Wild Card - Whose Shoes?

In this powerful and deeply human conversation, Gill Phillips is joined by Lindsey Douglas – parent carer, advocate and DMI trainer at Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.Lindsey speaks with honesty and warmth about family life with her son Grayson, who is autistic, has a severe learning disability and complex needs, and about the journey from crisis and exhaustion to greater understanding, support and hope. She shares what it means to look beyond behaviour, to ask what sits underneath it, and to recognise behaviour as communication.The episode explores the value of curiosity, the importance of understanding unmet need, and the difference genuine lived experience can make when it is welcomed into the workforce in meaningful ways rather than as a tick-box exercise.Gill and Lindsey also reflect on the award-winning #CYPWhoseShoes work with Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, the development of new Whose Shoes? resources around supporting children and young people, and specifically those with SEND and neurodivergence, and how Staffordshire partners used these conversations to help shape their SEND strategy.This is a rich conversation about co-production, trust, family life, young carers, practical support, and the power of bringing parent carers and professionals together in ways that build understanding rather than blame.🍋💡🍋 Lemon Lightbulbs from this episode 💡 A child who seems like a “dream baby” may actually be missing early interaction and communication cues.💡 Behaviour is not “bad behaviour” to be controlled. It is often communication of distress, pain or unmet need.💡 Curiosity changes everything. Instead of asking “How do we stop this?”, ask “What is this telling us?”💡 Diagnostic overshadowing is dangerous. Not everything is about neurodivergence; sometimes a child is simply in pain.💡 Parent carers are often managing extreme risk at home without the training professionals receive.💡 Lived experience can break down barriers fast, because trust grows when people feel truly understood.💡 Co-production is not asking people to comment on a finished plan. It means shaping it together from the start.💡 Whose Shoes? works because the cards create safer, less confrontational conversations about difficult issues.💡 Supporting one child well means supporting the whole family, including siblings and young carers.💡 Sometimes the bravest family decision is to choose peace over social expectations.We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

What does hospice care really look like?What if hospice care isn't about the end of life - but about helping people live well for as long as possible?In this special Podcasthon episode of Wild Card – Whose Shoes?, Gill Phillips visits The Myton Hospices in Warwick and brings together the voices of staff, volunteers, families and community supporters who make the hospice what it is.Podcasthon is a global initiative bringing together thousands of podcasts around the world for one week each year, all dedicating an episode to a charity they care about. The aim is simple: to use the power of podcasting to raise awareness, spark conversations and support organisations doing vital work in their communities.Totally aligned to 'Whose Shoes?' values.For Gill, choosing Myton was easy.Gill's own mum died there in 2017, and the experience further shaped her understanding of what compassionate care really means.In this episode you’ll hear from Olivia, a registered nurse and Community Engagement Manager, Julie, Senior Staff Nurse, Kay, a Telephone Support Volunteer and volunteer Receptionist, Anil, Head of Retail, Holly, Director of Marketing and Communications - and members of the wider community who support Myton in different ways. Along the way, we discover how hospice care often begins much earlier than people expect. We hear about small moments that make a huge difference for families, from late-night conversations to Prosecco parties, beach days and even a virtual trip to the Grand Canyon.This episode is about the whole community - we can all play a part.Because The Myton Hospices isn’t just a place.  It’s a network of human kindness. And perhaps most importantly, it reminds us that hospice care is not only about dying well – but about living well for as long as possible.🍋💡🍋Lemon Lightbulbs💡 Hospice care often starts much earlier than people expect – early support can transform people’s experience💡 Supporting carers helps patients too – helping someone become a daughter or husband again, not just a carer💡 A hospice isn’t defined by medical tasks – it’s the human moments people remember forever💡 Creativity makes a difference: motorbikes, beach days and even virtual visits to the Grand Canyon.💡 Volunteers are often the first friendly voice people hear – and sometimes the one they recognise instantly.💡 Community support comes in many forms: shops, events, legacies, and organisations finding their own ways to help.💡 Hospice care is truly holistic – caring for the whole person and the people around them.💡 Many families say: “We wish we’d known about hospice support sooner.”💡 When care is compassionate and personal, it can shape not only a good death – but a good bereavement.LINKSWelcome to The Myton HospicesIf you enjoy this episode, please share it as part of Podcasthon, helping more people discover the crucial work of hospices. We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Wild Card - Whose Shoes? Podcast | Mike Nicholson: Progressive Masculinity (and why boys do want to talk)What if the real issue isn’t that boys don’t talk - but that we rarely create spaces where they feel safe enough to?In this episode, I’m joined by Mike Nicholson, former English teacher and founder of Progressive Masculinity. I first heard Mike speak at an education conference in Wolverhampton organised by Sarah Milne, and his session stayed with me long afterwards - especially the powerful “mask” exercise exploring how young men feel they must appear versus how they really feel.Drawing on nearly two decades in the classroom, Mike shares what he saw: thoughtful, capable boys quietly limiting themselves to fit narrow expectations of masculinity - and what changed when they were simply given permission to talk.We explore:Why the idea that boys don’t talk is a mythThe impact of safe, non-judgemental spacesEarly intervention and “upstream” preventionOnline rabbit holes and algorithm-driven risksHelping boys decide what kind of men they want to becomeA values-led approach to confidence, identity and belongingThere are strong echoes here of my #CYPWhoseShoes work - listening deeply, understanding different perspectives, and recognising that real change is often felt before it can ever be measured.🎧 If you have boys or young men in your life - as parents, teachers, grandparents or colleagues - this conversation is well worth a listen.🍋💡🍋 Lemon Lightbulbs from this episodeBoys don’t avoid talking - they avoid judgement.The gap between the “outside mask” and inside feelings is often huge.Prevention starts with belonging, not behaviour management.Algorithms can take curiosity to harmful places faster than adults realise.Listening with young people changes everything.Some of the most important outcomes can’t be captured on a spreadsheet.If we remove unhealthy spaces, we must create healthier ones.Values help young people navigate peer pressure.Supporting boys and empowering girls are not opposing goals.There isn’t one way to be a man - only the freedom to become yourself.LinksProgressive MasculinityWhose Shoes?Our #CYPWhoseShoes projectMen and boys' champions#WhoseShoes #WildCardWhoseShoes #CYPWhoseShoes #Belonging #Education #MentalHealth #EarlyInterventionWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

🎙️ This episode was recorded jointly with the So, Who Cares Anyway? podcast, hosted by Ruth Germaine.In this warm, wide-ranging episode, I’m chatting to fellow podcaster and Darzi alumna Ruth Germaine to explore what it really takes to tackle healthcare’s “wicked problems” through coproduction.A powerful invitation to think differently.Drawing on our shared roots in the Darzi Fellowship network, we reflect on why lived experience, curiosity and relationship-building matter far more than tick-boxes and tidy solutions.I share my journey from social care and local government, through cancer, to creating Whose Shoes?® - a deceptively simple, colourful board-game approach that opens up honest conversations between people, professionals and those in positions of power. Along the way, we explore the power of poetry, the beach-ball metaphor, and why Whose Shoes scenarios are so open-ended – the discussion will be the one YOU need to have.Our conversation ranges from maternity services in Buckinghamshire to SEND roadshows and a neonatal unit in Liverpool, illustrating how ‘planting seeds’ can lead to outcomes no one could predict at the start.We also reflect on the challenge of evidencing impact, the limits of KPIs, and a Whose Shoes hallmark: the pledge - small or bold actions, taken from the heart. #NoHierarchyJustPeopleThis is an episode about creativity, courage, and the quiet magic that happens when people feel truly heard.🍋💡 🍋 Lemon LightbulbsCo-production isn’t a method - it’s a mindset If people don’t genuinely feel valued and listened to, no tool will save you.The answers are in the room Real change starts with free-flowing conversations, not a prescriptive agendaYou can promise something will happen - just not what That uncertainty isn’t a flaw; it’s the essence of true co-productionPeople see through tick-box listening instantly You can’t fake curiosity or shortcut trustCreativity creates capacity - even when time is tight Fun, colour and poetry don’t distract from serious work; they unlock itRipples to ... IMPACT! A conversation can lead — unexpectedly — to things as big as a new neonatal unitJust because it's countable, doesn't mean it's what matters most What matters most (trust, insight, confidence, connection) rarely fits a KPIThe best change work draws people in When it’s real, people text friends: “Get down here — this is different.”Pledges work because they’re personal Small actions “from the heart” beat grand strategiesLearning happens with people, not to them Networks for learning together generally beat programmes and coursesLINKSSo, Who Cares Anyway? Podcast by Ruth GermaineWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

