'The work we do means an awful lot to patients and families'
As part of the #OurWXpeople spotlight series, this week we are highlighting the great work carried out by the governance team. We caught up with Sarah, Associate Director of Clinical Governance, to give us all the details on the department:
Hi Sarah, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I trained at St Bartholomew’s Hospital and I qualified in 1997. I went away to Scotland for a while and came back to what was Barts and the London Trust, so I was here during the merger. I came to Whipps Cross on a secondment in February 2017 and I have been here ever since because I love working here so much.
Previous to working in governance, I was a cancer and hematology nurse and a blood transfusion practitioner. The majority of my career has involved working in governance and patient and safety quality roles.
What does a typical day look like for you working in the governance department?
Our days look very different since Covid and we have a lot of Microsoft Teams meetings. We are currently working on a patient property project and work with the family contact centre. A lot of my day is spent helping families navigate their care and helping them obtain information about their relatives care or their property. We also handle complaints as part of our usual tasks. I will attend safety huddles to share learning from these complaints or incidents to prevent the same things from happening. No two days are the same in governance.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I enjoy working at Whipps Cross as people here are amongst the friendliest and kindest I’ve ever worked with. I like the idea that although we are not seen as frontline, the work we do does mean an awful lot to patients and families and I do feel like we make a difference to them. We make a difference to clinicians too by supporting them and helping them focus time and energy on patient care.
Has the pandemic affected the way you and the team work ?
Yes, I’ve been incredibly proud of how the team have responded to the pandemic. During the first wave, staff did whatever was needed and redeployment never an issue. We moved PPE around the hospital and got stuck in to help however we could. During the second wave, I was briefly seconded to the vaccination hub. Throughout the pandemic we continued to ensure that patient property gets from the hospital back into hands of the patient or their loved ones, so the pandemic has changed some of what we do and the way we do it.
How have you supported each other through this time?
Initially it was very difficult as people were frightened but we managed to get to palace where people did what they felt comfortable with, whether that was working remotely or coming in to the hospital. We have a team Whatsapp group, daily team emails and a team meeting once a week where we could check in with each other and make sure we are all ok. I share wellbeing resources regularly with team and remind them that it’s ok not to be ok. We are at a time now when some people may think they can’t speak up if they’re struggling because of how things are improving, but we need to continue to look after our wellbeing as we come to terms with what we have been through.
How would you entice a prospective employee to come and work in the governance team at WCH?
I would say you will be joining such a lovely team. They are all so welcoming and always try their best. Generally, around hospital, there is a real sense of family spirit and wanting to do our best for patients.
Tell us something interesting about yourself.
Before the pandemic I was spending every Thursday as a quiz host! It was an activity that was very sociable and was a distraction from my professional life.
Read our previous spotlight features: