Child health inequalities part 2 - interviews with two quality improvement projects
Release Date: 05/09/2023
Leading the Way 10: Leading through advocacy and collaboration, with Dr Kay Tyerman
RCPCH Podcasts
How can we be firm, fair, and tenacious in standing up for our teams and those we serve? In this episode, Dr Jonathan Darling, RCPCH Vice President for Education and Professional Development, speaks with Dr Kay Tyerman, a paediatric nephrologist. Kay’s approach to leadership is rooted in advocacy and collaboration, qualities that are essential in shaping effective health systems. Kay and Jonathan talk about how hard knowledge has helped her build a valid argument to invest in child health, how she’s been encouraged by a simple thank you, and how she’s learned when to hand over a role to...
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Leading the way 9: Compassionate leadership in challenging times, with Will Clement
RCPCH Podcasts
We are working in a period of sustained challenge. Many colleagues across the health system are stretched, fatigued and, in some cases, bordering on burnout. In this episode, Will Clement, a leadership consultant, executive coach and facilitator who has worked across the NHS and with RCPCH, tell us how compassionate leadership offers more than kindness; it delivers measurable improvements in wellbeing, team cohesion and outcomes. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast relates only to the speaker and not necessarily to their employer, organisation, RCPCH or any other...
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Leading the way 8: Strategic leadership in safeguarding, with Dr Vicki Walker
RCPCH Podcasts
All child health professionals, no matter their role, must have knowledge and skills in safeguarding. As a designated doctor in child protection, Vicki has particular leadership experience in this area and has recently led the redevelopment of intercollegiate competencies for safeguarding and children in care. Vicki speaks with host Dr Jonathan Darling about her career, which often took an unconventional path; she worked as a teaching fellow, got involved with the RCPCH trainees’ committee and became head of service of a growing community paediatrics team. Leadership often starts with saying...
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Leading the way 7: Stepping up when opportunities arise, with Professor Steve Turner
RCPCH Podcasts
Failure, Steve tells us, is a good teacher, and when you get involved in leadership, expect to make mistakes (and learn from them). In this episode of our monthly series of leadership conversations, Dr Jonathan Darling, RCPCH VP for Education and Professional Development, speaks with Steve about how his academic and leadership roles evolved, starting with a thin CV and stepping up as opportunities arose. He became involved in child health research, first in small groups, and then collaborating with colleagues across the UK and globe. His route to RCPCH President began with other College roles,...
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Leading the way 6: Helping others thrive, with Dr Jonathan Darling
RCPCH Podcasts
This month, it's our usual podcast host Jonathan in the spotlight! He's interviewed by Arnab Seal, who featured in our previous episode. How to pinpoint the start of Jonathan’s leadership journey? Perhaps when he was a senior registrar and helped set up a junior doctors' committee to come up with realistic proposals to resolve some of the things that weren't working as well as they could - like rotas. "That was leadership, but I didn't really realise it at the time," he says, "I was just doing what I felt needed to be done to make a difference." It's a reminder that leadership often...
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Leading the way 5: Dreaming big, with Dr Arnab Seal
RCPCH Podcasts
Arnab's story is ambitious and inspiring: he helped establish a new hospital and introduced a pioneering approach to healthcare in India. That's not something many of us can say we've done. What dreams do we hold, and how can we create space to pursue them? In the fifth episode of 'Leading the way', our monthly series of leadership conversations, Dr Jonathan Darling, RCPCH Vice President for Education and Training, speaks with Dr Arnab Seal, a retired paediatrician in Leeds who worked in both general and community paediatrics (as he loved doing both). His special area of interest is...
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Leading the way: Layers of learning, with Dr Dal Hothi
RCPCH Podcasts
What's at the heart of leadership? For Dal, it's about being authentic - to be self-aware and grounded in our values. But it's also about learning to be vulnerable - to admit when we don’t have the answers and to let go of our “armour”. It’s not easy, but it’s powerful. In the fourth episode of 'Leading the way', our monthly series of leadership conversations, Dr Jonathan Darling, RCPCH Vice President for Education and Training, speaks with Dr Dal Hothi, consultant paediatric nephrologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London and recent Officer for Lifelong...
