Heartbeat July 2018

Fiona says goodbye after 20 years as
part of the SWBH family
PRIMARY CARE, COMMUNITIES
AND THERAPIES
Fiona Shorney retired from full
time work at the end of last month,
after serving in the combined role
as group director, group director of
operations and director of therapies
over the last few years.
Fiona, who is a physiotherapist by trade,
graduated 40 years ago in 1978 and her
first role was in Poole, Dorset, before
she moved to the midlands in 1980.
She worked for University Hospitals
Birmingham and Dudley Group NHS
Trusts before she arrived at Dudley Road
Hospital in 1998.
Fiona told Heartbeat: “I initially joined
the Trust as a short term locum, but I
have just never left!
“I started as a physio in acute medicine
on the City site and I worked my way
up the ladder to become associate
director of therapies, which then sat
within corporate nursing. Shortly after
Toby Lewis arrived as chief executive,
Sandwell community services formally
transferred in to the Trust and that’s
when the community and therapies
clinical group was first established in
October 2013.”
Fiona took on a hybrid role as clinical
group director incorporating the therapy
lead, group director of operations and
group director.
She said: “Since then, the group
has grown considerably with the
introduction of palliative care services and
in April 2017 the group’s name changed
to primary care, community and therapies
to reflect a number of community facing
medical specialties joining us. These services
included dermatology, rheumatology,
diabetes and endocrinology and the medical
infusion unit.
“We now have just under 1,000 members
of the PCCT, which is double the size of
what we had when we started!”
After so many years at our organisation,
Fiona has many memories and proud
moments, but what are the ones that really
stick in her mind?
“What a hard question!” she said.
“It has been fantastic to be involved in such
an amazing journey with the successful
integration of so many diverse community
services with acute and the creation of a
high performing clinical group which has
continued to grow and develop colleagues.
There is still much to do but I think we’ve
made a great start and I have been
fortunate to have an amazing senior team
and worked with some incredibly talented
and committed people across the whole of
PCCT and the wider organisation.
“Like most jobs, it’s not what you know but
who you know and I have been fortunate to
have built a valuable network of friends and
contacts across lots of teams and services,
it’s these people that I will miss the most!
“I think my stand-out highlights are being
involved with the outstanding rating the
CQC being awarded for end of life care in
2017 – although it is the team itself that
deserves the real credit, and being awarded
the Chairman’s award at the Star Awards
last year, it was a real honour!
So what are Fiona’s plans for her
retirement?
She said: “Well, initially I am carrying
on for two days a week in the group
director capacity until the group director of
operations post is recruited to. I will be less
operational but offer some support to the
wider leadership team and locally to Lydia
Jones (Director of Therapies) and Nicola
Taylor (Interim Group Director of Nursing)
who are both new to their roles.
“I won’t be staying long term, but I’d like
to handover to my successor properly and
support the team until it’s the right time to
step away.”
Fiona does however have a few things on
the horizon for the time she isn’t at work.
She told Heartbeat: “My husband and
I need to find a new home so I’m sure
house hunting will take up a lot of my time
initially. I’m also investigating becoming
a puppy-walker for hearing dogs so I’m
looking forward to that becoming a reality.
“It will also be really great to spend more
time with my family. I couldn’t have done
my job without their support - these jobs
are big and busy and you work some
long hours, but they have been incredibly
tolerant with me for a long time so I’m
looking forward to spending some quality
time with them.
“After that who knows?
“I plan to just take a step back for a while
and see what comes my way.”
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Fiona is presented with flowers by Chief Operating Officer, Rachel Barlow (left) and Group Director of Nursing, Nicola Taylor (right)