethnic minorities in the field of health. 

Evelyn challenges people to be more inclusive in such a gentle, calm and kind way. Her strength is her gentleness, remaining constant and clear-minded across all manner of situations. I wish I’d worked with someone like Evelyn earlier on in my career, but I’m just so grateful that I’ve finished my career with her.

Of course, I’ve also worked with many inspirational and brilliant men, but as a woman I think having two remarkable bosses at the start and finish of my working life has made me a better person. They have owned their unique story and used their authentic voice.

And along the road I have tried to challenge bias in my own way and through my leadership style.

My mother was a brilliant role model, always encouraging me to be myself and work hard but to pick my own style, which is perhaps why I have pursued climbing, a fairly male dominated activity. When I was young, my family used to call me ‘Contrary Mary’ because I wanted to be so independent, always choosing my own path. This has mostly served me well, although it has occasionally got me into trouble; for example, when I had my stomach pumped as a young girl after eating laburnum seeds to prove to my brother that they weren’t poisonous!

But I have learnt from and been influenced by so many different women, from every corner of the world and every walk of life. My daughter, Madonna and even Sarah Conner in the Terminator films, who is my ultimate female hero.

Madonna has pushed boundaries, with a super smart business brain and an unshakeable sense of self. Like her music or hate it, the ‘Queen of pop’ has challenged traditional views of women with her own relentless and controversial mindset, and an incredible penchant for not following any rules. She has stood for what she believed in, despite the critics, and is an example of how to succeed through hard work and willpower.

Then we have Sarah Connor, who we saw evolve from a young waitress with man troubles into a muscle-flexing, pull-up-doing, one-handed-shotgun-loading heroine. She’s the prototype for the modern action heroine, and a model of strength and femininity existing side by side. A symbol of what women can and will do if their survival, and the survival of their children, is threatened.

At the end of the day, the best role models are women who are confidently themselves, who bring light into the world because they are authentic and real. They are everywhere, in history, literature, the news and amongst us all. And as I come full circle at the end of my career, I am just so grateful for each and every inspirational woman I have had the joy to work with.

Best wishes

Claire

You can follow me on Twitter @ClaireMolloy2

In the midst of winter, an invincible summer

Since I wrote my blog earlier this week, we've all been made aware that the terrible situation in Ukraine has escalated. We watch the shocking and distressing news with horror - our thoughts and hearts are with all who are in Ukraine, and everyone else affected by this. We will do all we can to support our Ukrainian colleagues in Pennine Care.

---

I’m sure you will have picked up in the news that all remaining covid restrictions ended yesterday. I know many of us are keen to get “back to normal”, especially as most people experience mild symptoms.  

But it’s important to remember that covid remains a significant risk for vulnerable people, including many of our patients. We need to be cautious, continue wearing personal protective equipment and follow existing infection prevention and control guidelines until we’re advised otherwise.

We’ve been told to expect further guidance soon which (I hope) will set out what things will look like going forwards. It’s possible that staff based in non-clinical buildings may not have to wear personal protective equipment, but this is not yet confirmed. So, until it is, we should all continue to socially distance and follow infection, prevention and control guidelines in the workplace. And as soon as we hear anything, we’ll let you know.

With the easing of all restrictions outside of care settings, it does feel as if a line is being drawn under the pandemic and, barring new variants, we’re about to head into a solid recovery phase. But it is important that in thinking how we do this, we take note of the impact that the pandemic has had on our services and the people who work in them and use them.

To this end, this week I had a look at the quarterly Pulse survey results, which provide insight into how people are feeling at the moment. On a positive note, the survey highlighted that more people have had a health and wellbeing conversation with their manager. It’s great to see this being taken seriously, and you are living our values of kindness and compassion by supporting each other.

However, a small but significant number of you said you are feeling stressed and demotivated. But by far the word that stood out the most about how you are feeling was the word ‘coping’. In some respects, it is positive that you are coping, but the word for me conjures up images of people having to dig deep, to draw on all your reserves and with a dogged determination to keep going against the odds.