🎄🎧 A bit of a Christmas cracker (with maverick music included) A conversation full of humanity.In this Wild Card – Whose Shoes episode, Gill Phillips chats with Maff Potts, founder of the Camarados movement and creator of Public Living Rooms - simple, welcoming spaces where people can put their feet up, enjoy no-agenda company, and look out for each other.No labels. No tick boxes. No “fixing”. Just people. Maff brings stories (and piano!) from his journey: from working in homelessness, to advising government, and very intentionally returning to grassroots connection, where real change happens. Together we explore why kindness, laughter, and belonging aren’t “nice extras” - they’re essential.🍋💡🍋 Lemon lightbulbs🍋 “Where would you put the KPI for this?” The case for humanity, music and improvisation over metrics.🍋 Public Living Rooms = connection + purpose (without needing a “service” or a diagnosis).🍋 Permission to be a bit rubbish - and why failure/iteration can be a superpower (England vs Silicon Valley!).🍋 A powerful example of language changing everything: when “Put your feet up” became “It’s time to talk #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek”… footfall dropped from 1000 people to 40.🍋 The “how” matters: how we welcome, speak, listen, and create environments that help people feel human.If you’ve ever felt weary of spreadsheets, assessments, and VIP top tables … this episode is for you. #NoHierarchyJustPeople🫖 Want to start a Public Living Room? Find out more at camarados.org (and you might just receive a beautiful permission-giving box to get you going). #JFDI Happy Christmas everyone! Links:Home - Camerados“It takes a village” We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Amelia Wilkinson: Living (and parenting) with Type 1 diabetes - beyond the dataPublished on 14 November (World Diabetes Day), this conversation lifts the lid on what most of us miss about Type 1 diabetes - the mental load, the masking, and the trauma that doesn’t show up on a glucose graph.Podcast host Gill Phillips talks with Amelia Wilkinson, diagnosed at 10 and now a mum, about growing up through school exclusions and assumptions. Topics include why behaviour is communication, navigating a high-risk pregnancy, and the power - and limits - of technology. Amelia calls for two big shifts: train the adults around children with Type 1 (teachers, carers, clinicians) to spot the emotional tollAND separate Type 1 and Type 2 awareness, so misconceptions stop harming care.🍋💡🍋 Lemon lightbulbs🍋 Type 1 ≠ Type 2: why the confusion hurts🍋 Grief for a ‘former self’ and the hidden mental health toll🍋 School stories: control, freedom-seeking, and being labelled ‘naughty’🍋 Pregnancy with Type 1: what it really took for Amelia to have her daughter🍋 Masking, peer support, and life beyond the data🍋 Don’t make assumptions – ask how the person is doing, including mental health🍋 Train the grown-ups!🍋 Separate the awareness days!If you work with children and families- or love someone with Type 1 - this one’s for you.LinksType 1 Diabetes: The Comic Book Stories (courtesy of FAB Fab NHS Stuff)World Diabetes DayOverview of Whose ShoesWild Card - Whose Shoes podcast with Aurora Thompson💛 #WorldDiabetesDay #Type1Diabetes #NoHierarchyJustPeople #WhoseShoes #WildCardWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

In this powerful episode of Wild Card  -Whose Shoes?, Gill Phillips talks with Aurora Thompson - a remarkable young woman whose story of trauma, survival, and resilience will stop you in your tracks.Aurora shares her lived experience of abuse,, bullying, mental health crises, and being sectioned as a teenager. She talks about her diagnosis with autism and what difference it has made.But at the heart of her journey is a message of hope: a force she breaks down into four vital elements — connection, love, opportunity, and purpose.🍋 All behaviour is communication - don’t judge, listen.🍋 How is it okay to restrain but not hug?🍋 The cost (emotional and financial) of crisis care versus the value of early intervention🍋 The role of “golden people” — those rare professionals who bring honesty, humour, and humanity🍋 From despair to purpose: how a photo of a therapy dog sparked hope, and how participation work with Barnardo’s became a lifeline🍋 “Aim for the stars and you might just land near the moon” - Aurora’s call to dream big.We also explore diagnostic overshadowing, the importance of holistic care, and why systems must stop lazily labelling children as “complex” and start seeing them as whole people.Aurora is now studying philosophy, working with young people, and speaking out with passion and clarity to help change the system for those who come after her. Her voice is brave, authentic, and unforgettable.🎧 Listen in for a story that is painful, inspiring, and ultimately hopeful - and perhaps take away your own lemon lightbulb or two. 🍋💡🍋We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

🎙️ Wild Card – Whose Shoes? with Gill Phillips Episode: An #IntentionalCoffee with Dr Ben AllenIn this episode, Gill Phillips speaks for the very first time with Dr Ben Allen - transformative GP, former ICB leader, and curious explorer of how the NHS can work better for staff, patients, and communities.Ben and Gill have connected through LinkedIn where Ben describes himself as: "GP, NHS leader, convener and innovator. Releasing potential, creating joyful and effective teams. Supporting large scale improvement."On the podcast, Ben shares his bold decision to step away from a formal leadership role to pursue a two-year “personal learning experiment” - visiting teams, shadowing people across the NHS and beyond, and testing new ways of connecting, leading, and learning.✨ Ben and Gill dive into:Building trust and psychological safety in teams.Why creativity (perhaps a RAP or a ball of wool!) can shift culture.The power of connections and ripples in complex systems.How social media can be more than noise - a space for learning, challenge, and collaboration.The hope found in unlocking the untapped potential of human beings.It’s a rich, hopeful, and energising conversation about leadership, curiosity, and finding new ways to make change happen.🍋💡🍋 Lemon lightbulbs🍋 “Make everything work harder” – capture, share, and amplify learning so others can benefit.🍋 Psychological safety is built when we stretch people’s vulnerability just enough – trust grows through human connection.🍋 Creativity in healthcare (a poem, a musical, a ball of wool!) can feel radical because our systems are so rigid – yet these moments are what people remember.🍋 Impact in complex systems is messy and hard to measure – but ripples matter.🍋 Relationships are as vital as evidence; systems are only as strong as their connections.🍋 Social media isn’t just a hobby – it’s an underused engine for ideas, learning, and collaboration.🍋 Hope comes from recognising untapped potential in people and organisations – not just from more money or resources.🍋 Stepping out of your comfort zone to explore and learn can bring rich rewards.Useful linksFind out more about #CYPWhoseShoes: 'Whose News?' Edition 14 BRAND NEW - The #CYPWhoseShoes story so far, told with a ball of string! Ben's Youtube channel#MatExp the MusicalListen to the episodes around #UniversalHealthcare (Episodes 56-62) - explore further some of the issues and people mentioned in this conversation:56. Becky Malby – Universal Healthcarehttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1838805/15239449 57. Tom Holliday - Children get lesshttps:We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

🎙 “You’re amazing!” But what if hearing that doesn’t feel amazing at all?In this powerful and deeply moving episode, Gill Phillips meets awesome Benedicte Symcox – parent carer, founder of Tugboat SEND Navigation, and passionate advocate for children and adults with complex needs.Benedicte’s story is breathtaking. From the moment they met at Yvonne Newbold’s wedding (!), Gill and Benedicte struck up an instant connection – and this podcast brings it to life. With wisdom, humour, brutal honesty, and astonishing lived experience, Benedicte takes us on a journey through parenting three very different children – each with their own profound challenges and triumphs.🎧 Expect to hear:The rollercoaster of navigating health, education, and social care systemsTeenage mental health, neurodiversity, and diagnostic overshadowingRaw conversations about suicide, resilience, and “extreme parenting”How Benedicte’s lived experience powers her work supporting other families through TugboatWhy kindness, curiosity and valuing every life are non-negotiables in a broken systemThis episode goes live in #CoProductionWeek - the week that  #MPFTWhoseShoes, the extraordinary Whose Shoes journey to better support children and families, is showcased in Staffordshire.With her signature wit and passion, Benedicte reminds us why real voices matter.This is one for the ninja parents, the professionals trying to do better, and anyone who wants to understand what truly matters.🍋💡🍋 Lemon lightbulbs🍋 Every life matters – regardless of age, ability, or achievements. 🍋 Stay curious, be kind 🍋 No one’s coming to save you – a tough truth from Yvonne Newbold that hits hard but empowers families to take action🍋 Value doesn't come from capability – our culture must stop measuring people’s worth by what they can do or produce🍋 You can't fix what you don't truly see – honest, raw stories like Benedicte’s open eyes and hearts🍋 Children with complex needs are not always ‘inspirational’—they’re human.They get stroppy, funny, scared, brilliant... just like any child🍋 Diagnostic overshadowing destroys lives – assuming one label explains everything leads to devastating gaps in support🍋 We need to talk about suicide – actually talk about it – no euphemisms, no sidestepping. Say the word. Save lives.🍋 Professionals are often also parent carers : dual perspective🍋 Honesty matters more than heroics – saying “this is hard” is more powerful than pretending to cope🍋 Sometimes kindness means saying uncomfortable things 🍋 Honest conversations are vital – especially around 'taboo' topics : sex, disability, parenting, mental health🍋 Parenting doesn’t come with guarantees – ‘success’ can mean just surviving another day🍋 Systems should support families, not punish them – blaming parents, gatekeeping support, and making people fight for help is not acceptable.🍋 Hope lives in connection – whether through a podcast, a wedding, or a kindness conversation, real change starts with human storiesLinksWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

