In the footsteps of … by @poppletonp
Filling the shoes
It’s been an interesting week and an exciting one for me personally. 
On Tuesday I was appointed as Interim Nurse Director tasked with the job of filling Fiona McQueen’s shoes while she’s on secondment as Interim Chief Nursing Officer. For those who don’t know me, my background is in public health and community nursing and I’ve been the Associate Nurse Director for Primary Care and latterly Partnerships for the past five years.
My appointment came the day after the publication of the Vale of Level enquiry which will I’m sure shape much of the work we need to do during the six months of my secondment.
Without grandparents at Christmas.
On Monday evening I read the report and watched the accounts from affected families on the news. It was the wish of one relative in particular that no children should be without a grandparent at Christmas, as her were, due to poor standards in the very place that people go to for care. 
Much has changed since the outbreak which has vastly reduced the prevalence of” C Diff” in our hospitals including better monitoring and prescribing. I learned at Tuesday’s Infection Control Committee that we still need to remain vigilant with our use of antibiotics to get the rate down even further and prevent another rise.
A key feature of the report was standards of nursing care in the hospital including the fundamental aspects of care that, as Fiona has shared in the past, can remain even now in some areas and for some patients stubbornly difficult to change. The report cited a “catalogue of failures” some of which I see reflected still in complaints and inspections. A key challenge for me, the senior nursing team and the nurses on the wards and in our communities will be to ensure that all people coming into our services receive the right care first time. Work has been underway to achieve this and in most cases with most patients staff do a good job. None of us however would want to see another family without a loved one at Christmas because of poor care.
Person centred care
Wednesday and a meeting with John Burns our Chief Executive to discuss priorities in my new role – which will start today!!!. Needless to say the focus will remain as it has been under Fiona’s leadership on ensuring that people receive high quality, person centred and above all safe care. My big challenge in the next few days will be to cover my current role in the evolving Health and Social Care Partnerships to allow me to focus on the learning curve in my new one.
On Thursday afternoon I attended the South Ayrshire shadow integration board for a development session focusing on inequalities. Public Health colleagues highlighted the effect of inequalities on health and focused our thinking as a Board on what contributions partnerships could make to alleviate the effects. I left invigorated and enthused about the potential that Health and Social Care Partnerships have to improve the lives of the whole community and in particular those who are marginalised by poverty, addiction or increasingly by frailty and loneliness.
Need for consistent high standards
Friday and my first meeting with the other Executive Nurse Directors from across Scotland. Again the Vale report and the need for consistent high standards of care were central to discussions as was the formation of Health and social Care Partnerships. 
Reassuringly for me personally in my new role and for Nursing in Scotland Nurse Directors are committed to working together on these areas.
We discussed what could be done and what is already in progress across Scotland to support nurses and ultimately patients. Again I left full of enthusiasm for my new start next week.
Blogging
Now for the future- or the next few months at least- we’ve agreed that the Associate Nurse Directors will each share our thoughts and experiences in the weekly blog while Fiona and I both find our feet in our new roles. 
For me this will start first thing Monday morning with a meeting of the Health Board, becoming it seems a tradition on directors’ first days in role.
I look forward to an exciting and challenging time ahead in the knowledge that I am and have been supported by my senior Nursing and Director Colleagues and by all of our front line staff who strive every day to provide high quality care. After all-
“The power of one, if fearless and focused, is formidable, but the power of many working together is better.”
This week’s blog was by Ann Gow (@poppletonp), Interim Nurse Director, NHS Ayrshire & Arran
Fiona C McQueen 