We have a new cafe in the reception area of Windsor House in Plymouth where I work (at least it is my home base, but I spend as much time elsewhere, particularly Exeter, as there). It is a very small little unit in the corner of quite a large space, but it does make a much bigger impact than its size. The reception area is quite an attractive space - relatively modern, bright and airy - but it could feel a bit souless (outside the Christmas carols or sporadic ceremonies). Now there are the wafting smells of fresh latte, paninis and soup drifting across the atrium, it all feels a bit more inviting. I haven't used it much - two or three lunch time soup stops - but I do feel better for it being there and there does seem to be a good trade.
It reminds me of the importance of an entrance. When I was in York the public main entrance to York District Hospital was transformed by using money generated from selling concession space to a number of high street outlets to change the whole layout and feel of the first space that the public enter. It was very grim before they began and utterly unrecognisable by the time they had finished, with a large light and open waiting area accessed via a number of patient access desks. I thought it was a great piece of design and a good way to generate the capital required to fund the development.
Even more noteworthy for me, though, was the impact that the shops themselves made on my sense of the environment (I used to walk through the reception area frequently for meetings and only on a couple of occasions as a patient). The presence of a large Costa coffee shop and a modern and an inviting news outlet alongside a flower shop made me feel much more at ease and that the building was likely to house higher quality services than it previously had done.
And, of course, we all know that effect - the importance of the first few impressions, but if I expect my care to be better, the reality is that my rating of what then happens is likely to be higher; I live my life by my own perceptions of quality, more often than objective fact.
And that all means that, in some small way, I am a little bit more optimistic about work each day when I am greeted with the smell of roasting coffee in the morning and that has got to be good!
Highlights of the Week 1: Every Monday morning, Operational Delivery Group, real signs of improvement and grip
The Operational Delivery Group is the two hour meeting that kicks off each week that focuses on the financial recovery plan and delivery of key pieces of our workplan across the CCG. It will never go down as the most motivating and uplifting way to begin another 5 days at work, but it is starting to get a rhythm and moving beyond the moment of good intent to show real delivery.
It is one of several meetings that the Area Team of NHS England now attend to gain greater assurance about our work on our financial plan, both for this year and next, so it also has that external feel of monitoring: we need to get it right.
This week we had a reduced list of outstanding actions, fewer comments about things we are not able to report on and, for the first time, a complete report that allows us to see the impact of all the many initiatives that we are taking forward.
So, not the joyous, uplifting highlight, but a huge sense of progress and on reaching a level of professionalism that we are more proud of.
Highlights of the Week 2: @NEWDevonCCG Governing Body meeting ; less pages more focus on strategy and action
You can't measure quality by the number of pages... but if there are over 900 pages of papers for a Board meeting, you can assume that it will long and a bit of a test of concentration and endurance. This month we had reduced from last month's mammoth set to a more manageable size and there was better focus because of that.
It is a difficult compromise, a lot of the papers were about policies and procedures that we needed to have in place to ensure that our decisions followed due process, but I think that there is also a chance that something important doesn't receive the prominence it needs.
So the meeting this month had a good balance and we approved elements of key strategic direction, such as the next stage of integration work with Plymouth City Council; had a range of detailed discussions on aspects of our recovery plan and the urgent and necessary measures we are proposing; and we paid die attention to key quality, safety and performance issues.
All in all, a sign of us attending to the right issues.
Highlights of the Week 3: Area Team Assurance Meeting went as well as billed. Focus on achievements as well as challenges
Last week I trailed the quality of the preparation work for the Area Team quarter 2 assurance meeting between the CCG and NHS England, noting the excellent suite of documents that we had pulled together against the key lines of enquiry.
The meeting this week was a robust, but constructive session that allowed us to describe some of the many positive things we have achieved over the last 3 months in amongst the major issue of the struggle to hit our financial plan targets that rightly dominates the Area Team's requirement for assurance.
Our Urgent and Necessary Measures form a key part of the discussion and they have attracted a significant amount of media and therefore system interest and we are able to think carefully about the approach we have adopted.