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Leading the way: Seizing opportunities as a resident doctor, with Dr Josh Hodgson
RCPCH Podcasts
Josh’s story began with a simple but powerful moment—he took an opportunity that came his way. In the third episode of 'Leading the way', our monthly series of leadership conversations, Dr Jonathan Darling, RCPCH Vice President for Education and Training, speaks with Dr Josh Hodgson, new Chair of the Trainee Committee about his journey into leadership. They consider how leadership so often starts with recognising the right opportunity and having the courage to take it. Leadership development doesn't have to be formal, and finding mentors and taking time for reflection can be just as...
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Leading the way: Bloom where you grow, with Dr Emma Dyer
RCPCH Podcasts
Step out of your comfort zone, encourage others, simply show up with integrity... leadership doesn’t always mean taking centre stage. In this second episode of 'Leading the way', our monthly series of leadership conversations, by Dr Jonathan Darling, RCPCH Vice President for Education and Training, speaks with Dr Emma Dyer as she completes her tenure as Trainee Committee Chair. Emma used to think of leaders as charismatic, sociable, the ones who always put their hands up in a meeting. But as an introvert, she's brought her own way of being an effective - and collaborative - leader to the...
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Leading the way: Finding joy in leadership, with Dr Simon Broughton
RCPCH Podcasts
Leadership isn’t about titles - it’s about action, passion and impact. And it's for everyone working in child health. From clinical academia to national leadership in education and training... Dr Simon Broughton, General Paediatrician and RCPCH Officer for Recruitment, shares how mentorship, joy in work and early succession planning have shaped his career. This is our first episode in 'Leading the way', our monthly series of leadership conversations, hosted by Dr Jonathan Darling, RCPCH Vice President for Education and Training. The views, thoughts and opinions...
info_outlineWe hear from two teams doing innovative work to better understand the impact of poverty on children and young people’s health, and design NHS services that provide targeted support for families.
RCPCH Officer for Health Improvement Dr Helen Stewart interviews the two teams.
First, two trainee paediatricians in Belfast, Dr Naomi Kirk and Dr Anne-Marie McLean, tell Helen about their observational study. This looked at the effects of the cost-of-living crisis on the home and social environment and the health of primary school-aged children in Northern Ireland.
- "We really wanted to identify which children and families are most vulnerable to poor health due to financial strain in the hope that we could then raise awareness and offer support."
Next is a team in Birmingham that's put child health care services right in the heart of the community – to better access the families who need support most. Dr Fran Dutton, a General Practitioner, and Dr Caroline Wolhuter. Head of Innovation, Impact and Early Help at GreenSquareAccord, a national housing and care provider, explain how they have introduced health promotion at every opportunity, liaising with multidisciplinary health professionals and local community services.
- "Think about health promotion in whichever department you're in, be that the community or in the hospital. Think about the experience for the family...Do you offer them a solution?... We need to be helping families access the support that is there for them."
Interested in learning more about child health inequalities? Take a look at the College’s toolkit. This includes advice on how to run your own quality improvement project around the topic, as well as speaking with families about poverty and doing advocacy at a local level. You’ll also find more written case studies.
Download full transcript (PDF)
Summary
00:00 Start and introduction from Helen
02:02 Understanding the effecs of the cost-of-living crisis on primary school children in Belfast - interview with Naomi and Anne-Marie
16:24 Putting child health care services in the heart of this Birmingham community - interview with Fran and Caroline
37:31 Concluding remarks and how to learn more about child health inequalities
Contacts for our speakers
Naomi and Anne-Marie's study:
- Naomi's email: nkirk04@qub.ac.uk
- Anne-Marie's email: a.mcclean@qub.ac.uk
Fran and Caroline's project:
- Twitter: @SparkbrookCZ
- Email: nhsbsolicb.sparkbrookchildrenszone@nhs.net