I am currently on my second 8-month-long placement in the Medicine Division in Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, sitting specifically within the Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Directorate. This placement is very different to the other placements I’ve undertaken so far as it is a very hands-on and operational – something which I’ve come to discover that I love. Due to COVID, a lot of teams now work in a hybrid manner, but sitting within an operational team means we are in the office every day. I really enjoy this as I feel like a real part of the team and I spend a lot of time walking around the wards, understanding first-hand how they work, where improvements are needed, and where I can pick up on things that reflect good practice.

I am currently undertaking a few different projects in Gastro and Endo, the main one being looking at communication between the wards and patients who are awaiting a procedure. This project requires me to sit with several teams such as the scheduling team and the pre-admission nursing team, observing their work, and creating process maps to visualise what they are doing. Once I have collected enough data, I will be looking at how this communication can be more efficient, streamlined, and effective. Another project I am a part of is a deep dive into a specific ward, looking at everything from physical resources, staffing levels, patient experience, and finances. So far, all of the projects I have worked on have been incredibly interesting and I already feel like I’ve learnt so much just within the last two months. I am really enjoying Gastro and Endo and could definitely see myself in an operational role once the Grad Scheme finishes.

The wealth and breadth of opportunities that have been made available to me across my placements are second to none. Currently, I have been lucky enough to be based alongside the Director of Operations at Ysbyty Gwynedd, which has provided an incredible insight into the dynamic challenges and processes that occur daily for the successful operation of an acute site. I have been involved in a plethora of exciting projects and developments; from making meetings matter to an innovative green project, the grad scheme has it all!

Notwithstanding the overall enhanced understanding of NHS functions, the scheme has also provided incredible hands-on experience that could not be found in any other role. I’ve been afforded the luxury of managing projects from the beginning to fruition, and have learnt a great deal about management whilst greatly improving my skills. Each day is different with new challenges and tasks, but each one offers opportunities to enhance my skill-set and broaden my network and connections. It is perhaps apt to highlight my present focus of space utilisation in my placement to summarise the experiences available on placement. Alongside the Director of Operations, we have liaised with several senior members of teams and specialties to devise and implement office changes to better incorporate clinical teams. Negotiating transfers, considering team requirements, and maximising resources are some of the many intricate factors involved in just one project on placement. It’s difficult to summarise the exact work to expect on the scheme, yet it is simple to demonstrate the great opportunities and experiences that you can get involved in.

So far on the programme I've completed a placement with the Ops team at Cardiff & the Vale, a month-long placement with Welsh Government, and am currently undertaking a placement with the haematology directorate.

My Ops placement offered a lot of exposure to many of the most senior managers in the health board, most notably the Chief Operating Officer (COO). During this placement I acquired experience in planned care through working on setting up community-based neurology clinics, I improved my understanding of the issues and processes involved in capital estates and facilities in contributing to the ward drainage replacement programme, and had the opportunity to sit in on many high-level meetings which offered me a holistic view of the operational pressures the clinical boards face, how these pressures are dealt with at the highest level, as well as the leadership styles of those tasked with handling them.

My month-long placement with Welsh Government was a great opportunity to meet with a range of senior government employees involved in putting together healthcare policy and legislation, as well as holding NHS Wales health boards and trusts to account for the delivery of services. Through this placement we also tasked as a group with putting together a report on the status and contents of the different health boards' (and Velindre's) Clinical Services Plans, which we submitted and presented to Welsh Gov's NHS planning team at the end of the placement.

My placement with the haematology directorate at UHW has so far involved me gathering and analysing length of stay data on behalf of the consultant team, contributing - broadly speaking - to discussions on the future of how haematology as a tertiary service for patients from other health boards is delivered in order to provide the best possible care both to individual patients, and the patient body as a collective. This work has been challenging but ultimately rewarding, and has given me the opportunity to engage with consultants and junior doctors, and to improve my knowledge of haematological conditions as well as my understanding of service delivery in what can be quite a complex directorate.

Placement 1

During my first placement in the gynaecology directorate, I had the opportunity to contribute towards various operational aspects within the department. which significantly boosted my understanding of healthcare management and service delivery in a secondary setting. I had key responsibilities in the department which included developing my skills in data analysis, problem solving, quality improvement and patient-centered care. Some of the main projects I was involved with were overseeing the insourcing and outsourcing projects, completing a demand-capacity data review and tracking Tier 1 workforce targets. I was also involved in recruitment processes, tracking Welsh Government standard compliances for outpatient, inpatient and cancer appointments, diagnostics tracking, industrial action planning and theatre scheduling.

Placement 2

Across my second placement with the primary care team, I have been involved with many areas of the community business units, which has entailed more strategic working. The main project I have been involved in is developing the service specification for the sexual health department and conducting a gap analysis to determine future needs for appointment capacity and staffing. Likewise, I have been aiding with the project management of the enhanced community care steering group including the business case for the next phase of the Safe@Home scheme, setting up community step-up beds and transitioning to an urgent treatment centre primary care model.

After almost completing my first year on the graduate programme, I have been involved within a variety of projects and gained significant experience. My first 8 months were spent within the Equity & Inclusion team, where I led on a public engagement with members of staff, service users and third parties to gather input for our new Strategic Equality Plan. After the engagement had closed, I was able to analyse the data we had collected to write our Strategic Equality Plan which was published on our website in March. Additionally, I wrote a business case to assess our options for our Welsh Language Translation within the health board, assessing and providing recommendations on the best course of action.

