This week’s leadership message comes from Helen Hirst, the Partnership Lead for Organisational Development

Hello, my name is Helen

Well, after what has felt like the longest notice period in history, I am finally on my way from Bradford District and Craven, from commissioning and from my career as an NHS manager. 

And what a journey it has been. I started working in the NHS 30 years ago in HR, although it wasn’t called that then! More recently it has been fantastic to lead the HR process for the NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board transition alongside Suzie Tilburn, Associate Director for HR and Organisation Development for the Partnership as one of my last pieces of work.   

Like many of my colleagues, I have lived through many NHS re-organisations with my employing organisation being abolished five times. Although for some people change is hard and not always welcomed, I have always enjoyed the opportunities it brings to re-focus and improve on what we aim to achieve for people’s health and wellbeing. 

I have been blessed to work with some fabulous colleagues from all health and care sectors over the years. They have inspired and motivated me with many being great role models who have influenced the development of my own leadership style. I have also worked with some (not many) who have been not such great role models. The learning from them has been just as powerful and in some cases more impactful. What I have learned most from the many people I have been privileged to work with over the years, is that people, communities, and their representatives always, without hesitation come first – regardless of their age, culture, or background. There is no substitute from hearing first-hand what it’s like to access care and services, to work in a team, and to experience challenges. I have always been reluctant to make decisions based purely on reports, graphs, and spreadsheets without a much greater understanding of people’s experiences. For me this has always come first.

Bradford District and Craven will always hold a big place in my heart. Apart from a couple of years on a national secondment in 2010 and a couple of ‘as well as Bradford’ jobs - one national and one in York - I am extremely proud to have spent my whole NHS career here. I wouldn’t have changed this for anything.

Bradford District and Craven is without doubt experiencing many challenges as are lots of places in the country. Yet as always, we pull together, aim high and try to overcome these from a learning lens, with a collective force to rise above and do the right thing for all who live here. What I have always found is that the people who live and work here are passionate and committed to making the area an even better place; to learn from each other; and to pull together when times are tough.

My Granny used to say that ‘when poverty comes through the window love goes out of the door’. I sincerely hope that this saying doesn't play out and that partnerships and relationships continue to strengthen in the tough times. With Bradford being the City of Culture in 2025 there is much to look forward to. I for one, can’t wait to see Bradford on the national stage in the positive light it richly deserves – celebrating all that makes the area a unique and special place to live and work. 

Over the last seven years I have been privileged to work with leaders in Bradford District and Craven and West Yorkshire to develop those partnerships and relationships into a working model that was ahead of its time, and which now mirrors the new national policy for integrated care systems. Supporting West Yorkshire’s development through the mental health, learning disabilities and autism, local place development and system leadership programmes has been a joy.  

Many colleagues tease me for my love of metaphors and analogies and, as a keen gardener, I hope I leave my Bradford District and Craven family with well dug soil, suitably fertilised and ready for them to plant the seeds of ambition for the next 30 years. We know how to do big change, we know how to scale up and spread learning. We need to apply those skills, that capability and confidence to the new challenges. We also have lots of brilliant gardeners (leaders and colleagues who deliver with care and compassion) and I am confident that they will do everything within their power to strive to deliver the best outcomes for the people of Bradford District and Craven. 

I wish I had seen us make greater inroads into health inequalities and there are some things I may have done differently if I had my time again, particularly around preventing ill health and early help – because the more work we all do here together the better life chances people have.

Overall though, I’m proud of what we achieved locally and I’m proud of the local partnership we have established with and for Bradford District and Craven communities. I am also very proud to have been part of the work we do together across West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership because everyone, no matter where they live deserves their very best start in life and every chance of living a long, happy, healthy one. I’m very much looking forward to the next part of the journey.

I am not going far. I have recently been appointed as the Chair of Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust.  I am very excited about the opportunities this role brings to contribute to care services and their development in Huddersfield and Halifax and throughout Kirklees and Calderdale. I am delighted to still be contributing to the NHS as a non-executive and in the place where I live. 

Thank you to everyone who has worked with me over the years.

Have a good weekend

Helen

All at the Partnership wish Helen the very best in the next phase of her life journey. We wish her the very best and are fortunate to know she will remain working with many colleagues in her new non-executive role.