🎙 Episode 67: Dulcie Matthews and Dorothy Hall – Hope, Resilience, and the Spirit of CoventryThis very special VE Day episode of Wild Card – Whose Shoes? is a real treat. 🕊️Join me, Gill Phillips, as I welcome two extraordinary women: Dorothy Hall, familiar to listeners from Episode 64, and her equally inspirational friend Dulcie Matthews, aged 88.Dulcie grew up in wartime Coventry, and shares her moving memories of a city scarred by bombs but brimming with resilience. Her evocative memoir From Paradise to Eden brings the 1940s vividly to life — and today, she brings that world to us through her words, wit, and warmth. 🌸In a beautifully candid conversation, Dulcie and Dorothy reflect on ageing, creativity, and retaining a sense of identity and purpose when society would often rather render older people invisible. ✨ From Dulcie’s lockdown poems and fairy tales for her great-granddaughter to their joyful adventures searching for "fairy doors," this episode is packed with wisdom, hope, and humour.We talk about social prescribing, the healing power of music and nature, grief and resilience — and dreaming up a bold new vision for compassionate care in later life. 🍋💡🍋 Lemon lightbulbs🍋 You are still you Despite how society treats older people, identity, creativity, and inner fire do not fade with age🍋 Stay curious and always say yes Dulcie has stayed open to life’s opportunities, even through deep grief and loss🍋 Creativity is an escape — and a lifeline Nature, writing, fairy stories, and music offer not just escape, but deep healing.🍋 Invisible no more Calling out the way healthcare systems often marginalize older people — and fighting to be seen and heard.🍋 Rediscover your roots Dulcie rekindling her love for Coventry reminds us that reconnecting with our past can offer hope for the future🍋 The world changes — and we adapt From wartime Coventry to lockdown Britain, Dulcie’s reflections show resilience as a constant thread through life🍋 Music unlocks memory, joy, and connection The powerful role of music in both healthcare and daily life — lifting spirits and bridging generations🍋 Imagination is ageless Whether it's fairy tales or reimagining community care, creativity thrives at every age, so support people to use their skills and feel they can contribute🍋 Challenge stereotypes by living fully Wearing jeans, playing piano, creating stories — refusing to be boxed in by other people’s ideas of ‘old age.’🍋 Reimagine care: people first, not conditions A visionary idea: flexible, creative care communities inspired by the hospice model but open to all_______________________________________________________Dorothy's key message? "Be more imaginative about how care is offered "Dulcie’s key message? "Stay curious. Always say yes!"____________________________________________________This is a celebration of courage, creativity, and connection — the spirit that saw Coventry We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

In this electric, soul-stirring conversation, Dr Guddi Singh joins me to explore what it truly means to radically reimagine health. From the frontline realities of paediatrics to the bold edges of creative health and social justice, Guddi brings her full, vibrant self — and invites us all to do the same.We talk about what’s broken in our health system, why simply fixing sickness isn’t enough, and how real health is built in homes and communities, not hospitals. We shine a light on creative co-production, interdisciplinary approaches, and the untapped power of arts, storytelling and relationships to transform healthcare.Guddi describes herself as a closet creative and lifelong learner, and you’ll hear exactly why — from training citizen scientists to founding WHAM (Wellbeing and Health Action Movement) and leading the Powering Up project.This episode is bursting with energy, honesty, hope¦ and a few well-placed mic drops.Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋🍋   Health is not built in hospitals – it’s built in our homes and communities🍋   A child cannot be healthy if the context they live in is sick - we have to treat the context – hunger, poverty, poor housing – not just the symptoms🍋   “I’m a closet creative trapped in the body of a doctor” : Guddi’s mission blends creativity, academia, activism, and medicine to drive meaningful change🍋   The system doesn’t work for patients — and it doesn’t really work for staff🍋   There’s no KPI for what actually matters — to patients or professionals🍋   Maybe the most powerful KPI is: Will you remember this? Did it change you?🍋   Human connection doesn’t fit in a spreadsheet – but it’s what makes the work meaningful.🍋   Fixing health inequalities starts with ordinary clinicians and patients,  and creative approaches 🍋  Powering Up isn’t a project – it’s a movement🍋   It’s hard to lie to kids - Powering up unearthed the real issues🍋   The system may be blind, but our stories can open its eyes🍋   Dance saved my life. Why isn’t creative health part of the NHS mainstream?🍋   We’re lighting up little patches of the world. What if we joined the dots?🍋   We’re not alone — it’s time to bring our lemon lightbulbs togetherLinks:BBC Radio 4 - Three Ages of Child Wellbeing and Health Action Movement (WHAM)Powering Up ProjectNational Centre for Creative HealthEpisode 54: Dr Mary Salama - connecting across boundariesEpisode 57 : Dr Tom Holliday - children get lessJoin the MovementThis is more than a conversation It’s a call to action. Whether you’re a clinician, creative, policymaker or passionate citizen,We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

This special episode of Wild Card – Whose Shoes? is part of The World Podcastathon, a global celebration of podcasts that spark conversation, challenge perspectives, and inspire change.I’m thrilled to welcome the incredible Nicola Enoch, founder and CEO of Down Syndrome UK, a powerhouse advocate who is transforming perceptions, challenging outdated maternity care practices, and empowering families. Nicola’s journey is extraordinary—one that began with fear and stigma when she learned her son, Tom, might have Down syndrome, and evolved into a mission to support parents, shift mindsets, and tackle inequalities head-on.We explore the power of language in maternity care, the importance of early development, and how health inequalities continue to impact people with learning disabilities. Nicola also shares how her organization is training healthcare professionals and educators to see the person first and break down barriers that still exist today.This conversation is raw, real, and packed with lemon lightbulb moments—insights that challenge us all to think differently.Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋🍋  Words shape experiences – Describing Down syndrome as a “risk” or “abnormality” impacts how parents feel about their child. Language matters.🍋  Breaking bad news? Or sharing unexpected news? – How healthcare professionals frame a diagnosis makes all the difference.🍋  Assume competence – Expecting less from a child with Down syndrome limits their potential. High expectations open doors.🍋  Health inequalities are real – Diagnostic overshadowing leads to preventable health issues. Parents must advocate fiercely.🍋  Community is everything – Peer support groups are lifelines. No parent should feel alone.This is a must-listen for anyone passionate about maternity care, inclusion, and human stories that challenge stereotypes.🎧 Listen now and join the conversation!Links:We hope you will donate to this important charity - here is how you can find out more!#WildCardWhoseShoes #WorldPodcastathon #DownSyndromeAwareness #ChangingTheNarrative #CoProductionWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

In this powerful episode, Gill Phillips chats with her long-time friend Dorothy Hall, a former social worker and fierce advocate for fairness. They explore the realities of ageism in healthcare.At 82 and a half, Dorothy brings a wealth of lived experience—as a professional, a family carer, and now as someone navigating the NHS as an older person.She highlights the stark contrast between systems that dismiss patients based on age and those that embrace co-production and shared decision-making. Dorothy shares two shocking yet inspiring stories:How she was abruptly denied essential treatment for a genetic condition upon turning 80—without warning, discussion, or a clear clinical rationaleHer journey to access an innovative light therapy treatment for macular degeneration, which remains largely unknown and unavailable on the NHS despite its life-changing potentialInstead of accepting the system’s failings, Dorothy took matters into her own hands—seeking a second opinion, finding more compassionate healthcare providers, and ultimately reclaiming control over her own care.Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋🍋 Co-production doesn’t stop at 80 - see the person🍋  Healthcare should be about needs, not numbers – age alone should never determine whether someone gets treatment🍋 Patients shouldn’t have to be experts in NICE guidelines or fight for info🍋 Don’t push people into complaints—listen first – most patients don’t want a fight, they just want fair treatment🍋 The complaints process takes a huge toll on people🍋 Empathy transforms healthcare🍋 Joint decision-making rocks!🍋 Short-term cuts create long-term costs – and unnecessary suffering🍋 Rigid NHS systems fail real people – bureaucratic barriers, arbitrary cut-offs, and poor communication leave people helpless🍋  Being  'outside the system' can be a nightmare🍋 Seek a second opinion🍋  Vision loss is life-changing - NHS should embrace this proven, non-invasive macular degeneration preventative treatment🍋  It’s not just about vision - age-related sight loss affects independence, mobility and mental health🍋 Patient advocacy is powerful – knowing your rights, pushing back, and seeking alternatives can change everything🍋 Honest communication matters!!!Links:Encouraging results from light therapy study for dry age-related macular degeneration - study published by the Macular Society #WIGO - When I Get Old campaign - Gill Phillips chats with Angela Catley✨ A must-listen episode for anyone passionate about health inequalities, patient advocacy, and how we can build a healthcare system that truly listens to people—at every stage of life.  🎧We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

