Let's Start With Why....

I've been on Twitter for a while. I am relatively active, tweet occasionally and retweet more often.  Somedays I find scrolling through the tweets of those I follow a bit tiresome, whilst others I find little nuggets that I really enjoy.

..... so I'm not a rampant addict, but I'm on the journey to being a regular user.

One of the things I did commit to when I decided to join Twitter was to make sure I tweeted something every week (if I was going to do it, I needed to commit to getting past that awkward "newness" phase).  And in order to be certain of doing what I said I would do, I decided to sit down every Friday evening and tweet five "Highlights of the Week" that encompassed what had been good about my week in the NHS.

I rejoined the NHS in April last year having had six years working for myself as an independent coach, facilitator and consultant on public sector change programmes.  After 15 years in the NHS, I had left in 2007 at a reorganisation, but following a challenging time as an NHS Chief Executive in a PCT with a significant deficit and latterly "on secondment" at the local Strategic Health Authority.  During the latter stages I had the opportunity to reflect on the state of the NHS and how it dealt with people and took on a slightly jaundiced view.

It was a revelation to work for myself and realise that I could work in the public sector without the need to own the sometimes odd and bizarre circumstances that prevail.  Better than that, in my new role, I was often asked to come in and help sought out some of the inconsistencies, unrealistic timescales or seemingly mad requirements and I enjoyed being asked to sort out the mess rather than feel like I was caught up in it.

It was a really soul searching decision to move with the family across the country, give up my successful business and rejoin the NHS, especially at a time of such austerity and challenge.  I made a clear agreement with myself, that I was choosing to re-enter the NHS and I would only make a difference if I stayed positive, optimistic and upbeat.  My leadership is about setting the tone and I am serving no one, least of all myself, if I simply reflect the challenges that we have to face.

So the "Highlights of the Week" commitment delivers on my Twitter ambition, it records 5 positive things I have done in a Leadership role in the local health community and it serves as a weekly reminder to myself of why I'm here in Devon, working for a local Clinical Commissioning Group in a really challenging economy - because good things happen each and every week.

But I struggle to express those 5 great moments from a week in 140 characters and sometimes I feel like I want to explain more about the issues that are behind the bold and brief headlines.  So this blog will give me space to explore more about what it is like working in the NHS at the moment and my reflections on the contribution I'm making to keeping the NHS central to the things we are most proud of in this country.

It will be a story of a Clinical Commissioning Group, the staff I work with, the partners and organisations I work alongside and most importantly how I focus on keeping the individuals we serve at the centre of the work we do.... my biggest "why" in life is because I believe in a fundamental right to equality for all, I do that by working in the public sector using the best of my skills, I just happen, for now, to be the Chief Operating Officer of a Clinical Commissioning Group.