Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 26 August
August 26, 2022
Today, many of us had the opportunity to pass on our sincere thanks to Dr David Carruthers for his contribution to the Trust as Medical Director. David is stepping down from his post but continues to be part of our Trust family, as he builds up his clinical work within rheumatology.
During his celebration event today I reflected on his long career with this Trust and all of the reasons he is such a valued and respected leader and a SWBH legend. David took up a consultant rheumatology post here in 2000. He helped developed the service which is the clinical academic centre for rheumatology in Birmingham, with a strong research base for arthritis and lupus as well as providing care for the broad range of musculoskeletal conditions to local residents. David’s clinical work in vasculitis means SWBH is recognised as a regional centre for vasculitis and he contributes to our national centre for Bechet’s disease. He led the Trust’s medical education programme as Director of Medical Education and became Medical Director in 2018. He acted into the Chief Executive role for nine months, during Toby’s absence, during some of the most difficult times for our Trust, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Everyone who meets David is struck by his integrity, his consideration of others and his desire to always do the right thing by our patients.
Our new Trust values have now been agreed which are:
Ambition
Respect
Compassion
These values will run through everything we do, and we will launch them in a big way within the Trust as we finalise the list of behaviours that are the accompanying living examples of how we should act.
I can think of no better example of someone who lives these values, day to day, than David. He has always been ambitious for our Trust, leading the education programme of our medical colleagues as Director of Education and spearheading our ambitious Research and Development strategy. Our Trust is a stronger place because of the fantastic teaching provided to trainee doctors, and the pioneering research being carried out right now in Sandwell and West Birmingham.
No-one is more respectful than David. He is considerate of others, loyal and dependable, respecting other people’s opinions and thinking carefully about the consequences of our actions. We will miss his considered, reflective approach that carries much wisdom into our collective decision-making.
David holds compassion for others at the centre. He is an extremely dedicated clinician who always goes the extra mile for his patients. He listens to patients and family members in distress and knows how to walk in other people’s shoes. He offers support to all his colleagues, whether that is new consultants, junior doctors, peers and those in the wider NHS family. Many people have expressed how much they have valued this support as they have continued to develop their careers here.
So, thank you David, for your dedication and commitment to our patients, people and population. We look forward to continuing to work with you in your new endeavours.
Lastly, I wanted to mention the significant impact that rises in energy bills, food prices and fuel costs is having right across our Trust and within our communities. This is a huge concern to everyone and we are committed to seeing what we can do to best help people in these difficult circumstances. Additionally, some people have received tax underpayment notifications from HMRC that could not have come at a worse time. Pay rises for all staff is unfortunately not within our gift, however we are looking at things we can do to help with those in severe financial distress as well as support with cheaper food, discounts on transport and other schemes. We will communicate our approach with you all on these issues, very soon.