🎙️ Wild Card - Whose Shoes? Podcast 🎙️🎉 Episode 63: Celebrating 10 Years of #MatExp! 🎉Join us for a festive and heartfelt episode as we celebrate a decade of the groundbreaking #MatExp campaign, born from the Whose Shoes? co-production movement! This special Christmas edition revisits the vibrant energy of our 10-year anniversary event held on October 17th, 2024, blending highlights from the session with moving testimonials, joyful moments, and powerful reflections.🍋💡🍋 Why listen?The Evidence Base: Hear live testimonials and stories that showcase the real impact #MatExp has had on maternity care, as shared by parents, healthcare professionals, and changemakers during the celebration.Moments to Remember: From lithotomy challenges and Mexican waves to the iconic #MatExp the Musical, we relive the creativity, courage, and co-production that have defined this journey.Hope for the Future: Reflect on the challenges facing maternity services today and the enduring hope for change, inspired by our community's dedication and innovation.Interactive Fun: Experience the joy of reconnection through breakout room anecdotes, graphic visuals, musical interludes - and even a live rap!🍼 Special shoutouts to the incredible #MatExp community who’ve co-created resources, challenged traditional hierachies, and sparked “lemon lightbulb moments” that continue to improve maternity experiences worldwide.🎄 Whether you’re a Whose Shoes “addict” or discovering us for the first time, this episode is an inspiring celebration of what’s been achieved—and what’s still to come. Together, let’s keep the #MatExp banner flying high!✨ Listen now and feel the festive spirit of co-production in action! ✨Links to some resources mentioned in the podcast:🍋 Celebrating 10 Years of #MatExp - highly visual. Watch on Youtube!🍋 Whose Shoes comes to Brighton - song and dance and CAKE!🍋 The Robin Hood midwives in Sherwood Forest🍋 #FabObs Flo's TED talk🍋 Nottingham Whose Shoes event🍋 The new neonatal unit being built at Alder Hey🍋 Jo Minford and Mary Salama #IntentionalCoffee🍋 Young parents - Birmingham Families - Whose Shoes event🍋 #MatExp the Musical🍋 Fab NHS Stuff - #MatExp collection🍋 Whose News? -We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Bonus episode!Dr. George Winder and I pick up from our impactful “Don’t Medicalise Poverty” conversation (Episode 58, Universal Healthcare mini-series). George’s work is refreshing. It goes beyond prescriptions and appointments. It makes healthcare about relationships, community and plain common sense.More human and a lot more doable!We dive into stories that show the true power of social connection – from walking groups that tackle loneliness to blood pressure checks held away from GP practice walls. George opens up about the realities of community-based health: the greatest successes come from local ownership and the simple yet profound impact of listening to peopleWe explore the "why" behind the data, the risks of inactivity, the courage it takes to start where you are, gradually building networks and trustThe stories show that healthcare is a team effort – a team that includes everyone.Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋🍋 Walking for Wellbeing – A simple walk, a friendly coffee, and a bit of music can do wondersThe best healthcare can start with bringing people together, not with prescriptions🍋 Loneliness as a Health Crisis – Research shows that meaningful social interactions can be as important as vaccinationsCommunity activities like “move to music” and chair-based yoga aren't just exercise; they’re lifelines🍋 Scaling vs. Staying Local – Not everything is meant for mass production.True community-based health relies on local ownership, where the community shapes what they need most🍋 The Power of Passion – Real change happens when people lead with passion. A retired teacher running a children’s reading group from a car park during Covid19 is a reminder that enthusiasm can surmount setbacks!🍋 Inactivity Is a Risk – George nails it with “inactivity can be as dangerous as activity.” When fear of risk paralyzes action, community needs get sidelined.Vital support can be lost.🍋 Meeting People Where They Are – Health isn’t always in the clinic.By bringing blood pressure checks to community spaces, George’s team is reaching those who might never go to a GP🍋 The Pitfall of Opt-in Systems – bureaucracy often leaves behind people in vulnerable situations. This isn’t just an inconvenience; it can mean missing critical care🍋 The elephant in the room - honesty re NHS Resources and prioritisation can help people understand the real cost and impact of services🍋 Trust in the Team – Multidisciplinary work means no organisational walls. George’s weekly team check-ins are open and flexible, with colleagues calling in from the real world – creating a 'team hug' that’s both supportive and effective🍋 Healthcare needs kindness and connection at its coreGeorge’s 'team hug' and Gill’s kindness conversations remind us that sometimes simply listening and showing empathy can transform BOTH patient and practitioner experiencesLinks George Winder – Don’t medicalise povertyAltogetheWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

In this final episode of our mini-series on universal healthcare, in collaboration with LSBU and the Universal Healthcare Network, we bring it full circle with Prof. Becky Malby, who commissioned this enlightening journey.Over recent episodes, we've delved into stories from remarkable guests who are making universal healthcare real in their communities – from children’s services to outreach for those experiencing homelessness. Together, they’ve shown us the power of curiosity, collaboration, and plain humanity in health care.Becky reflects on their stories and challenges us with a bold question: If they can do it, why can’t everyone? Why aren’t these inspiring, people-centered approaches the norm? It’s a call to reimagine healthcare beyond the appointment system and break down walls that hinder access for the most vulnerable. We discuss everything from the need for team support in complex care, to the irreplaceable role of storytelling, which has shone brightly throughout the series.This episode is an inspiring wrap-up and a rallying cry to make healthcare universal in every sense. Whether you’re in healthcare, policy, or simply curious about a fairer system, this series has laid out the path forward – and it’s one we’ll need to walk together. Thank you for joining us in this exploration. Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋🍋 The Outliers' Challenge – If these guys can create truly universal healthcare, why isn’t everyone doing it?  Stop treating these stories as “exceptions”, start making them the norm.🍋 Beyond the Appointment Factory – The NHS is more than an endless round of appointments. Bring care to people; don't just wait for them to show up.🍋 Break Down the Barriers – A phone call to get an appointment can be Everest for those without easy access or trust in the system. Meet people where they are: in a clinic, on the street, or anywhere that works🍋 Curiosity Is the Key – The best hcps aren’t the “know-it-alls” Join the magic, curious people who keep asking, “Who else could help?” and “What’s the full picture here?”🍋 Teamwork - it’s lighter with friends. From school nurses to team huddles, complex care works better (and is way more fun) when you have support🍋 Stories Over Stats – what are the stories behind the data? George helped V get to China - shows the human impact in a way data never could🍋 Start somewhereDon’t overthink. Just start. Get moving. Small actions can spark big changes🍋 Reignite the creative Pandemic Spirit – Remember the “VacciTaxies” bringing care to where people needed it? Let's ditch the bureaucracy & reignite our drive to make healthcare accessible.🍋 Universal healthcare is possible - it’s up to all of us to carry this momentum forwardLinks:EPISODES 56-61 in this series! We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

We are nearing the end of our mini series of podcasts about universal healthcare, in collaboration with London South Bank University and the Universal Healthcare Network.With the NHS experiencing overwhelming demand, we need radical transformation with more power and resources within communities.So today, Bill Graham, who is a Community Coordinator with Modality Partnership, focuses on community-based solutions!Bill talks about the need for primary care to engage with communities and gives examples of how this works in practice, e.g maximising COVID-19 vaccine uptake among Asian populations and increasing childhood vaccination rates. Bill highlights the success of community-led initiatives, such as health checks at sports events and baby days in shopping centres. Bill also mentions the multi-generational home visiting project and digital outreach initiatives to enhance patient engagement. He calls for more investment in community solutions and stresses the importance of practical, asset-based approaches in healthcare.Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋🍋 Magic happens when primary care breaks out of the day-to-day cycle and starts to do things differently … High Street health!🍋 Engage with local communities - they have a vital role to play in helping people look after their health 🍋 Get out and about, build relationships with your community and find out what is important to them🍋 This episode has lots of practical examples of how to make healthcare more accessible by taking it out to where people are🍋 Be culturally curious and find out what works for different populations🍋 Shift power and  be imaginative with resources🍋 Be proactive – if people are not coming forward for health checks, try multi-generational home visiting?🍋 Support family carers too - often the unsung heroes of health care🍋 Turn theory and data into ACTION to address health inequalities🍋 Volunteers can help people access health-related technology and start to close the digital divide🍋 Don’t overthink things – start somewhere!Some  links :Universal HealthCare National InquiryEasy Read Executive Summary10 Leaps Forward - Innovation in the pandemicNoreen Bukhari - supporting women from ‘BAME’ communitiesGill's Universal Healthcare work with MPFT #coproduction #communities #funding #equity #healthinequalities #storytelling #passion #QIWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