I don’t know how you are all doing this. I know how exhausted and down people are feeling after two years of working under immense pressure and in such a strange situation. But hats off to you. You may feel that you are only coping, but the evidence of everything you are doing is writ large in the achievements and progress that is being made.

This was really evident in the Trust management board meeting last week, at which we heard lots of stories about positive changes and improvements which felt really energising and uplifting.  The meeting was jam packed with examples of the fantastic work you are all doing and there was a definite sense of hope in hearing about people’s achievements. That doesn’t mean our challenges will magically disappear, but it did make me feel awe and pride in the sheer grit and tenacity of Pennine Care people.    

The weather this week feels like a good metaphor for this. After a week of storms battering the UK, the sun has finally been making an appearance and it feels like there is a touch of spring in the air. That doesn’t mean there won’t be more bad weather, but there is hope of a slightly brighter future not too far ahead. So, I wanted to do a shout out to some of the brilliant work that is bringing a chink of sunshine through the clouds…

We’ve successfully recruited to several new roles as part of the community mental health transformation, including 28 senior mental health practitioners to support the new primary care networks and all posts in our new Trust-wide personality disorder pathway.

 

There’s been a fantastic response to our new trainee associate psychological practitioner roles and we’ve appointed two pharmacists to support our community mental health teams.

 

While these new roles are exciting, we’re also planning several focused pieces of work to support services that face ongoing staffing issues.

 

Our information technology colleagues have rolled out Office 365 to 3,600 users, and successfully upgraded our Paris electronic patient system. A huge thankyou to everyone involved, especially those who worked over the weekend. They’ve also successfully bid for £650k to buy new devices and a further £250k to allow us to plan how new technologies can benefit us in the future.

 

It was great to hear about our new mental health joint response pilot in Oldham and Tameside. Since launching on 31 January 2022, over 100 patients have quickly received the right support at the right time. The scheme has led to a reduction in the number of patients taken to A&E or one of our section 136 suites.

 

Thanks to this early success, the service is being rolled out in Bury on Monday. The evidence will be evaluated at the end of March, and we hope to permanently provide this service across all five boroughs.

 

Our child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in Rochdale have been ranked in the top three in the country by the Children’s Commissioner. This is amazing given the challenges that we know services for children and young people are under as a result of the pandemic.

 

And it was brilliant to hear that we have improved our rating in the organisational strategy improvement matrix (a self-assessment tool to measure improvement), moving from ‘building’ to ‘refining’ out improvement infrastructure and approach. I am really pleased about this one, as it shows more and more people are getting involved in improvement work which given the pressure on core services, is a complete testament to your hard work and commitment to making things better.

 

These are just some of the highlights I wanted to share from last week, but I know there are many more examples of outstanding work across the Trust. I see this every week when I read our Together We Can update, which never fails to inspire me. 

 

Although you are finding things hard and having to dig deep to keep going, you really are making a huge difference and we are making progress towards a better future.

I’d like to end with a quote by French philosopher, author, and journalist, Albert Camus. I have never read anything by this author (far too intellectual for me!), but I fell in love with this quote many years ago and feel it really sums up the fighting spirit, grit, and determination of our Pennine Care people:

“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”

From all of the examples I have heard about over the last few weeks, I know that even in the most difficult scenarios, you are keeping that invincible summer within you: confident in the knowledge you are making a real difference to the lives of everyone in our communities.

Best wishes,
Claire

You can follow me on Twitter @ClaireMolloy2

The Arc is Long

Claire Molloy (top) and
Rossella Nicosia (bottom)

Well, it’s been an eventful couple of weeks.

We’ve had the Government’s decision to scrap mandatory covid vaccinations for NHS staff. I know an immense amount of work has been undertaken by managers and our HR team leading up to this U-turn, and it’s been one of the most difficult times for everyone, creating anxiety and concern in colleagues. So I share the frustration people must be feeling.

It’s positive and such a relief that the NHS won’t lose any more staff when we have colossal staffing difficulties anyway, but we must keep promoting the huge benefits of the vaccine and encouraging staff to make that personal choice themselves. It’ll be a tragedy if that message is undermined.

