A message from Shropdoc CEO Daniel Robinson

I will soon be marking three years since becoming Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Shropdoc - and it has been quite the baptism of fire!

Since I became CEO in the Autumn of 2019 there have been many unexpected challenges and I have had to approach and manage each challenge differently.

But throughout this time there has been one constant and that is our people, our team, to whom I wholeheartedly thank for all of the support to date. 

We also need to thank all of our patients who have been so patient and worked so well with Shropdoc and all of our team over the last few years.

For this first blog, I want to focus on looking to our future, however, I also felt it important to take some time to reflect on what has been such a challenging period for us all. 

The COVID19 pandemic

So much has happened since the start of the COVID19 Pandemic - we have adapted our personal and professional lives to living with the virus as well as the way in which we deliver services at Shropdoc but yet, in some sense, it still all feels very new.

As a team, we have learned so much but it continues to be challenging. Equally the support we have felt from our colleagues, our families, our patients and partners across the community has been amazing. 

Shropdoc has delivered uninterrupted, high-quality services to the patients and communities we serve over the last two years and beyond and our staff and GP Members should all be immensely proud of that achievement. 

Supporting our team and our patients

As an organisation, there are a number of different issues that are looming for us and these include our service performance and some of the measures we are taking to improve the current and forecast pressures. 

It will be no surprise to hear that the local health and care economy continues to face increased levels of patient demand, this combined with a wide range of complex national, regional and local system-wide issues is placing significant pressure on our services at Shropdoc to maintain the high levels of service and business performance that we and our patients are accustomed to. 

Our teams are working incredibly hard in often very difficult circumstances and we are doing all we can to try to relieve the pressures where possible. 

Organisational Culture 

At Shropdoc, we have launched a new set of values which will help us to be really clear with teams about where our Organisation is heading and what part they play. We have been working hard to make Shropdoc a better place to work and to build a career. 

Our people remain our greatest asset and are key in delivering high-quality care and enabling a prosperous future for the business, our patients and the community. 

Our strategic objectives focus on the importance of improving the retention of staff already working in the service. We have recently improved our pay offer and will continue to review and aim to offer competitive pay in line with the financial performance and affordability of the business. We are keenly focused on improving our corporate culture as demonstrated through the rollout of our updated mission, vision and values as well as the development of a behavioural framework. 

We are beginning to offer more opportunities for flexible and hybrid working, and embedding collective, compassionate and inclusive leadership starting at the top and creating a company culture and environment in which our staff want to work and build their careers.

Charitable work

At Shropdoc we believe in giving to worthy causes both within our local community and the wider world, through direct financial support or fundraising through events. 

We also provide one-off donations to charities as and when we are approached or a team member makes a request – for example, earlier this year we provided the British Red Cross with direct financial support for the amazing work they have done in Ukraine since the start of the crisis. 

This month, Shropdoc will be participating in the Severn Hospice Dragon Boat race in order to raise funds for the hospice, with whom we work closely.

Looking to the future

These past few years have been about doing things differently - both at work and in our personal lives. The next few years will carry on with that theme as we continue to transform and improve our services so that they are truly the best they can be for our patients. 

And that better future has already begun and we look forward to sharing more with you soon.

Improving outcomes for our communities

Shropdoc for 25 years has played a critical role in supporting changes in systems across England and Wales and contributing at a system level to plan and transform services and improve system performance.

In essence, there is a real expectation that we look beyond our organisational priorities to focus on system-wide objectives and improving outcomes for the communities we serve. 

The formal establishment of our local Integrated Care System brings into sharp focus the requirement for Shropdoc to build further and strengthen the long-standing relationships we have with our system-wide partners and ensure that Shropdoc continues to hold a central role within the emerging NHS arrangements with local partners and a shared duty to promote the triple aim of better health, better care and lower cost. 

A final thank you

Finally, I would like to thank all of our colleagues who continue to demonstrate the company values and whose contributions ensure that we maintain a good level of service to our patients during an incredibly busy period, whilst we focus on getting the support and investment into the business for a better future. 

Daniel Robinson                                                                                          

Chief Executive Officer

Shropshire Doctors Co-Operative Ltd