And so we continue our mini series of podcasts on universal healthcare, in collaboration with London South Bank University and the Universal Healthcare Network!Kim Shutler shares insights on the role of the voluntary sector in healthcare, with a focus on community-based solutions.With the NHS experiencing overwhelming demand, we need radical transformation with more power and resources within communities.Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋🍋 Let’s maximise voluntary sector potential in health care🍋 Create the conditions for VCSEs to thrive and transform healthcare by shifting power and resources closer to communities. 🍋 Old system HAS bitten back post-pandemic, due to governance structures and statutory provisions – but we KNOW we can do things more imaginatively!🍋 Success comes from relationships, passionate individuals, a local knowledge🍋 We need a bottom-up approach to healthcare transformation🍋 Value and build trust with communities and local organisations🍋 Collaborate across boundaries to maximise innovation and resources🍋 Make decisions WITH people to avoid unintended consequences🍋 Use imaginative, inclusive ideas like participatory budgeting🍋 Enable small organisations to focus on work, rather than bidding for work🍋 Cut the jargon and hoops to jump through!🍋 Open doors - find out what local voluntary organisations are doing and find opportunities to collaborate🍋 VCSEs should approach local practices and primary care networks to explore partnership opportunities🍋 Primary care can run clinics and health checks in voluntary sector buildings to engage communities 🍋 Different localities require unique solutions, but key principles save you re-inventing the wheel🍋 Decision-making power shift can be uncomfortable for those used to traditional distribution of money🍋 Social prescribing is important to address social needs and reduce medicalisation🍋 Social prescribing is great … but not if there are lots of travel agents and no holidays!!🍋 Practice-based peer support workers with lived experience of mental health problems can provide community-based support, funded by the GP practice🍋 Invest in communities and hand over power to drive change🍋 Start small. Start somewhere! Links:Becky Malby – Universal Healthcare - podcastUniversal HealthCare National InquiryEasy Read Executive Summary10 Leaps Forward - Innovation in the pandemicGill's Universal Healthcare work with MPFTWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

🎙️ Wildcard Whose Shoes? - “Don’t Medicalise Poverty” with Dr. George Winder, GP in LeedsIn this powerful episode of ‘Wildcard - Whose Shoes?’, host Gill Phillips sits down with Dr. George Winder, a passionate GP from Leeds, to explore a critical issue in healthcare: the medicalisation of poverty. George shares eye-opening stories from his work, revealing how social injustice and poverty affect health and well-being—and why simply prescribing medication isn’t the answer.Gill and George discuss real-life examples of how local care partnerships and community support networks are making a difference in Leeds. From housing and domestic violence to food hunger, George shares his team’s innovative approaches to tackling the root causes of illness. Listen in to learn how co-produced solutions and third-sector collaboration are transforming lives—like “V,” who went from being dependent on medication to becoming a community leader.If you’re passionate about social justice, healthcare reform, or community well-being, this conversation will inspire and challenge you.Tune in and take a walk in someone else’s shoes! 🎧Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋🍋The NHS is medicalising poverty - we need to address the root causes of health inequalities -  the wider determinants of health 🍋 George shares practical examples of how we can work together to create a healthcare system that truly supports those in need🍋 Use asset-based approaches🍋 Focus on addressing need🍋 Go out to where people are, rather than expecting them to come to you🍋 Storytelling is very powerful in this🍋  Co-produced solutions and third-sector collaboration are transforming lives🍋 More resources would mean more people could be helpedLinks to earlier episodes in this Universal Healthcare series:Becky Malby - What is universal healthcare and why does it matter?Tom Holliday - Children get lessWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Here is the first episode of this special mini podcast series, in collaboration with London South Bank University and the Universal Healthcare Network. (You will remember that Episode 56 with Professor Becky Malby was our first ‘bookend’ to introduce this series and tell you why Universal Healthcare is important)Dr Tom Holliday is my first guest to dive in and share examples of how universal healthcare works in practice, breaking down traditional barriers to deliver more personalised care in a more equitable and human way.Tom, as well as being a great friend of mine, is a very forward thinking consultant paediatrician. He is also now leading the Darzi Fellowship programme, with which I work closely every year with Whose Shoes. Children Get Less. Not here! We have put them FIRST!After all, they are our future. Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋🍋 Follow this series to learn ALL about Universal Healthcare - and why it matters!🍋Children are often pushed to the back – so we’re putting them first!🍋 Good healthcare should come to where families are, not expect people to visit lots of separate buildings and specialists🍋 Integrated care is jargon. Best practice care is what we must aim for🍋 It is about providing the holistic care a child needs.🍋When you are passed on from service to service, important information gets lost through the gaps.🍋 It’s all about relationships! Across care boundaries!🍋 If you swap GPs, you shouldn’t have to start again with a new CAMHS referral!🍋 The NHS incentivises and measures activity; it should focus on meeting need🍋 if you meet need, the overall level of need goes down🍋 Third sector organisations need sustainable funding to plan longer term🍋 If you can tackle issues via primary care, people don’t need to come to hospital🍋 Complex problems can be resolved through good multidisciplinary working🍋 If you don’t know the answer, phone a friend!🍋 Physical health and mental health are interconnected🍋 Children get less - especially mental health provision🍋 CYP mental health services might talk in terms of a waiting list🍋 Families, waiting for mental health support, talk in terms of “this isn’t a wait, it’s a life on hold!” 😢 🍋 Prevention and early intervention make all the difference🍋 It’s not rocket science. It’s actually quite easy!🍋 The patient is the expert in their own condition and how it feels🍋 It’s all about teamwork and learning from others – nobody is doing this work alone!Links:Universal HealthCare National InquiryEasy Read Executive Summary10 Leaps Forward - Innovation in the pandemicWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

 Becky Malby - (Bookend 1)I was delighted when Professor Becky Malby asked me to host a special series of podcasts in collaboration with London South Bank University and the Universal Healthcare network.  We are keen to tell you more about the Universal HealthCare National Inquiry report, why universal healthcare is so important and to introduce you to some of the movers and shakers who are making it happen in different parts of the country. To start (and later finish) the series, we are recording a couple of ‘bookends’, chatting to the inimitable Becky herself to find out more. Becky Malby is a well-known mover and shaker in the world of health care, and I've been proud to work closely with her over the last 10 years or more as an associate of the London South Bank University Health Innovation Lab, and specifically working with each cohort of Darzi fellows using the Whose Shoes? approach to coproduction and helping future healthcare leaders understand more about working with people and finding out what's important to them. I've always been a bit blown away by the work that Becky does, the common sense approach to working out what sits behind problems in healthcare systems, of finding radical and innovative ways to create the best care for people across boundaries.  There is BIG synergy between the goals and values of universal healthcare and Whose Shoes?, for example, the report stresses the importance of seeing things from different perspectives, flattening the hierarchy and bringing people together to have open, honest conversations, to make change across the system. Start small and most importantly, start somewhere. #JFDI #NoHierarchyJustPeople There is also big synergy with the aims of my podcast in terms of seeking out exciting people who are developing innovative healthcare solutions, and sharing them widely. So it's a win win, and we're all excited to be doing this.  So over coming episodes, I'm going to be talking to (at least! – it is having a bit of a snowball effect already!) four more special guests who will give us practical examples of universal health care in action and the difference it's making in their communities.  So what is universal health care? Why does it matter?  Are we in danger of medicalising poverty?What can we do to make things fairer?  Find out by listening to Becky Malby here! Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋🍋 Follow this series to learn ALL about Universal Healthcare - and why it matters!Links:Universal HealthCare National Inquiry Easy Read Executive Summary10 Leaps Forward - Innovation in the pandemicNoreen Bukhari - supporting women from ‘BAME’ communitiesWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