My successor has also been confirmed as Anthony Hassall, who will pick up the reins in April when I retire. I wasn’t involved in the process and don’t know Anthony, but as you’ll know from her guest blog yesterday, Evelyn has worked with him for a couple of years. It’s clear from her experience of working with him that Anthony is a real champion on the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda, which is so positive. As you know, this is a big focus for our organisation, so it’s good to have someone who can continue to steer this forward with absolute commitment.

And on that note, its LGBT+ History month and I’m delighted that Rossella Nicosia, our Step 3 manager at Bury Healthy Minds has written a guest blog.

The month focuses on the celebration and recognition of LGBT+ people and culture, both past and present, who were the agents of change rather than just victims of prejudice.

This year’s national theme is Politics in Art: 'The Arc is Long'. It’s inspired by a Martin Luther King quote: ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.’ So, although it is taking a long time, we are curving/moving towards social justice and fairness. 

Our LGBT+ staff network was the first of our networks to be established almost five years ago, and they have done some great work to support colleagues and help us in our ambitions to reduce prejudice and intolerance. I’m also proud that we published our transgender and non-binary statement last June to publicly demonstrate our support for our LGBT+ colleagues, and our zero-tolerance approach to discrimination, victimisation or harassment on the basis of a person’s gender identity.

---

Rossella Nicosia – Step 3 manager, Bury Healthy Minds

Rosella Nicosia

LGBT+ History month is a great opportunity to learn about the journey that has led our community to where we are today. 

When I joined Pennine in April 2021, I was very reassured by the fact that there is an explicit commitment to equity of access for patients and to the inclusivity of all patients and colleagues, an ethos that is very close to my heart. Continuous learning supports that aim and helps us develop more in-depth cultural competence. 

In writing this guest blog I don’t mind sharing that I feel somewhat anxious about being visible, and anxiety is a familiar feeling when joining a platform to talk about a subject matter that is such a big part of my life and of my me.

So why the anxiety? Friends and family will tell you that I am forever talking about LGBTQIA+ culture, issues that impact our lives, and getting really excited about queer representation in mainstream media.

The main reason is that visibility has not always meant something positive for our communities, and for many it still doesn’t.

Growing up, I quickly learnt that visibility was often not a safe option for LGBTQIA+ people. We were often not depicted positively, and history lessons did not include any of our pioneering people, such as Marsha P Johnson or Alan Turing (definitely look them up if you’re not familiar with them) or any of our milestones.

Moving to the UK at the age of 14, I felt hopeful that I would finally learn more about our community, past and present. As a young LGBTQIA+ person I was really longing to see that my peers and community did exist. Years later I would learn that Section 28 was (and at times still is) responsible for a lot of the silences in our school years.

As you’ve probably noticed, history has always been one of my favorite subjects, back when I was in Sicily every subject had an element of history built in, even in maths we would get some historical insight to the learning.

So naturally, in a new space I gravitate towards its story, and when I started working in an LGBT charity, I soon became aware of all the things I didn’t know, and I became invested in our community’s history. I saw this as a key part of developing my cultural competence within the role I held. The opportunities to learn were all there, and so varied.

A favorite of mine was ‘Out North West’, a magazine that the charity printed regularly. One of the walls in the building had every single cover framed and hung up. Each cover reflecting the social issues that our community was navigating at the time. From sexual health articles amid the AIDS pandemic of the 80s and early 90s, to naming issues like rainbow racism, the lack of inclusive spaces for LGBTQIA+ disabled people, the first Manchester Pride in 1990, barriers to healthcare, the gender recognition act in 2004 and of course dozens of stories celebrating our community and culture. It was a window to our lives. 

Whilst the magazine is no longer being printed, the need to keep on learning about our history, and our community to better understand our context is very much present.

LGBT+ history month can be a good opportunity to gain some insight as to why some people may choose not to be visible (being out and/or visible is and will always be the person’s choice), and to understand the context in which many of our friends, family members, patients and colleagues have lived and often continue to live in.

Our commitment to inclusivity is a commitment to a journey of education, in which we continually become aware of the barriers and discrimination that impact the diverse facets of society. Learning about the history of different communities is part of that journey of development. 

