11/07/2008 by Patrick Keady.

I was interviewed for the NHS60 celebrations that took place at Wembley Stadium on 1st July. The NHS60 - 1990’s - Managers interview was one of six, that were broadcast on Sky 168, as part of  the NHS Live Annual Conference. The six interviews were rebroadcast on Sky 167 in the days following the Conference. They are now streaming on the Department of Health YouTube channel. You can see the individual interviews by clicking on the appropriate link:

• 1940s - Before the NHS - Roy McIaney, John Taverner
• 1950s - Children - John Taverner
• 1960s - Nursing - Marie Jaswal, Olwen Al Bermani
• 1970s - GPs - Dr Pravin Shah
• 1980s - Paramedics - Doug Wisener, Dr Mohammed Akhtar
• 1990s - Managers - Patrick Keady, Olwen Al Bermani

Posted in Gas Street Works, Darzi, David Nicholson, Patrick Keady, Wembley, Safety, Patient, Governance, NHS, Health and | Print | No Comments »

11/06/2008 by Patrick Keady.

I was interviewed today. About what it was like to be an NHS manager in the 1990’s.

The interview was recorded. With just one day’s notice, preparing for the interview, was interesting. While I knew that there would be three people in the studio – interviewer, cameraman and me - I was aware that a lot more people were likely to see the video. This is when I thought …… oops, gulp, do I really want to participate in the interview! So I realised that I needed a plan. But what might it look like? Well after some thought, these are the actions that I came up with:

1. looking at the interviewer, not on the camera
2. dressing in NHS manager uniform ….. the suit
3. being aware of my posture
4. speaking more slowly than usual, so that I had more time to fully express my thoughts
5. predicting the likely questions that I might be asked
6. identifying the key messages that I wanted to get across about what it was like when I was an NHS manager in the 1990s
7. switching the mobile phone off, removing coins from my pockets and asking that the TV screen set was switched off, so that I could not see myself being interviewed
8. having examples prepared, so that my messages were personal to me
9. expecting the unexpected, flexibility would be a bonus
10. being an active participant - because the camera (and audience) would see everything - posture, energy, facial expression
11. taking a brisk walk beforehand - to get the adrenaline flowing

So did the plan work? While I haven’t seen the video, I was happy with how the interview was managed by the interviewer and cameraman. These guys clearly knew what they were doing. I will post a link on this blog, after the interview is broadcast.

Posted in Wembley, Gas Street Works, Patrick Keady, Safety, NHS, Health and, Patient, Governance, Personal Development | Print | No Comments »