Please introduce yourself, your job title, how long you've been in your current role, and how long you've worked at HHFT?
Hello! My name is Tom and I’m the QI Events and Communications officer for the trust’s QI function. I started in this role around 18 months ago, after a good stint with the trust’s marvellous communications team, starting in late-2019.
How do you explain your role in the QI team to those that may be unfamiliar with Quality Improvement?
I’m certain every single person reading this has experienced being on the ‘receiving end’ of change at work – and had to shift to different ways of working. A proper structured approach is essential to sustainable improvement work – change can be an immensely difficult experience, especially if those involved don’t understand the ‘why’ behind the work and haven’t had their voices heard as part of the process.
What I love about Quality Improvement is that it’s essentially a structure that anyone can apply to a sticky issue or spark of a bright idea at work – adding a rigorous approach and improvement science to appropriately move through making an improvement. Linking things back to communications skills – successful improvement is never a solo sport. Engaging stakeholders, including staff and patients involved, is at the heart of how a problem is diagnosed and how a clear aim is defined in a well-managed Quality Improvement project.
In terms of my role in the team - I lead on the communications surrounding Quality Improvement at HHFT. This encompasses loads of stuff - sharing our QI Academy training offer, co-ordinating events, and helping staff tell the stories of their learning, to name a few. I have a constant ear to the ground for ways to celebrate QI work internally and externally – whether that’s through social media, in a report, or at a conference or national event. I also love leaning on my communications skills to coach others, whether it’s to advocate for proper stakeholder engagement, shaping key messages, or writing an effective communications plan.
How did you end up where you are now? What has your career journey looked like up to this point?
Gosh – it’s certainly been a journey! I studied music and audio production through college and university. I did some freelance work coming out of university, including some marketing for a local music venue. I picked up a job at Waitrose for some extra money and worked my way up a bit. I worked my way through a leadership apprenticeship and found a love for internal communications and engagement through an IT improvement project I had led locally.
In 2019, my sister was diagnosed with leukaemia. The journey we went on as a family - and the care she received at HHFT - left an enormous impression on me. When the trust advertised for a comms/marketing role in the recruitment team, I put my heart and soul into my application and interview, and I got the job. Three months into that job was March 2020, and I was seconded to support the trust’s corporate communications function right at the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic offered new communications and engagement challenges pretty much every day, and I owe so much of my development to the team I had around me during this time. I was drafted all-staff communications during a period of huge change and upheaval, I hosted countless Q&A sessions with execs and senior leaders, I designed dozens of posters and documents, and shot/edited videos – ranging from interviews, awareness campaigns, and tours of newly developed areas of our hospitals.
In early 2022 I saw an opportunity to work in the trust’s Improvement team and lead on communications/engagement around Quality Improvement. It felt so aligned with my own values – I again put my heart and soul into my application and interview and got the job!
What have been a highlight for you at work recently?
My role has developed so much over the last 18 months – it was a new role to the team. It’s been hugely empowering for me to hold that sense of ownership as I continue to develop as both a communications professional and improvement leader.
Picking one highlight is tough – and I wrote the questions to this interview, so I’m going to bend the rules a little!
- Organising our HHFT Improvement Conference back in May – our first face-to-face conference since 2019 – is a huge highlight from this year. Offering a platform for improvers at HHFT to share and celebrate learning and the differences they are making to our patients – it’s what it’s all about for me. We were taken aback by the attendance numbers and positive response we had for this event.
- Seeing the numbers of QI Bronze-trained staff shoot up and sustain over the last 18 months or so has been so rewarding to watch – and I still get such a kick out of seeing the positive shift in thinking in people who attend our QI Silver Practitioner Programme.
- Having the opportunity to chair a recent national ‘QI Communications’ network meeting, with members from all over the country. I was able to offer a platform for some improvement work at HHFT and share some of my key learnings from my time in the role – a huge part of what QI is all about! This group meets monthly and has been a real lifeline for me – offering plenty of opportunities to share learning, network and meet like-minded people.
What would you say to someone who was curious about Quality Improvement and how the tools/methodology could help them in their roles, but were unsure of where to start?
I would assure that person – no matter what role they’re currently holding at HHFT - that not only was the support there to get them started, but to also properly develop skills to sustain real improvement for our patients. You’ll be hearing from other members of the team this week – including our wonderful divisional QI leads – Quality Improvement business partners dedicated to supporting staff within each division. These roles, alongside our comprehensive QI Academy training programme, means that support, coaching, and resources are never too far away. Check out our Trustnet page to learn more!
