Posted on: 8 March 2023

Senior Clinical Leaders and Managers across CNWL gathered for the 2023 Top Leaders Event.

The Trust’s Executive Team including Chief Nurse, Maria O’Brien and Chief Executive, Claire Murdoch led conversations around the culture of CNWL and areas needing improvement.

Highlights include, attendees being told not to forget their scarf and swede, while also being mindful of an iceberg. Yes, you did read that correctly.

You can view the slides here and find out why a swede and scarf played a pivotal role, p.s. they’re acronyms.

Chief Nurse, Maria O’Brien said, “Excellence isn’t an accident but grafted.” This became a focal point of her talk where she emphasised the importance of taking the time to look at the basics, which create the building blocks to achieve constant high-quality services.

Chief Executive of CNWL, Claire Murdoch took to the stage and said:

“You - our staff, are delivering the magic. It’s ok to proudly talk about the work you do and your achievements. Our jobs are sometimes traumatising - we’re with people at difficult times - burn out is real. I commend you for speaking openly when you have difficulties."

“Thank you to each and every one of you for all you have done during the pandemic too. I’ve never been prouder to have been part of the NHS family, the determination to innovate and not lose sight of the basics. If you take nothing else away from today let it be an appreciation for yourselves."

"Today we’ll discuss our Trust strategy – Our 5,4,3,2,1 framework for One CNWL - we’ve thought about it a lot. It contributes to CNWL being a great place to work. But one of my big asks of you is showing racism the red card - never be a bystander It’s important we ask questions and never shy away from how we can do better. Be forever vocal - this is all our issue."

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Charlotte Bailey, CNWL’s Chief People Officer introduced Syena Skinner and Angela Neblett, the Trust’s leads for SCARF (Safe, Compassionate, Accountable, Reflective and Fair). They talked about how SCARF provides the tools to help staff not just understand the values of a compassionate working environment but embody it.

Angela said , “Leaders have the intention but we don’t embody, that creates challenges because it becomes do as I say not as I do, managers, us, need to be role models of SCARF.”

Our Keynote Speaker Chris Turner talked about how civility saves lives and gave an example from his own experiences as a doctor in another Trust:

“There was an incident with a surgeon who was dismissive over a scrub nurse not handing them the right instruments for surgery. The matron then, took the nurse out of the theatre and got someone else to take over due to distress. The person being operated came to A&E with pain, she has a piece of gauze left in her. Thankfully she was fine but after this came an incident report, the process designed to help prevent events like this happening. However, this report didn’t help to establish what went wrong because the blame was pointed to the scrub nurse, who had a multitude of experience."

"It wasn’t the nurse, it was the environment they work within and how they treated each other. This is why civility in healthcare is important and why it can save lives."

Professor Dorothy Griffiths, CNWL Chair, closed the event, her last at the Trust before her retirement at the end of March. The event ended with a thank you to her and a standing ovation.