So, whilst we may see people march loud and proud across the globe during parades, that queer joy comes with a history that is important to shine light on. As allies to the LGBTQIA+ community, but also as part of the community, we can show solidarity by actively learning about the journey that led people to where they are now. This insight will help us to understand how we can write history today, using our privilege to enable meaningful social change.

I am proud to see that our Trust is committed to creating opportunities for learning and development for equity of access for all communities. In addition to the resources available on the intranet, the LGBT+ staff network will be hosting two learning events over the next couple of weeks which will give people the opportunity for meaningful learning, discussions, and reflections. It would be great to see colleagues from across our organisation attend these events in support of this important month.

Here's to writing history together. 

A new relationship

Evelyn Asante-Mensah

I remember getting the job at Pennine Care so clearly. 

It was five years ago, but the feelings
of elation and excitement, along with a healthy dollop of anxious trepidation, will always stay with me. I felt a huge weight of responsibility and expectation on my shoulders, but also excitement
at landing such a privileged role. The passion to add value and make a difference burned brightly. I’d always had a big interest in mental health and learning disability services, and I was in awe of the work that you did.

If I were to use the analogy of a new relationship; I went from admiring you from afar, to the exhilaration of the first dates, then getting to know you and all your wonderful traits, followed by the growth of understanding, respect and love. Yes, there have been some bumps along the way and it’s not all been plain sailing, but that has only strengthened my commitment. Perfect doesn’t exist and who wants that anyway.

And sitting alongside me throughout this time has been Claire Molloy, our chief executive.

The job of the chair is multifaceted, but the one element in every successful chair is an effective relationship with their chief exec. It must be based on mutual respect and trust. The demands on the chief exec are extraordinary and I can hopefully make life less lonely at the top for them by acting as a sounding board, mentor and advocate.

That’s why this role is so important to me, but not just to me of course; to you, the board, our partners and the people we serve.

We’ve been so fortunate to have Claire lead us these last five years (it’s estimated that the average chief exec lasts only around three years, so how great that we got an extra two). Claire has transformed and improved so much in so many different ways, and will soon be handing the baton over to Anthony Hassall.

Anthony Hassall
our incoming chief executive

Most of you won’t yet know him, but our new chief exec Anthony Hassall is a ‘known quantity’ to me, as I have worked with him in my role as chair of the North West Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Assembly since the beginning of the covid pandemic. His equality, diversity and inclusion work has been tremendous, hugely influential and something he’s totally committed to. 

Anthony is known and admired for his strong integrity, alongside positive team building skills and collaborative approach. Our values will never change and that’s why we placed a huge emphasis on values-based leadership throughout the whole recruitment process.  It’s something I’ll never be prepared to compromise on.

Anthony will also bring something else, which I think we help us immensely; an important final jigsaw piece that we were perhaps missing. He has a regional and national presence in the NHS and social care system, and impressive networks, which will really add value.

Our direction of travel will stay the same, but we can’t underestimate the benefits of the great work we are doing being seen in the system. We need that external understanding and recognition.

I know Anthony wants to spend time getting to you know you when he joins, and importantly let you get to know him. We’re really lucky that he’s able to join us at the start of April, when Claire retires as chief exec, so we can have a seamless handover.

Anthony knows, especially through his current role as chief people officer for NHS England North West, that almost everything in leadership comes back to people and relationships. He’ll no doubt have many of the same ‘start of a relationship’ feelings as I did five years ago. But wow, what an exceptional and awe-inspiring group of people to be starting it with.

Best wishes

Evelyn

New Year same old, but hello tiger

New year, same old pandemic.

There’s normally something uplifting about this time of year, even though the weather tends to be awful, something enticing and exciting about the potential a new calendar year represents.

The arrival of this new year however feels sombre and deflating as we find ourselves entering another year of living with the pandemic. Two years of this has left many people drained and wary of the future, especially when we thought the vaccine and lockdowns last year would suffice to ‘send covid packing’, so it’s understandable that this feels a strange one. I am sure, like lots of you, it felt odd saying ‘Happy’ New Year when 2022 has started with so much challenge.  