When I originally set up the Wild Card - Whose Shoes podcast series, I wanted to provide a way of amplifying the voices of people who inspire me and who are making a difference. Steven Russell simply had to be a guest because his story is so important. Steven tells his own story of growing up as a child in care, the emotional trauma and insecurity that can result, but showing huge resilience and strength, surviving the system.Everyone who works with children or has children in their lives needs to hear it – such an eye-opener about trust, relationships, language, assumptions and so much more. Steven is now inspiring children and young people in similar circumstances to believe that they can be anything they want to be, and role modelling this in such a powerful way.  Steven’s own childhood story is so powerful we focused on that and will record Part 2 to tell you more about this work. You can find out more in the links – Elements - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! #DripByDrip #DayByDayHuge synergy with the #MPFTWhoseShoes project we are doing with the Children and Families’ team of Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust, using Whose Shoes to explore different aspects of their service and how it can be improved. Our forthcoming module, to be launched on 15 July, explores the topic of helping children in care have happy, successful lives. Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋You have to find your own path; no-one can do it for youCommit your goals to paper; make it realStart small and build - drip by drip, day by dayWe all need someone to believe in usLooking back at a turbulent childhood through adult eyes brings new understandingYou can't force trust - you have to grow relationshipsCare records need to be written with sensitivity for the grown-up child to read one dayLoads of different adults telling you different things is confusing and traumaticLearning about your past while still navigating the care system can be overwhelmingThe organismic self - the itch inside you that makes you YOU, desite everythingNature versus nurture - fascinating!Living in care made Steven super adaptableStories resonate because all human beings connect!Links:Elements - Steven's brilliant work!I'm just a teacherSteven's video about his MumGill's podcast episode with Rachel Tomlinson, a progressive headteacherWe would love you to share your learning in the comments or by leaving a review. We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

I’m so excited to be talking to my good friend Mary Salama, a wonderful consultant paediatrician in Birmingham. Mary is one of my absolute faves - a lovely, warm person, who makes extraordinary things happen, rather than just talking about what needs to change.And to do that for children and young people, has to be the very best thing! Driven by frustration and a deep understanding of the need to improve healthcare systems, Mary focuses on human factors and connecting across boundaries.Mary is leading the way with coproduction and empowering young people, including enabling them to present community research to clinicians at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Clinical Health. Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋Be curious and furious about bringing real actionChildren with clinically complex needs need to go home rather than staying in hospital, if non-medical factors are holding them back – find a way to make it happenListen deeply, learning the language and drivers people are usingThe Canal and Powering Up projects are EXCELLENT examples of coproduction - enabling young people to share their ideas about the future of health careCoproduction must be authentic,  starting with relationship building and creating the conditions for people to  feel safe to discuss difficult topicsLearning from Excellence is powerfulNetworking leads to meaningful connections and potential solutions to share challengesWitnessing positive connections can give people hope and inspire ripples and action, way beyond the original conversationsUse all platforms to amplify the best ideas within the NHS and save people from re-inventing the wheelBreak out of tribal silos!Use creativity to make your voice heard - pink hats, lemons or whatever it takes! #JFDI and don’t forget to have fun!Lyse Edwards talks about a Harry Potter version of Whose Shoes; Mary talks of a Mary Poppins toolkit!Hold an #IntentionalCoffee with someone who inspires you   ☕☕️We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

I first met Angela Catley  in the very early days of Whose Shoes?, so back in about 2009, when she did a very lively and slightly bonkers presentation at a conference. I remember how Angela used her slides as just a very rough guide, while telling wonderful stories, and occasionally flicking on from one slide to the next as she went. I found it refreshing!It was full of energy, and she spoke common sense which really resonated with me. She  despaired about bureaucracy and talked about HR type functions as the ‘Stuff department’ - often stuff getting in the way of organisations, and particularly good small providers, trying to get on and run a quality service.You can feel the synergy to my #WhoseShoes work!Angela was working for Community Catalysts, enabling everyday people to develop brilliant, quirky, creative, life-enhancing solutions to their own challenges. I loved it!Fast forward … in this episode, we talk about the ‘When I Get Old’ campaign.We link up with other social movements that celebrate and support people’s strengths rather than their weaknesses, and focus on what matters to people.How we can all get the best out of systems to live – and carry on living – our best lives? Even when we get old.Many of us have banged  the drum for our parents, trying to get the best for them. But we can only pick from available choices, and often we know that this is NOT what they wanted.Have YOU got a clear plan as to what you would like to happen … or are you going ‘La, la, la, la …. Ooooh heck!  Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋Be curious and furious - Furiosity! (shoutout to Mark Adam Smith!) There are SO many splendid, creative people - connect with them!Discover your shared passions - have conversations!Ageing - plan ahead - we can switch from ‘Us’ to ‘Them’ in secondsCare Land. Stuff. … keep it real for real peopleCollaborate - join up with like-minded movements. #StrongerTogetherHead in the sand leads to … La, La,La, La,La ….. oooooh heck!Life is a lottery. We can’t all be David Attenborough in the ageing stakesWill the options you would choose even exist?Crisis … is never a good time to make decisions Creativity can help unlock imaginative solutionsThe power of the self-funding pound. Own your paying power!Get involved in the #WhenIGetOld campaign!Personal choice is specific - not just wine or beerThink differently - chat to your friends to see what emergesSome great solutions are potentially right there - in your community!Don’t let services - eg befriending services - get in the way of friendshipRelationships matter! Cultivate them and defend them … with furiosity!Some links you will enjoy:Join the #WhenIGetOld campaign !We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Today, I invite you to meet Dr Matt Hill – I hope you enjoy the warmth and wisdom he brings to this  podcast series as much as I do!I heard Matt speaking at the online NNAP conference, the National Neonatal Audit Programme, which showcased best practice in neonatal care. Matt is the Clinical Adviser on Safety Culture for NHS England and was one of the keynote speakers.He was talking about creating the conditions for a perinatal team to flourish – but it became clear to me that what he said would help ANY healthcare team to flourish.There were so many practical examples of what makes a good team, and how is leads to well-being and a positive safety culture. There was an emphasis on collaboration, inclusion, empathy and relationships. There is huge synergy with our ‘Whose Shoes’ work, particularly around our core principle that you have to create the conditions for meaningful conversations, coproduction and teamwork! Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋Health care in its broadest sense is about people - people caring for each other. Be curious about people; nurture and invest in them; share personal storiesLook for those moments of human interactionCreate space to get to know people as human beings and build trust among colleaguesLearn about and recognise the value and unique contribution each individual bringsKindness and compassion helps good team dynamics, and improves culture and safetyCreate a welcoming environment for new staff membersIntroduce yourself as a person, rather than solely by job title, to foster a more inclusive and connected environmentFlattening the hierarchy in workplace conversations makes it easier for junior members to share their thoughts and feelings with more senior colleaguesRecognise and value diverse perspectives in healthcare, rather than prioritising a narrow viewUnderstand patient experiences and preferences - ask what matters to each person to provide effective careSmall gestures matter, such as using people’s preferred names, in building trust and psychological safetyPeople may have different interpretations of the same words or actionsEstablishing positive relationships improves care outcomes, especially for the most vulnerable peopleFocus on doing things differently, rather than just measuring what we do!If you have enjoyed this episode, you'll also love:Episode 32. Dr. Bob Klaber - kindness matters!We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Hey, it’s great to be back! 🍋🍋🍋So, for all those who enjoy the ‘Wild Card - Whose Shoes?’ podcast, welcome to Season 2!  It has been lovely to hear from so many of you, saying that you are missing the podcast and asking when it is coming back. Well, here it is! At the beginning of last year, 2023, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. And not for the first time.  Being quite a private person, but also quite out there, in terms of Whose Shoes events, social media, hosting a podcast and so on, I found it hard to know how to handle that. As you may imagine.  I was trying to manage my illness and treatment alongside deadlines from my ‘real’ work, so when I reached episode 50 I decided that made a very neat if rather long, Season 1!  But I have been raring to go with Season 2 and wondered how best to re-launch.I found the perfect podcast guest – and today is the perfect day to post our conversation – 4 February 2024, World Cancer Day!Sam Jackman is an inspirational woman - a multi-award winning entrepreneur and a disruptor. Sam offers a breath of fresh air (literally!) to women who have had a mastectomy due to breast cancer. She is rocking the world of conventional prostheses through her innovative Boost products. Boost products are 100% inspired and designed by women for women.We need to make sure that women hear about them! It is an extraordinary story the lived experience of Sam’s Mum finding a huge gap in the market - and doing something about it!courageous entrepreneurshiprocking the world of conventional solutionsputting women firstAnd all from the deepest reaches of rural Cornwall.Sam is highly entertaining. We are joined briefly by Blue, Sam’s emotional therapy dog!It is a story with a difference, making a difference and I am very proud to support ‘We Wear Boost’ innovations, who have made a BIG difference to me personally. Thank you, Sam!Key linkBreast Forms | Lightweight Breast Forms UK | We Wear BoostDaughter creates design after mum's mastectomy - BBC NewsLemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋If you want something amazing to happen, you may have to do it yourself!Don't listen to the naysayersWe need to bridge the 'us and them' divide  between clinicians and patientsCo-design with the people using the product will NOT failBe inspired. Achieving this from Cornwall was NOT easy!Men in suits are not the experts on breast forms and nipples! ;-)We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

