On April 25th we said ‘Goodbye’ to our 111 colleagues in Chippenham.
The team there have done a wonderful job supporting the service in the Bath, North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire region as PPG Group take over the contract and will lead the service going forwards.
We wanted to recognise their contribution to DHU’s 111 service and spoke to Lauren Abernethy who, for the past year, has been the Non-Clinical Performance Manager there and knows the team inside out.
“It’s been an absolute honour for me to work with this team,” Lauren told us, “and on a personal level an experience that I have loved from start to finish. We’re a small team of around 15 including Heath Advisors, Clinicians and a Trainer, but our relatively small size has helped to create a very close-knit and supportive team.
“I made the step up to NCPM from my role at Orbis in Derby, so it was quite a change in environment. What has struck me during my time here is how supportive the team is, whether it’s someone who has had a challenging call, is having a bad time personally or needs an arm around them, they pull together and are right there to step up for each other. It’s been a pleasure to see and even when I’ve been on leave or away from the floor, others have stepped up to support.
“Never was that more evident than when we were told DHU was stepping away and we were told well in advance. We all knew there was a process and there were questions about who would take it on, when, what would happen, but we rallied around and our heads never dropped. PPG will be looking after them from the 25th April, they’re based in Bristol and some of the team know them from previous contracts so even though there is still understandably some nervousness, there always is at a time of change, the team are together and optimistic.
“The team understands the thinking and reasons behind DHU stepping back, especially with the West Midlands contract being such a big one to take on, and I think they will miss us, despite being geographically separate. We’ve always felt supported and whilst the team will now look ahead at a new era, I hope they’ll also remember being part of a wider team and network of support.
“Me personally, I’ll be coming back to Orbis as a NCPM, but I’ll never forget this team and Chippenham as a place that I’ve called home for a year. This team has given me the experience, skills and opportunity to take on a new challenge. I will miss them, the job and the environment and I want to thank them for everything they’ve done to support me, make me feel at home and how hard they’ve worked as part of DHU111.
“They are an amazing team, their enthusiasm, togetherness and spirit has been inspirational and I’m sure that no matter what, that will never change. I’ll be going back to Derby but I’ll never forget this brilliant team and I’d like to thank them for everything they’ve done for me, I will miss them and I do hope we can keep in touch.”
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