Today we’d like to introduce you to Ella who has been with our 111 team in Derby for just over 12 years and has recently taken a career change within the service.
As our 111 Engagement Lead, Ella helped to understand the needs and wants of our people, she has now transferred those skills as a Continuous Quality and Improvement (CQI) and Directory of Service (DoS) Lead.
She told us: “I started as a Health Advisor in 2012 working evenings before taking on a secondment as a Non-Clinical Performance Manager that became permanent. I actually applied to join the CQI team during my time there but didn’t quite make it, it was always something that stayed in my mind as I love the idea of working with colleagues to drive forward positive change.
“I kind of gravitated towards the engagement side of things, asking to develop activities and arrange events to boost morale. It must have worked as they developed an engagement role off the back of that; I applied and took it on. But when the chance came to joined the CQI team, I had to go for it and here I am, a month or so into the role and loving it.
“I’m now getting involved in a number of projects and taking calls is a big part of that to see what works with our systems and to test improvements. Our improvement projects tend to come from two avenues, either suggestions from our leadership team that are performance driven or as a result of suggestions from our people based on their experiences speaking to patients or from identified risks. That’s where my experience as an engagement lead comes in handy.
“The CQI team will then look at those suggestions, see what’s possible to introduce changes, make sure they work and then help with any training. A good example of this is the national Pharmacy First campaign to help educate our people as to when to use pharmacy as part of that referral process for patients and that prescribing is an option for patients in some circumstances.
“Projects such as that help to support the wider system and it’s a fulfilling part of what I do to know that our work makes a direct difference to my colleagues and their patients. I’m so pleased to be part of a team that recognises and builds on each other’s individuality and unique set of skills. To be able to bring our knowledge and experience to the table to work off each other is what makes this team a pleasure to work with.”