A blaze of ‘lemon lightbulbs’ today talking to Kate Pound, a fabulous nurse focusing on ‘JUST DO IT’ actions that make a big difference.  Kate grew up in a hostel for fishermen and that rich and varied experience gave her a deep understanding of people and the imagination to find alternative ways of reaching the so-called ‘hard to reach’. She is a great storyteller and you will pick up LOTS of practical tips. Kate is a trustee of the Fishermen’s Mission and we would love you to learn more about them – and appreciate fishermen beyond the occasional Fish and Chips supper!Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋 Dentistry on the harbour and other fishy stories – using IMAGINATION to reach peopleGrowing up in ‘different’ circumstances can build empathy and the will to address health inequalitiesDon’t make assumptions about people and what they enjoy – we’re all human and uniqueHarness the power and resources of community to make health care accessibleCovid vaccinations for rough sleepers and others not registered with a GPThe 'Just Do It' form - not letting bureaucracy get in the way! Shoutout to Tim Guyler!Hospital porters are your eyes and ears - which ward would they NOT want to be on, as a patient?Keeping people warm before surgery improves recovery timesPatients speak honestly when they feel SAFE and healthcare professionals LISTENIt is about RELATIONSHIPSBring your whole self to work – staff enjoy using their skills and  talentsSmiling builds trust and the ability to speak upPatient safety and patient experience go togetherThings ARE changing. NHS listening more to people with lived experienceShoutout to Nottingham University Hospitals and their excellent 'Whose Shoes' work around home birthA coproduction Guinness World Record? Youngest person at a Whose Shoes workshop: 4 days old; eldest: 101 years'Stay kind, be curious' - shoutout to Newbold Hope, Episode 13'Parallel' - 'Start together, finish whenever' - let's make ALL events accessibleFind new ways to ensure people feel involved ... then the magic happens.Everyone needs a 'Project of Joy' at work The 'Jar of Joy' - shoutout to Liz O'RiordanMaking a difference to NHS staff wellbeing will help keep them in the NHSLet's bring these more human elements in right from the start - student nurses!What are YOU passionate about?Some links1.       Home - Fishermen's Mission (fishermensmission.org.uk)2.       SeaFit - Fishermen's Mission (fishermensmission.org.uk)3.       Parallel Lifestyle4.       Jar of Joy5.       Enjoy earlier episodes about health inequalities – eg Dr Farzana HussainWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

 Building on the theme of storytelling and creativity. How do we get people to come along to our events? What is Whose Shoes anyway? Today I am talking to Lyse Edwards and Rachel Crook from the Children and Families team at Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust as we prepare for our forthcoming Whose Shoes events in May - looking to make care more holistic for children and families and to improve perinatal mental health.We talk about some of the more creative methods we are using to draw people in and ensure this is TRUE coproduction. Links:Whose News - our monthly newsletter to keep everyone in the loopMPFT podcast Yvonne Newbold’s TEDxNHS Talk  Yvonne Newbold’s podcast (episode 13)Rachel Crook's podcast (episode 34)  Film clip of MatExp the Musical Liberating Structures  Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋I still need to squeeze the lemons for this episode We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Continuing the recent storytelling theme, and in solidarity with the #StartWithPeople event run by the Public Participation team of NHS England this week ...For the first time in the series, I'm picking up threads from our #dementiachallengers work, and where better to start than talking to my friend Pippa Kelly, award-winning, blogger, journalist, dementia campaigner, author and public speaker!Storytelling … and creating ripples ... BIG RIPPLES!!🍋🍋🍋 Enjoy! Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋‘Wild Card – Whose Shoes’ podcast series is helping great people have a voice We don’t necessarily set out to become influential campaigners – our personal stories lead us thereGreat hashtags support storytelling to bring about change … think #HelloMyNameIs, #dementiachallengers, #MatExp!Personal stories help others feel they are not alone and help to build communities. Bolder together!Telling personal stories is hard. The emotion is bubbling under the surface and we are vulnerable Caring for others happens against a backdrop of your whole life and affects the whole familySpeaking out honestly about how you feel helps othersResentment. Do others feel like that? Well, yes, sometimes they do!Stories resonate. "Oh, my God, thank you for saying that!"Support people who generously share their lived experience – don’t have them as a token, tick-box on YOUR agenda!Acknowledge and plan for the fact that stories may trigger difficult memories for the storyteller and the audienceWe have to be authentic – none of us is immune to getting emotional, even if we have told our stories many timesHuge, unpredictable ‘ripples’ happen when we share stories – some great examples here!Personalised care and dehumanising care are two sides of the same coin – learn from bothCynicism about the power of storytelling is dispelled when NHS leaders start telling THEIR storiesNHS language can be confusing  - what do people do that don't have a relative who's a NHS consultant to explain everything?!There always needs to be a human connection, a relationship between the cared and the cared for The ‘battle’ for NHS continuing healthcare is a nightmare –a system that perpetuates health inequalitiesYou know your story has ‘landed’ when you see everyone nodding. Powerful stories grab people emotionally … 'by the short and curlies'! Don’t let your systems become dehumanised ... "The living before the deceased";  'Certificate of Existence'?! Storytelling works! When data and talk about pathways failed … £3 million of public funding was secured by starting with the stories Poweful ripples happen and stories interweave when people connect and share As always, @Gills_Mum was influential!Anna Geyer’s graphic records capture the commonalities and threads between different areas of health care: people, vulnerability, wanting to be heard, to be listened to, to be taken seriously, to be valued.  Links: Pippa Kelly’s podcast: We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

