Decembernotes 2024
There have been lots of strands of work this month that are starting to overlap and whilst at times things have felt chaotic and disjointed, it now feels there is a joining of the all the dots of the work I have been involved in. There was a mad rush just before everyone went on leave for Christmas and at one point I was inputting to 5 different documents for 5 different areas of work, all with the same deadline and all going right up to the line. There were themes and linkages across them all and my involvement in each made sense, even if my brain hurt working in 5 different contexts and 5 different narratives whilst also liaising with others to make sure they were able to input too.
Some of the bright shoots in the digital primary care space this month have been Alison’s mega evidence crunch, Ben starting work on services, Marianthi and Katherine’s findings on regional and national engagement in the pharmacy space and the start of some in practice research being planning by Sarah. There has also been some promising joining up of knowledge and work with the primary care and community team and other wider cross cutting work on data linkage with Brin. One of the things that all this has showcased, particularly Alisons work, is that different parts of the organisation hold different pieces of the puzzle and we can only deliver the whole if we work together. It isn’t anything new but this work has highlighted it and pointed to spaces where we can start to do it better.
I have also enjoyed getting stuck into neighbourhood health work, working with colleagues at the product and platforms strategic planning days, speaking at a health innovation fellow event and leading sessions at the transformation directorate comms and also the digital professions away days. I worked with clinical and tech architecture colleagues to explore unified patient records, with primary care leadership to explore joint prioritisation and with Centre of Expertise leaders to look at cross cutting principles for teams. I have been working with colleagues to develop an inclusive user research session for the organisation, mentored some front line clinical and non-clinical colleagues to conduct user research and worked with colleagues on a national front line data collection that will go out in the new year.
One of the themes I have observed this month is leadership, both in terms of recognising that the people we see as leaders are human too and make mistakes, and also our responsibilities as leaders ourselves in terms of how we challenge or raise those issues. It is ok to get something wrong and it is ok to raise that something could have been done better, but we need to raise that with kindness, a recognition of humanness and recognise that irrespective of role or grade, we are all leaders and the responsibility for solving problems isn’t one persons job, it is on all of us.
Talking about leadership, one of the most impactful things that someone said to me this month was ‘really grateful you are involved.’ Very simple words, said genuinely that didn’t cost anyone anything to say but can have a huge impact on your motivation and value you feel you deliver. I am really grateful to be working with the person that said those words, their authenticity and for the way they lead.
As I wrap up work for 2024, I have had a look at my weeknotes from this time last year. I said my focus this year would be inclusive design, building UCD capability including UCD maturity, and developing people and UCD skills in the organisation. Reflecting on the year through this lens, whilst I can always do more, I can see that these are things that I have focussed to make happen this year. One of my consistent themes in my end of year notes has been doing things that matter to me in my work and making a positive difference. This isn’t something that has changed this year or will change next year. It’s why I do what I do, making a positive difference inside and outside work — to the people I work with, my community, my organisation, my family and the NHS. I would always like to do more, but that is what next year is for. I need to make sure that in doing this I don’t miss the things that make a positive difference for me, whether that be working in a space that aligns with my values, avoiding being pulled in too many directions or ensuring there is also time for me.
Some of the things I intend to focus on next year
- How to bring digital delivery closer to operational delivery and policy — full user centred service design and delivery
- Delivering value in line with my values
- Regular reflection time to make sure I am sticking to that
- Things that make me tick
Thank you to everyone who a has been part of that the user research and UCD community this year and have helped to deliver some incredible work to support the NHS. A personal thank you to all those who have been my cheerleaders, my challengers and my fellow disruptors.
Things I intend to do in the next couple of weeks
- Spend time with family and friends
- Make sure that people that have done things that made a difference to me this year, know about it
- Switch off (no work or weeknotes).
(Exactly the same bullet points as my weeknote from this time last year and the year before so that’s a hattrick!)
