Back to weeknotes: 16 to 20 September 2024

Back to weeknotes after a hiatus brought about by – variously – a change of government, the summer holidays, and a house move. Song of the week: Yard Act – Fixer Upper.

I had planned 10 days off for the move, but ended up taking a full 2 weeks. I’m glad that I did. I’m writing this on the sofa in the new place, not a cardboard box in sight, though there are half a dozen stashed behind the sofa. Out of sight and out of mind. The weather has been kind this week, and I’ve cycled into the office 4 days in a row.

Monday began with a couple of hours triaging my post-holiday inbox, then a short but insightful call with cross-government counterparts in Nesta’s Mission Driven Government Network. The most worthwhile things we can do together as the public sector cut across departmental and agency boundaries, united around ambitious but collectively achievable outcomes. Later I watched the livestream of a briefing from our NHS England CEO and Secretary of State following the publication last week of Lord Darzi’s report on the state of the National Health Service in England.

In the afternoon, I joined a Teams call with representatives from the health services of Quebec, who were eager to learn about the digital transformation of health, especially with a health inequalities lens. They asked great questions, I’m sure we have lots we can learn from them too. It was also a chance for me to hear from my inspiring colleagues Bola and Minal about the work they are leading on health inequalities and modern GP access respectively.

On Tuesday, the 111 online team were in Leeds for their monthly get together, so I joined their show and tell in person, and did a Q&A with members of the team. There’s been a change of personnel on this team as a new supplier is coming in to supplement our permanent staff. We have lots to do! In the afternoon, a programme board call for the NHS e-Referrals Service.

Outside my NHS role, I had an audit and risk committee meeting for the local housing association where I’m a non-exec director. As Lord Darzi highlighted, the housing crisis is also a health crisis.

Wednesday morning began with a couple of ambulance sector-related calls, including the monthly meeting of the Ambulance Digital Leaders’ Group. Later I talked with Imogen, head of product on the First Contact work I am sponsoring across primary, community and urgent care.

Thursday morning was meeting-packed, going straight from a Product & Platforms Steering Group, where we discussed some new work on the neighbourhood health approach, to the Access to Urgent Care Board, where we looked at the actions underway to recover urgent & emergency care performance across 111 and 999.

Finally, a bit of space and time on Friday. The office was quiet and I had only a couple of one-to-ones in my diary. This was a chance to take stock, properly read Lord Darzi’s report, and think about what it means for my team’s work and objectives. I printed out a few of the key charts from the report and stuck them on the wall behind my desk.

It’s coming up to the half year mark, so I put together a short survey to send out to colleagues, asking them for feedback on my performance at work. What do I personally need to stop, start, and continue? It’s always good to pause and reflect.