My working life has radically changed since I moved to the NHS from industry in 2017. The main difference has been governance, but also the standard of work and ensuring everything is done in the right manner, complying with the NHS financial framework.
Our organisation is a provider of healthcare across different localities in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. Our board comprises elected clinical directors (local GPs), and me as the executive director of the company. I meet with our chief officer and board advisers regularly. Within the operational management team, I work with the finance manager and the senior service manager. I have six direct reports, and a corporate team of 15 that reports to me indirectly. We have a total of 140 members of clinical and administrative staff on our payroll, in addition to 70 doctors working on various projects.
We are constantly in the process of planning for the next months and years, considering how our services can transform into something different and perhaps bigger and more impactful. During the pandemic we had to begin working from home arrangements. We have a very low tolerance for risk in the healthcare sector, so everyone previously was working from the office. The main challenge was to co-ordinate the newly set up clinical services remotely and ensure everyone was given the right level of support to deliver the desired quality of service.
Everything is last minute, but we know that we have to live with that
Every service responding to Covid-19 had to be mobilised very fast, including some of the very high-risk services. We have to be quick on our feet – for example, with the procurement of PPE and development of clinical pathways and updated SOPs [standard operating procedures].
Since November we have been leading the vaccination delivery programme in Waltham Forest. Everything is last minute, but we know that we have to live with that and ensure top-quality service delivery. I have had a couple of days off since the beginning of December, but some of my colleagues have only had Christmas Day off.
Before coming into the NHS, I worked for Westgate EFI, one of the UK’s biggest equestrian wholesalers. I had an interest in healthcare since my childhood. A lot of my family members are healthcare professionals, so I have always admired this sector. I knew I had transferable skills and I could deliver excellent value for public money. It makes me part of something good. It is greatly satisfying.
My advice to a young accountant would be to make sure they are technically competent. It is very important for an accountant beginning their career and is something that stays with you – it becomes an attitude. You then bring that attitude into your professional life and that always helps you. That attention to detail is what an accountancy career is all about.
My parents are my inspiration and they have taught me to always work to a high standard. I am passionate about learning and whenever I work on a project I make sure I learn as much as I can and that somebody else is learning that process with me. I talk with pride of people who were part of my team and how they have transformed into good accountancy professionals for their organisation. I am currently encouraging two of my colleagues to start the ACCA Qualification.
Away from work I passionately follow cricket. Most of my time is spent with family and friends. I have children who are eight, five and two. In normal times I travel to Faisalabad in Pakistan to see my family there a couple of times a year.
