DHSC’s Doug Gurr praises ‘world-class expertise’ of Children’s Hospital staff
Doug Gurr, Non executive director for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has praised the ‘passion, commitment and world-class expertise’ of staff, following a recent visit to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Current Chair of the British Heart Foundation and former acting Global Vice-President of Amazon UK, Doug was invited to meet staff, gain an insight into the hospital’s outstanding specialist care and hear about BWC’s Big Build ambition for two new hospitals.
Doug, who was appointed to his DHSC Ned role in April 2021, has a keen interest in customer experience and using data to improve the experience and journey of patients. At the start of his two-hour visit, he met with Chief Executive Sarah-Jane Marsh and Chair Professor Sir Bruce Keogh before heading to Ward 11 to meet Congenital Cardiac Surgeon Tim Jones and some of the cardiac team. Seeing first-hand an improvement huddle, Doug was keen to understand some of the big transformations that have happened as a result of the huddles but also the smaller suggestions that have made a big difference to the staff and patients on the ward.
The next part of the visit was the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) where he learned about the recent refurbishment and the Learning from Excellence initiative - led by Consultant Intensivist Adrian Plunkett - which has recently celebrated its 10,000th report.
Discussions then continued with Consultant Psychiatrist Rachel Upthegrove around how data science and AI is used for prediction modelling in early intervention psychosis and the relationship between metabolic function and psychosis.
The final element of Doug’s visit was a roundtable discussion about the Trust’s Big Build ambitions, the impact of an outdated hospital on the experience of children, young people and their families and how that affects BWC’s ability to continue providing world-leading care now, and in the future.
Speaking about the visit Sarah-Jane Marsh, Chief Executive of Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (BWC), said:
“It was wonderful to welcome Doug to our Children’s Hospital to see for himself the outstanding care our teams provide to thousands of children and young people every year. There’s some incredible work going on across wards, departments and teams to enhance patient experience, celebrate and share excellent practice and predict and improve treatment and outcomes using data, which we were truly proud to showcase”.
“The visit also gave way to interesting discussions about the future as many of those Doug met with shared their hopes and dreams for the future of health care, not just at BWC but across the region and beyond, and how our Big Build ambitions for two new hospitals create the environments to support.”
Reflecting on the visit, Doug added:
“It was truly inspiring to see all the amazing work going on at BWC. The passion, commitment and world-class expertise of the staff shone through every conversation. I was particularly thrilled to see the incredible commitment at all levels to a culture of innovation delivering real tangible improvements to the patient experience. The children of Birmingham and beyond are truly safe in their hands!”