And this is especially true for our services, as they have yet again come under the most intense pressure leading up to Christmas and during the festive period, and this has continued into the New Year. Things have been so incredibly tough, particularly for our inpatient and CAMHS services.

We’ve had five wards closed because of covid, with seven more wards under observation, which has caused significant issues with patient flow. But I know that many services are really feeling the pinch, with unprecedented numbers of staff being off ill or having to self-isolate with covid.

Teams have had to work tirelessly on an hour-by-hour, day-by-day basis to make sure our services are staffed appropriately. I know this has been really stressful.

Omicron has proved even more impactful than previous variants, resulting in absences of well over 10%, a previously unheard-of percentage, as we again face huge patient demand. Covid is currently up close and personal in my family with daughter and granddaughter all being ill with it, and now my clinically vulnerable husband testing positive two days ago. Thank goodness for the vaccine, as so far he hasn’t been very ill and I am touching wood this continues.

I know we still have staff who for whatever reason haven’t felt able to have the vaccine, but please, get it if you can. There are still people dying of covid and I find it heart-breaking that we seem to have stopped telling their stories in the media and become somewhat blasé about people losing their lives. That somehow, because the vast majority of these individuals are unvaccinated, we can’t be compassionate in the same way.

I hope I am wrong on this, but whatever the reason, we should all continue to try and understand people’s reasons, to try and address them with empathy and appreciation, and encourage people where possible to have the vaccine. It is literally a life saver.

Although it has been a difficult start to 2022, there does appear to be a chink of light. The information I am getting from a regional perspective does indicate that case rates are starting to decrease, and that although the operational picture is still tight and difficult, it is now stable. The next two weeks will no doubt be arduous, but we have to hope that we are past the worst.

The Queen’s new year honours list provides an opportunity to highlight people who have made a significant contribution over the previous year, and whilst I can’t award titles, I do want to do my own honours to acknowledge how hard you’ve had to work leading up to and over the Christmas and new year period.

More like a shout-out than a fancy honour, but nevertheless I want to recognise and thank all our leaders and service managers who have worked so hard over the last few weeks to keep services going; kudos and appreciation to the medical leadership which has been truly amazing over the last few weeks and all those in our inpatient services who have worked under extreme pressure.

Thank you to everyone who worked over the bank holidays, particularly the night staff on New Year’s Eve which I know was extraordinarily challenging. Also, our liaison mental health teams who have had to manage very high A&E attendances with 136 suites closed.

A big shout out to the team in Stockport who have worked collaboratively with Stepping Hill Hospital over the last year or so and supported the department to move from a CQC rating of inadequate to good. Absolutely amazing.

And to all the many individuals and teams who have worked together to try and unpick bed blockages to speed up safe patient discharges, you deserve so much gratitude and applause. So, thank you, I know it has been a very tough start to the New Year and that I haven’t been able to mention everyone, but a massive big thank you and doffing of my hat to you all.

Even though it’s been a tremendously hard start to 2022, please try and hold onto the hope that hearing about people’s efforts and commitment as above inspires. We may not feel motivated enough to make the New Year resolutions for change that we normally do, but I do hope that looking after your wellbeing and looking out for others is the one resolution we can all aspire to.

In previous blogs I have talked about the Chinese New Year which starts at the beginning of February, and the animal that year symbolises, and for 2022 it’s a Tiger!  So, whilst we will undoubtedly still continue to feel some of the Tiger’s negative attributes of being short-tempered, unpredictable and anxious, I hope we can on balance find a way of nourishing and releasing our inner ‘Tiggers’ and the positive qualities of being kind, adventurous, brave and enthusiastic.

Best wishes

Claire

You can follow me on Twitter @ClaireMolloy2

Learning from listening

I watched the film ‘The Colour Room’ the other day, the true story of factory girl Clarice Cliff who became a celebrated and famous ceramic artist.

Clarice was a young working-class woman in the 1920s, who left school at 13 destined for a life of menial ‘paintress’ work in the Staffordshire potteries, but instead set her sights on becoming a ‘modeller’. This was a more skilled role, that only men at the time did, and Clarice had to fight to get her ideas heard: facing sexism, sneers and obstacles.  

She eventually managed to take her Art Deco ceramic pottery line, called ‘Bizarre’, to the annual trade fair, where the industry placed orders for the year. But it tanked, with the buyers pointing out that women wouldn’t buy Clarice’s cheap, cheerful and contemporary pottery, and the lack of any sales sent the pottery company close to bankruptcy.

But Clarice realised that all the buyers were men and were making decisions about what women wanted on their behalf. Although she faced an uphill struggle, she wasn’t deterred and found a way of talking directly to women about what they wanted and did her own market research.

And after finding a way to sell direct to women she eventually sold more than 8.5 million pieces all over the world. Her ‘cheap and cheerful’ pottery are now collector pieces and coveted the world over, including by me!

Clarice’s creative skills were matched by her flair for business, but most of all, her story highlights the importance of hearing directly from the people you are trying to reach.  The male buyers in the 1920s were not going to be in the best place to know what tea services women wanted unless they talked to them, and in the male dominated world of the period, that simply didn’t happen. It is obvious that the best way to understand people is to listen to them. We learn from listening.

This is something we’ve been giving thought to as well. Our board recently had a really productive development session with Ben Woffenden, head of patient and carer experience and engagement, about patient stories and how we can weave them into a wide range of areas and activities across our organisation to support our work. As well as supporting people who tell their stories, we need to have the chance to really reflect on what we’ve heard and make the sharing meaningful.

What does the story tell us? Do we need to change anything as a result? How should it influence what we do? So, with Ben’s leadership, we are developing our approach across the organisation, including the use of patient stories at board.

We had a really powerful patient story at the board meeting this Wednesday. It was the first one since before the pandemic and a reminder of how much we’d missed the patient voice in these meetings. Those of you who attended the AGM last month will have experienced the immense impact of hearing a patient story first-hand. They move, inspire and affect us. Whether it’s empathy, sadness, hope or motivation, the patient story can help us see things.

At the board meeting, the patient spoke movingly about the panic attacks, terrible thoughts, shame and sorrow that his obsessive compulsive disorder caused, which affected every aspect of his life. At the point of giving up any hope of being able to manage the disorder, he was referred to our democratic therapeutic community (DTC) specialist service which he said ‘changed his life’.

He spoke so eloquently about being able to open up to others in the DTC group who, for the first time in his life, really understood how he felt. He now works with both our DTC and patient advice and liaison (PALS) services and feels he has ‘found his purpose, in helping others find their voices’. 

It was wonderful to hear such a thoughtful and intelligent young man talk about the respect and kindness in the DTC group, but his story also highlighted issues around referral and access. One story can flag up challenges that many may face.  

And it’s not just patient and carer stories that are important to hear. We need to hear staff stories to help build an open culture where everyone feels able to speak up. They create a more positive and productive workplace and lead to solutions we won’t find if we just ignore one another.

Our six staff networks have an important part to play in shaping our culture and behaviours through the feedback, ideas, advice and knowledge they can bring. We’ve launched a new women’s network and also multi-faith network group, helping to ensure a really diverse range of views are fed up to our board. We’ve also just appointed an exec sponsor for each network to support this work.

Jaco Nel has sadly had to step down as chair of the positive ability network group due to ill health, and I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank Jaco for the amazing job he has done in helping to establish, support and lead this thriving network.

The base of every successful organisation today depends mainly on two things. The first is transparency, and the second is listening to everyone's experiences and opinions. We only have to look at Yorkshire Cricket Club to see the consequences of not doing this, in terms of both reputation and financially.

The appalling racism scandal has engulfed cricket, and now, as the cricket world stands amidst the ruins of its reputation, it faces a watershed moment. It should have been a watershed moment 10 years ago, when Azeem Rafiq started reporting this and was labelled a troublemaker and ignored. He has now shared his story with the world, and it is time for the world to listen. And then more importantly, to act.

Let’s all keep speaking up and listening – and sharing our stories.

Best wishes

Claire

You can follow me on Twitter @ClaireMolloy2