Highlights of the Week 4: Plymouth Pride Awards: an evening celebrating some wonderful achievements with friends in Plymouth
The meeting this week was a robust, but constructive session that allowed us to describe some of the many positive things we have achieved over the last 3 months in amongst the major issue of the struggle to hit our financial plan targets that rightly dominates the Area Team's requirement for assurance.
Our Urgent and Necessary Measures form a key part of the discussion and they have attracted a significant amount of media and therefore system interest and we are able to think carefully about the approach we have adopted.
Highlights of the Week 4: Plymouth Pride Awards: an evening celebrating some wonderful achievements with friends in Plymouth
I was delighted to be a guest of Plymouth City Council at the Pride of Plymouth awards this week.
It was a wonderful evening that celebrated the commitment that many have made to their community within the city in a number of different categories. There were stories that were inspirational, for example about fostering or fundraising as well as those that were incredibly touching, such as servicemen overcoming injury or those living with cancer.
Then, of course, there were the children. I am sure that being a parent has changed how I view stories about children who have done amazing things or face significant challenges in their lives, but fortunately we were saved from some of them not receiving the ultimate accolade as all the finalists were jointly awarded the winning prize!
It was a wonderful evening that celebrated the commitment that many have made to their community within the city in a number of different categories. There were stories that were inspirational, for example about fostering or fundraising as well as those that were incredibly touching, such as servicemen overcoming injury or those living with cancer.
Then, of course, there were the children. I am sure that being a parent has changed how I view stories about children who have done amazing things or face significant challenges in their lives, but fortunately we were saved from some of them not receiving the ultimate accolade as all the finalists were jointly awarded the winning prize!
Highlights of the Week 5: A first chat on a sofa in the Spotlight studio-it is hard to stay focussed on the core message for individuals
Anyone who has seen the footage of my outing on Spotlight to explain our urgent and necessary measures, especially those that focus on impact on people who smoke or have a body mass index of over 35, would not expect this to be a highlight; it ended with a relatively intense pursuit of a question about whether we intending to have any measures aimed at those who drink or abuse drugs.
We have been clear that we want to be open and transparent about the message and to focus on how they will affect individuals. We haven't tried to hide behind a series of crafted overly positive messages and our duty is to explain precisely and clearly.
We had agreed with Spotlight that this piece will be a deeper analysis of the issues that have led to the implementation of the measures. It is important not to get drawn in to simple answers, but to ensure we give a very clear message about who will be impacted and how. But with time short, answers get interrupted and I am cast as evasive.
It is a highlight, not because the moment itself is enjoyable or that I think I've done an overly good job, but the response to many who saw it has been positive about our intent and what I was trying to explain.
If nothing else, there are now a group of people who I live near who have an idea about what I do for a living, the weekend on the sideline at the kids' football was full of their feedback!
Jerry Clough is Chief Operating Officer for Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group. He is also Locality Managing Director for the Western Locality of the CCG covering Plymouth and the surrounding areas of South Hams and West Devon.
Previously Jerry has been a Chief Executive and Finance Director in the NHS before spending several years running his own business driving programmes of change and delivering executive coaching and team and Board development.
We have been clear that we want to be open and transparent about the message and to focus on how they will affect individuals. We haven't tried to hide behind a series of crafted overly positive messages and our duty is to explain precisely and clearly.
We had agreed with Spotlight that this piece will be a deeper analysis of the issues that have led to the implementation of the measures. It is important not to get drawn in to simple answers, but to ensure we give a very clear message about who will be impacted and how. But with time short, answers get interrupted and I am cast as evasive.
It is a highlight, not because the moment itself is enjoyable or that I think I've done an overly good job, but the response to many who saw it has been positive about our intent and what I was trying to explain.
If nothing else, there are now a group of people who I live near who have an idea about what I do for a living, the weekend on the sideline at the kids' football was full of their feedback!
You can read other blogs related to the work of the Western Locality of NEW Devon CCG
About our workplan: Western Locality Workplan
About our Locality business: Western Locality Business
Jerry Clough is Chief Operating Officer for Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group. He is also Locality Managing Director for the Western Locality of the CCG covering Plymouth and the surrounding areas of South Hams and West Devon.
Previously Jerry has been a Chief Executive and Finance Director in the NHS before spending several years running his own business driving programmes of change and delivering executive coaching and team and Board development.
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