Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 2 June

June 2, 2023

On Tuesday evening this week I had the privilege of attending and taking part in our SWB youth forum, which from now on has adopted the branding #youthspace – their own logo and social media presence is being launched shortly.

Youth Space is a forum in which we seek to actively engage children and young people who either use our services, care for those who use our services, or who wish to work in health or social care. Ably led by our Chief Nursing Officer, Mel Roberts, and organised so capably by Jayne Salter-Scott, our very driven and enthusiastic public and community engagement lead, the forum has grown from a small acorn to a very big tree in a very short space of time. On Tuesday night, there must have been the best part of 40 young people in the education centre at Sandwell, from 6pm to 8pm. We should be impressed by that because in my experience, it takes more than just the offer of free soft drinks and pizza, to get a school age person to attend and meaningfully contribute to such a forum. The fact that we have seen Youth Space become so popular, is down to both the mindset of our young people who participate, and the drive of those who sponsor and organise the sessions.

My attendance followed a session in which the members signed off their logo and branding and then heard from our Women’s and Child Health, Group Director of Nursing, Cheryl Newton, about her life and career and how rewarding such a career can be.

I was asked to give a potted history of my career to date, where I came from, what my motivations were and what my hobbies were in what little spare time I had. Most of the room seemed genuinely interested in what this old(er) fogey had to say. I then sat in a black “Mastermind” chair (a cultural reference which we quickly learned was lost on 99.9 per cent of those present) while a number of incisive and well thought through questions were fired at me in quick succession:

• What is the biggest challenge facing the NHS?
• What keeps me awake at night?
• What advice would I have for those being interviewed for their first job in the NHS?
• How can schools and NHS Trusts work better together on public health messaging and lifestyle changes amongst younger people?

The first question proved to have the lengthiest answer and generate the most supplementary questions. My answer, unequivocally, was our workforce challenge (training/education, recruitment and, critically, retention). On the way home I thought about this and was reminded yet again, that my audience on Tuesday evening, are the very people who we need to inspire to become our clinicians of the future. That is why we must support and grow Youth Space as a concept. They are our future and on this week’s evidence, that future is quite bright.

Have a good week.

Richard