Chief Executive’s message 23rd February 2015
Our values – what do we stand for?
“Not even the apparently enlightened principle of ‘greatest good for the greatest
number’ can excuse indifference to individual suffering. There is no test for progress
other than its impact on the individual” Aneurin Bevan, 1952 In Place of Fear.
“Shaun the Sheep” or “Selma”? A couple of weeks ago Isy and I decided to go to
the cinema. I must admit that with films so easily available on the TV this was a rare
treat. This was our choice in front of us – the latest crazy animal film from the
amazing animators Aardman (a proud product of my home town of Bristol) or a
movie about a crucial turning point in the struggle for civil rights in America. You
probably know the answer – we went to see Selma (on a promise to check in with
Shaun fantastic flock next time). I recommend Selma it is moving and important.
It is not hard to hold Martin Luther King up as a hero. It is clear what he stood for: “I
have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its
creed: ‘we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal’”.
These words are from his I have a dream speech in August 1963. When I hear his
words “Five score years ago......” as he draws on Abraham Lincoln’s incomplete
legacy standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial the hairs on the back of my neck
stand up.
We are drawn to people, to leaders, who are clear about what they stand for.
Readers of my blog since I started it in September 2011 will know of my admiration
for the founder of the NHS Aneurin Bevan and in particular his book “In Place of
Fear” (quoted above) where, after his key role in the foundation of the welfare state,
he set out his political philosophy. It is full of rich quotations which make his beliefs
and values clear to all.
For the sake of political balance I can quote another politician who was clear about
what she stood for too: “A man’s right to work as he will, to spend what he earns, to
own property, to have the State as servant and not as master: these are the British
inheritance...”. Many reading this will recognise the voice of Margaret Thatcher (1975
at the Conservative Party Conference).
In terms of politicians “you pays your money and you takes your choice!”
For many of us it is not the conventional politicians that attract our reverence it is the
likes of Ghandi, Luther-King and Mandela; all of whom we see as having risen above
the politics of everyday life.
This is what we are asked to do in NHS every day as we care for people in distress,
crisis and extreme need – it is what we do every day but for them it is not an
everyday situation. It is Bevan’s impact on the individual which, in the end, is
important.
When I joined the NHS in 1987 it was not because it was the highest paid career
available or the route to true power and influence it was because I believed in what
the NHS stood for – healthcare free at the point of delivery. This was a world where
my grandfather (who died in the same year I joined the NHS) could talk to me about
his experience of poverty and need in the great depression of 1930’s Birkenhead
before there was free care available from our NHS.
When we come to work to the trials and tribulations of today’s NHS it is sometimes
hard to remember what we and our organisation stand for. This is why I am
immensely proud of the work that has been done over the last year to develop a
clear set of value statements for ABMU. This was done not by me or by the Board in
a closed committee room. It was achieved by over 6,000 members of staff, patients,
carers and family members (of which I was just one). All involved were asked what
was good about the organisation and what was bad as they personally experienced
it. Crucially this led to a discussion involving over 600 people about what our values
should be for us as people who are part of an organisation working within the NHS in
a challenging 21st century context.
The values below were developed by many people and were presented to and
adopted by the Board in December 2014:
The most important thing in adopting these values is that they are not simply posters
which decorate our walls!
We need to use them as the foundation of everything we do. To recruit and develop
staff, to measure how well we are serving our patients and how we care for each
other. I am not naive; this is the start of something not the end of it – we have a long,
long way to go to truly reflect these values in everything we do as an organisation.
One thing that gives me hope and optimism is that when we went and asked a
number of front line staff about what these values meant to them and put some short
films together (for the launch) it was clear that these values, whilst they might not
have been written down in this way before, are being lived everyday all over our
organisation. They are not really new – it is just that we are stating them clearly for
the first time.
Over the next month we will be launching these values and on the intranet where
you can see details of the launch events. Please come to one of these events and
find out more.
I am happy to say publically that these values are what I stand for. Please join me.