Tell us a little bit about yourself and your improvement journey.

I’m a Speech and Language Therapist, transformed into an Allied Health Professional (AHP) and wider healthcare activist – a Gov Girl taking action! At this time, patient safety, staff health and well-being (#JoyInWork) and visible AHP leadership at all levels is what matters most to me.

I work in Cornwall as the Clinical Governance and Quality Lead across an integrated therapy service supporting Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Podiatrists, Dietitians and Speech and Language Therapists at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust and Cornwall Partnership Foundation Trust.

I am a Cornish pirate, boat-rocking School for Change Agent. I am most energised when I’m working in an environment where I can make a positive difference with staff and patients. I have a determined interest in empowering and motivating staff to bring their best self to work and to be change agents taking action on things that are important to them.

I am most energised when I’m working in an environment where I can make a positive difference with staff and patients.

In 2017 with fellow AHP and Q community member Naomi Burden, we co-created an AHP Future Leaders course to grow AHP leaders with the capabilities to lead with care on patient safety and quality improvement across Cornwall. Having been IHI trained in Model for Improvement, our programme features an introduction to QI that enable AHPs to get started identifying opportunities for change and improvement, to test change ideas and measure change to make a difference within their own clinical environment. The programme is now in its third year and we have 50 AHPs across Cornwall leading with care on patient safety and QI.

In 2018, I took on the role of the Clinical Lead for implementing Always Events at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust with Jenny Thomas (Patient Experience Lead). Always Events also uses IHI Model for Improvement methodology, and so I was able to again utilise and share my skills with wider colleagues and service users via a brilliant co-production approach to improving experience of care.

As a keen activist encouraging healthcare staff to realise the benefits of joy in work, I have joined the 15 seconds 30 minutes social change movement aimed at reducing frustration and increasing joy in work. A QI platform which required no previous QI knowledge or training, 15s30m empowers staff at all levels to take back control of how they spend their time at work and start making change happen.

I am a keen sketchnoter and enjoy being able to communicate and express ideas beyond words alone; total communication comes as part of my Speech and Language Therapy DNA!

What first attracted you to Q?

I am a social, curious – some may say nosy – people person! I enjoy connecting and working with others with a keen interest in continuous improvement and realised many of my QI connections were members of the Q community. I make a point of challenging myself and added joining Q community to my ‘challenge and accomplish’ list for 2019. As my QI network with my own Trust has grown, and in discussion with wider AHPs keen to set up an AHPs in QI network I felt now was a time to take action and apply.

What are you hoping to get out of Q?

I am looking forward to connecting with others embracing the QI way of life, to share and learn from lived experiences and grow my own QI support network within the AHP community and beyond. My first stop on my exploration around the Q community site was to visit the Special Interest Groups page and I’ve already joined Allied Health Professions in Quality Improvement, and am keen to join the Making use of patient experience and Sketchnote groups.

The Q Connector network feeds my interest in learning and sharing and I would like to attend a Q event in the future. So much yet still to explore and discover!