Currently, in my second placement with the Operations team, I have gained insights from the Executive team, where I have had opportunities to ask questions and attend monthly clinical board reviews, enhancing my understanding of clinical board operations. I am currently working on a project to establish a Gynae Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) service, aiming to divert emergency gynaecology patients from A&E and provide same-day appointments for a streamlined service. Additionally, I am involved in a project to replace the drainage system at UHW, collaborating with the Estates team to prioritise areas and manage bed availability during the replacement period. Finally, I am the Project Team Coordinator on the relocation of Cardiology due to an increase of ITU capacity required to meet service demand.

Placement 1

March 2024 saw the completion of my first placement on the NHS Wales General Management Graduate Programme. During this time, I worked within the corporate planning team at DHCW, supporting the establishment of the Portfolio Management Office (PMO).The PMO has a vision of standardising project and programme processes across DHCW. It is responsible for collating the monthly portfolio and highlight reports which feed into the Portfolio Oversight Board and the Planning and Performance Management Group (PPMG). The PMO aims to provide guidance, tooling and set standards to ensure that project and programmes are managed consistently and effectively to deliver to time, cost and scope. The PMO provides support to programme and project managers relating to topics such as key deliverables at each stage of a project’s lifecycle, lessons learnt and dependencies. It also hosts a Professional Network for Programme and Project Managers to share best practice and learning across the organisation.

Having shadowed many meetings whilst in planning, I have seen first-hand how good governance is integral to effective decision-making. Besides this, supporting the monthly reporting processes has given me a vast understanding of the various digital transformation projects and programmes in DHCW’s portfolio.

Placement 2

I have now started my second placement in the Operations directorate of DHCW. Here, I will be working within the Directorate Management Team, supporting recruitment activity, and getting involved with work relating to resource management across the directorate. The team has been really welcoming, and so far, I have attended a meeting with the board, shadowed senior leadership meetings and toured the data centre in Newport.Over the next six months, I look forward to immersing myself into the technical digital space and using the opportunity to understand DHCW’s core function, its purpose for the wider NHS Wales, and the challenges that the directorate faces.

Applied Health Leadership Masters

As part of the programme, I am undertaking an integrated masters degree in Applied Health Leadership through the University of South Wales. I have relished the challenge of completing a degree alongside working full time, and have completed two modules so far, ‘Leadership, Governance and Scrutiny’, and ‘Strategy, Compassionate and Collaborative Leadership’. Before I started the programme, I was apprehensive about my ability to juggle work and education. However, embedding learning from DHCW into my studies has been a method well suited to my learning style, and I’m feeling positive about completing the remaining modules for this year over the next few months. I hope my current placement will provide a helpful perspective for the remaining topics, especially in the ‘Digital Transformation’ module in the spring (No pressure!).

My first placement was with the Strategy and Planning division, wherein my main responsibility was overseeing the Integrated Medium-Term Plan 2024-2027 (IMTP) document. I saw this document go from a single blank page to a 100+ page document containing the organisation’s strategic milestones for the next three years. In creating the IMTP document, I was at the heart of forward-thinking discussions with experts across various public health fields, understanding how collaborative efforts are essential in making meaningful and sustainable commitments to the public. Following a feasibility risk being identified within the milestones, I created a feasibility analysis tool that used carefully considered metrics to understand the scale of the dependencies of each milestone. This tool created a dependency rating for each milestone, and the findings were presented to the Business Executive Team to inform discussions around the feasibility of the milestones. Through being solely responsible for the IMTP document, I was able to bring greater attention to the importance of accessibility within Public Health Wales (PHW). Accessibility had not been previously considered within the creation of the IMTP document, and through introducing this into the IMTP I was given the opportunity to contribute to the first published accessibility guidance within PHW, as well as single-handedly lead a workshop for the whole Strategy and Planning division on the importance of accessibility within the public sector.

I am currently in the middle of completing my second placement with Microbiology. The division is undergoing a digital records management transformation project, and I have been assigned Project Lead for the duration of the project. I am managing a team of 18 managers and seniors that represent the teams within the South-East Microbiology division. From a project standpoint, I meet regularly with each team individually, discuss any current or outstanding actions that need to be addressed, keep stakeholders informed on developments & issues, and update my project documents accordingly to ensure governance is upkept. Technically, I also support the teams by creating an accessible, user-friendly digital records platform that is built from staff input and feedback. As the project is currently being ahead of schedule, I have extended my support to the other Microbiology regions to ensure a cohesive and streamlined implementation across the entire division. Additionally, I have also had the opportunity to support the recruitment process by being involved in shortlisting and interviews and have also supported procurement initiatives across the division.

Placement 1

In my corporate placement at Velindre University NHS Trust, I carried out a trust-wide survey and created the Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) for the new People Development Policy. This prompted my work on establishing and compiling the existing Equality and Inclusion work in the Trust to support the development of the EQIA for the Integrated Median Term Plan 2024/25-2026/27. I was also involved in the recruitment process, by creating job descriptions and being on the interview panel for upcoming roles.

Welsh Government

During the month-long placement with Welsh Government we had the pleasure of meeting many key policy leads within the Health and Social Services department at the government. Along with other graduates on the placement, we developed a report on the ongoing progress with Clinical Service Plans in each Health Board in Wales.

Placement 2

During my placement at the Medical Directorate in Velindre Cancer Centre, I created a database capturing the current referral process into Velindre and have been involved in the development of a new referral pathway with the service improvement team. I have also developed the databases for the capacity and demand models of each Single Site Tumour team in Velindre, in support of the review of their ways of working. Additionally, I have created a list of all the cancer MDTs within South Wales and will be involved in work on monitoring the mandatory training compliance within the Medical Directorate.