En Voyage Issue#16 Flickbook

I JOINED THE AMBULANCE SERVICE IN 2006 INITIALLY WITH THE
TASK OF RESTRUCTURING HR. I WENT ON TO BECOME AN ASSISTANT
CHIEF OFFICER AND AFTER PROMOTION TO THE POSITION OF
DEPUTY CHIEF I WAS APPOINTED AS CHIEF OFFICER IN 2018. IN
AN INDIRECT WAY, I SUPPOSE I’M NOW WORKING IN THE CARING
PROFESSION I WAS SO PASSIONATE ABOUT AS A CHILD
ageing population, which in
itself is another challenge. As
a service we will need to adapt
and respond to the changing
nature of the work. For example,
a significant proportion of our
calls are to people who have
fallen, so we are already looking
at how we can work with other
care services to provide longer
term help for those people.
There are also changes
happening nationally to
paramedic training. As registered
healthcare professionals,
standards and expectations
are rising, which means people
wanting to be registered
paramedics in the future are
going to have to study for a
university degree. That means the
traditional route of progressing
through the service and doing a
short conversion course in the UK
won’t be available, so we need
to respond to those changes.
How are things likely to
change in the future?
The ageing demographic and
the growth in demand mean the
service will have to adapt and
be designed to address some of
those ageing population issues. It
may also mean changes to clinical
pathways and better treatment at
home for patients. This all fits in
with the ‘Partnership of Purpose’
vision. As an ambulance service
we will be looking to develop the
clinical skills of our paramedics
to enable them to treat more
people at home and avoid
unnecessary trips to hospital.
Unlike the UK, at the moment
there are limited pathways of
care available in Guernsey,
however that is likely to change
at some point in the future.
We are also looking at
developing tele-medicine,
so clinicians on the road can
share information with doctors
in the hospital to aid their
clinical decision making.
Your background is HR,
how did you become
Chief Officer of the
ambulance service?
I grew up wanting to be a nurse.
Throughout my school years at
La Mare de Carteret High School,
I was completely focused on
nursing as a career, but sadly
I suffered an injury as a child
which meant I couldn’t follow
that path. At 18, there was a
period when I didn’t know what
I wanted to do, but I joined the
States of Guernsey as a filing
clerk at Housing and that was the
start of my career with the civil
service. I went to work at Social
Security and progressed to the
role of Personnel and Training
Manager before moving on and
joining the Health Department,
as the Deputy Director of HR.
THE AGEING
DEMOGRAPHIC AND THE
GROWTH IN DEMAND
MEAN THE SERVICE
WILL HAVE TO ADAPT
TO ADDRESS SOME
OF THOSE AGEING
POPULATION ISSUES
I joined the ambulance service
in 2006 initially with the task
of restructuring HR. I went on
to become an Assistant Chief
Officer and after promotion to
the position of Deputy Chief I
was appointed as Chief Officer
in 2018. In an indirect way, I
suppose I’m now working in
the caring profession I was so
passionate about as a child.
Has your non-clinical
background been a
disadvantage?
I don’t think so. Although I was
the first Senior Officer without a
clinical background, I’ve always
been interested in helping and
caring for people. There are a
growing number of ambulance
chief executives in the UK who
don’t have a clinical background.
First and foremost we are an
ambulance service, but we are
also a business. Sometimes not
having the clinical background
can actually be useful, when
taking a global overview of a
situation, I can ask challenging
questions that some people
with a medical background are
afraid to ask. What is important
is that you have people in your
management team who have
the clinical knowledge to advise
you. I have complete trust and
confidence in my officers and
the clinicians on the road. I
have a great team of hardworking,
caring professionals
who deliver the highest standard
of care to our community.
What makes a good leader?
I think you need to be a good
communicator and that means
listening as well as talking. It
is important to listen to what
the team are telling you. I like
to think I am open and honest
with people. You also need to be
willing to react to feedback and
able to change direction, if that
is what is needed. I’ve had some
good role models through my
career and I’m inspired by women
like Karren Brady. I think I’ve taken
the good bits from lots of my
previous bosses, but equally there
are some things I don’t think work
and I’ve been careful to learn
from other people’s mistakes.
Having a good team, with good
morale is important to me
because motivated people will do
their best and that is so important
in a caring profession like the
ambulance service. Guernsey’s
paramedics and medical
technicians deal with challenging
situations every day, every night,
all year round, often when other
people are enjoying time off
and I never lose sight of that.
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