What an extraordinary week!

Last week was an extraordinary week in many ways. For example, the trial started of Lucy Letby at Manchester Crown Court. If the name is not familiar, she is the nurse accused of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill 10 more while she worked on a neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester hospital back in 2015. Lucy denies all the charges and the trial will take up to six months before we get to a verdict. It will be a long and distressing period for the families of those involved whatever the outcome.

Then there was that extraordinary outburst from Miranda Hughes, a nurse working in the independent sector. On the Jeremy Vine television show she declared that ‘if you voted Conservative then you don’t deserve to be resuscitated by the NHS’. Although Miranda works in the private sector, as a registered nurse, she is still bound by the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) Code. The Code sets out the professional standard of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives and nursing associates. The Code is very clear that nurses on the NMC Register must promote professionalism and trust at all times. She has been sacked by the company she worked for, and I’m sure the NMC will investigate and take action if that is felt to be appropriate. Her 15 minutes of fame will cost her dearly.

And of course, there was this year’s Conservative Party Conference. Possibly more circus than conference. Good old Nadine, who can always be relied upon to say something extraordinary, did just that. She appeared to be telling the Prime Minister that now was the time to call a General Election. Good old Therese gave a Masterclass in how to cure insomnia, as her conference speech sent half her audience to sleep. As there’s me thinking coffee usually wakes people up. Finally, there was Liz (neither old nor good) who, blaming everyone else for the UK’s troubles, seemed to be in complete denial over the fact that the Conservatives have been in power for the last 12 years. Anti-growth coalition indeed. The whole spectacle was like a ‘Have I Got News For You’ boxset. It was just as funny, but not funny at all. Truth be told, it was heartbreakingly sad.

But there were, for me, two extraordinary events last week which really did make my heart soar. The first was this year’s Annual Members Meeting (AMM). This is a statutory requirement for all NHS organisations, with an Annual Report and Accounts laid before Parliament each year. The AMM is an opportunity to share with the Council of Governors this report, and also to celebrate some of the improvements and service transformations achieved in the past year. Why was it extraordinary? Well, it was the first time in over three years that we could invite all the Governors and Members into the Trust for a face-to-face meeting. Over 60 turned up on the wettest and windiest afternoon imaginable. We splashed out and bought a new lectern, for the occasion, tastily resplendent in NHS blue. Now I love a good lectern from which to speak to an audience, and last week was no exception. The presentations were great and the question and answer session, lively, informative and dare I say it, fun too.

The highlight of the afternoon for me, was a special presentation made by one of the consultants from our Pain Service, David Crabtree and his colleague Esther. It really was a masterclass on what a difference involving patients, right from the start, can have when thinking about service transformation. He had a great illustrative example: he knows that if you give a group of patients £100,000 to design a clinical service, they will do so and never spend all of the money. The new service will be more effective and efficient. Give £100,000 to doctors and nurses to do the same thing and they will spend every penny and come back for 10% more. The likely outcome will be a new service that is neither effective nor efficient. His was a salutatory message about the value of consumer involvement in transforming healthcare services.

The second event was a slightly grander affair. Think ‘Strictly’ 2022. The occasion was our ‘Making a Difference’ awards night, and we held it in the magnificent Stockport Town Hall ballroom. Interestingly, the ballroom was used as a hospital during WW1, and a home for overseas refugees during WW2. 

The evening was hosted by Karen James OBE, our Chief Executive, and me. It was wonderful to also have the BBC health correspondent Dominic Hughes, as our guest of honour to present the awards. Although there was no ‘official’ dress code, most people arrived dressed for the occasion. I had to go out and buy a new tuxedo, as since joining the Trust, my waistline seems to have expanded somewhat (we do have delicious award-winning food served in our staff restaurant).

There were 11 award categories which attracted over 100 nominations. Whilst all the nominations represented exceptional achievement, the eventual prize winners were extraordinary. The award ceremony part of the evening was electric with excitement, and there was a real sense of belonging and being there for others. We absolutely acknowledged that whilst the 300 people in the room were able to enjoy the evening, there were another 5,200 colleagues not present, many of whom would be collectively equally making a difference for others in our hospital and community services.

The evening was a huge success. We enjoyed a great meal and I enjoyed sharing a drink and conversation with some amazing colleagues, some of whom I was meeting for the first time. There was a bit of a disco too. Highlight for me was a special award, made to someone whose nomination didn’t quite fit the other categories. This was a colleague who was completing a sponsored charity event when he came across someone who had collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest. He put into practice the resuscitation training he had undertaken at work. Delivering chest compressions, and using a community defibrillator, he saved the person’s life. What was remarkable was that this particular colleague didn’t work in a clinical setting, but was actually our electrical maintenance manager. As he approached the stage to receive his award, the whole ballroom rose to their feet and gave him a standing ovation. He was, and the moment was too, totally extraordinary.