People ask me about the Whose Shoes story?🍋 How did I come to produce a board game? 🍋 What inspired it?🍋 Has it changed much over the years?Well, on 2 Feb,  Kristin Johnstad from Minneapolis, invited me to tell my story at a Liberating Structures Q Community group, using 'Shift and Share' - hopping between breakout rooms, telling the same story to different groups. It was fun getting the reaction and questions from an international audience.It led to a whole month of storytelling adventures.I thought I'd share the highlights and key learning here on the podcast. Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋 Adapt your story to your audience - what will THEY will take from it? It is a privilege to share your story. Be curious about others too Liberating Structures bring out creativity! The Whose Shoes story ... What inspired me? What does it achieve? Beyond the buzzwords – let’s get real Are you ready to LISTEN to people? As equals. #NoHierarchyJustPeople Value people - every step of the way. No tick boxes Integrated care … the holy grailTrust takes a LONG time to build - and an instant to destroy Whose Shoes does not paper over the cracks – be authentic Engage hearts and minds! Have fun. Be human You can't control the oucomes; you shouldn't control the outcomes Connect and share stories. Use networks, Fab NHS Stuff Find the magic people, not the 'meetings people'! Use storytelling tools like SWAY If you want to engage people, don’t just tell them a story; show them!SHOW and TELL!Most relevant previous episodesAll of them - my podcast is all about sharing stories! But specifically: 22.  'Symphony of Us' - please disturb 24. Tribute to Mum, @Gills_Mum - 100th birthday!26. My acceptance speech for CBE, Lemon Class 2020, award28. Janina Vigurs - Storyteller - *Embrace the Ridiculous* 36. Keep calm and carry on (personal reflections on the death of the Queen) Other links and resources:The Obs Pod - Magic MatesHow to meet your child's difficult behavior with compassion - Yvonne Newbold's TEDxNHS talkBirth should be special - Florence Wilcock's TEDxNHS talkWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Rosie Murphy is a midwife doing fantastic work around health inequalities, including the coproduction workshop we co-led in Croydon.Our conversation builds on Episode 45 with Noreen Bukhari. I hope Rosie and Noreen will connect and exchange notes on their excellent work in Coventry and Croydon, supporting women from black and ethnic minority communities.I met and became friends with Rosie through her prestigious Darzi fellowship – Rosie's work was rated as exceptional.Lemon lightbulbs  🍋💡🍋Racism is not just about shouting expletives - it is complexWe all have unconscious biasThere is unwillingness to acknowledge systemic racismUK institutions are largely built around the needs and understandings of white middle class menWe need to be culturally aware to understand what matters to peopleWhose Shoes uses imaginative ways to listen to ALL voicesTrust, being listened to, being taken seriously MATTEREducation, socio-economic status, ethnicity, body, size affect how likely to be taken seriouslyThere is mistrust and distrust of the NHS/ maternity services among some groupsMaternity services are difficult to navigate!The NHS doesn’t need to fix all problems itselfUse informal communication channels that people trust - hairdressers!Social deprivation has many impacts – services need to flex moreWhite allyship includes owning our own biasesCall people in, not call them outLived and learned experience - work TOGETHER for safety of mother and babyWomen who've had a negative experience find it harder to speak out next timeHEARD campaign, Croydon – Health, Equity And Racial DisparityFind simple ways to show women they are being taken seriouslyCreative ways for people to feedbackCroydon BME Forum / Asian Resource Centre reach people in imaginative ways - eg community healthcare drop-in sessionShare the learning eg infographics, blogs, Steller Stories , Sway reportsConnect and learn from othersLinks and resourcesRosie's blogs: Partnering with minoritised women and birthing people to improve maternal and perinatal outcomes: a Darzi journey - Health Innovation NetworkFilm - Highly acclaimed Whose Shoes event in Croydon, focusing on health inequalities affecting women and families from Black, Asian and ethnic minority communitiesGill Phillips' presentation at ‘Birthing with colour’ Nov 2020 -championed by Lewisham and Greenwich maternity team Nobody's Patient' projectFamily Integrated Care reportWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Health inequalities are in the news at the moment, with  NHS organisations setting out to understand and address them, with a strong focus on the needs of people from different cultural backgrounds.But where do third sector (community) groups fit in? How do you build trust with women and families from Black and ethnic minority communities and design services that are flexible enough to meet people’s needs?It is not a quick fix.They seem to be doing something right in Coventry but it is a formula that has been built over many years and involves a holistic, integrated approach.Today I am talking to Noreen Buckari, who tells us about the work of FWT, a  community-led organisation helping women fulfil their dreams and contribute fully in life and work. The work thrives because of close relationships with maternity and other statutory services in Coventry, working together to support families, and specifically now as we emerge from the pandemic.When I tweeted saying I was looking forward to talking to  Noreen, there was an outpouring of love. Noreen is making such a difference to women, and particularly those from Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities, and I’m proud to have her on the podcast.Lemon lightbulbs  🍋💡🍋Collaboration is key - statutory and community services working TOGETHER ‘MAMTA’ means ‘motherly love’ in South Asian languages!Women from ‘BAME’ community have individual needs - there is no ‘one size fits all’Building a holistic service, based on trust, flexibility and relationships takes many years - not a tick box!Good support is not just  health - but the social determinants of health: housing, debt management, parent education +++New parents (and staff!) have had a tough time during Covid. The damage can run deepInvest in small, specialised organisations; recognise the value they bringEmpower people to help themselvesListen to women - the impact of our Whose Shoes work in Coventry!Creativity - Coventry, City of Culture!The Symphony of Us – there is more that connects us, than divides usAnna Geyer’s visual recordings help the ongoing impact of Whose Shoes eventsSmall, flexible community-based organisations are excellent value for moneyDo something specific and do it wellIntegration relies on all the pieces in a jigsaw, don’t take away pieces of the puzzle!If it works, keep funding it! Innovation is needed when things are not workingDon’t mess with people’s lives, to fulfil the needs of your short-term projects!Sustainability is key – empower people to support themselvesLinksFWT - a centre for womenWhose Shoes - latest workshop in Coventry Warwick Uni film - link coming soonWhose Shoes  in Croydon re the needs of ‘BAME’ women using maternity care https://youtu.be/rlfwwT0dvUgMeet Gaynor Armstrong, HeadWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Happy New Year - and thank you for listening! For pretty much the first time ever, I’m starting the New Year with a plan. Or at least I thought I was. But, in the words of John Lennon, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” so perhaps planning is overrated. Whose Shoes has had a pretty crazy, organic development up until now, so I’m sure it will continue to find its own course. We’ll see.  So, in this podcast, I look ahead to some of the Whose Shoes work we have planned for 2023. It will serve to put a marker in the sand as to where things are at; key projects and opportunities, and then perhaps compare at the end of the year, what actually happened.  Look out in particular for our projects around: ·        Family Integrated Care in neonatal units ·        Integrating services for children and young people. ·        Exploring health inequalities, particularly around maternity care and how they affect women and families in black and ethnic minority communities.  I also talk about my article in Patient Experience News this month. I share thoughts such as: “If you want to engage people, you have to be engaging.” Keep it simple. Listen to people and trust them.  Radical? You decide. The podcast is enabling me to talk to amazing people who are making a difference in health care. I keep discovering more of them. Coming soon: I will be talking to some fabulous new guests about health inequalities. Here’s to 2023, and to paraphrase my friend, Helen Calvert: "Let’s squeeze every bit of joy and opportunity from it”. Lemon light bulbs 🍋🍋🍋🍋 Keep podcasting and connecting people in 2023!Links and resources: Gill Phillips’ article in Patient Experience News, Jan 2023: COMING SOON!Our. Fab Collection: https://fabnhsstuff.net/fab-collections/matexpOur #FICare project: https://q.health.org.uk/idea/2022/no-more-theoretical-mummy/Padlet contains links to ‘Whose News’ newsletter: Whose Shoes - overview (padlet.com) 'BAME' community workshop in Croydon: https://youtu.be/rlfwwT0dvUgLiberating StructuresReferences to other episodes12.  Terri Porrett - Fab NHS Stuff13.  Yvonne Newbold - Newbold Hope16.  Anna Geyer - visual recording18.  Nadia Leake and Rachel Collum - #FICare25.  Miles Sibley - Patient Experience News 34.  Rachel Crook - caring for little ones, as a mum and a nurse! 43. #WildObs Christmas Special  We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

As we hit the festive season, join me and my 'magic mate', Florence Wilcock, as we  reflect on 2022 and have a little fun.Florence is a consultant obstetrician, a great friend and my co-founder of #MatExp. We chat about some of our key advent-ures in 2022, building on the #WildObs podcast we recorded at the end of 2021.Florence hosts the informative and engaging The Obs Pod podcast, talking about all things maternity from the perspective of a person-centred obstetrician. It has something for everyone.We are looking forward to 2023, particularly working on the new digital Family Integrated Care project, helping neonatal teams understand the experience of parents with a baby on a neonatal unit. This #QExchange project builds directly on ‘Nobody’s Patient’, which Florence masterminded.It is wonderful to have people like Florence, Lyse Edwards and Mary Salama on board who really get the Whose Shoes approach and will bring creativity and humanity to ensure that it is a really engaging facilitation tool. Watch this space.Lemon lightbulbs 🍋🍋🍋 Take time to reflect on what has been achieved before tackling the next challengeHave fun! Your childhood only expires if you let it  Lemon lightbulbs and poetry aid coproduction  If you want to share good stuff online, you need a single click!  Ripples build over time – don’t get despondent if things seem slow The Fête du Citron in Menton is awesome! Go if you can!#IntentionalCoffee helps build networks'End of year' spending sprees may not get the best outcomesRipples continue from Rosie Murphy's innovative ‘BAME’ Whose Shoes work in Croydon ...  and from our pan-London events around maternity triage and ‘handover’ The ‘black maternity experience’ report MATTERSMiles Sibley is one to watch! 😊 –Uncorking the bottle around evidenceOutdoors is great for maternal mental health events!Be creative – find a way to do something that at first seems impossibleSupport paramedics to be confident in responding to maternity and neonatal emergenciesThe power of a blank sheet of paper!Being present at your grandson’s birth is VERY special!Look out for FAB Ted NHS talks by Florence Wilcock, Yvonne Newbold and moreWe'll always remember being together in Oxford when the Queen diedThe ripples continue from our Oxford event – including mutual learning with KingstonOur podcasts are creating strong connections around the world Lots to learn about inequalities and difference by talking to passionate people in other countriesRead Benjamin Black's book ‘Belly Woman’ Thank you for our our Mama Academy Awards!You can do something quite small - and it can amplify and become hugeTo embrace innovation and collaboration, funding models must be more innovativeRudolf was elf-taught! Thank you for listening throughout 2022 - see you next year! Here’s to a fun (and, in tWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Today I am talking to Rachel Power, CEO of the Patients' Association. Huge thanks to our mutual friend, Yvonne Newbold for introducing us!The Patients' Association was established almost 60 years ago and is a membership forum - why not join? Rachel is a strong advocate for patient partnership; her organisation is highly influential, helping patient voices be heard by NHS England and the government.I'm hoping that this important conversation will form a bit of a 'pincer movement' with Episode 25, in which Miles Sibley, founder of the Patient Experience Library provides real evidence that 'patient stories' are not only important but should have equal weight with medical stories.Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋I joined the Patients Association! It's free! Why don't you?Coproduction? Don’t get hung up on the latest buzz word – just think what the person in the street would understandFocus on what is meaningful to people – e.g. Andrea Sutcliffe's 'The Mum test'Let’s not measure things just because they are easy to measureMeasuring the impact of things that matter can be hardPeople have survey fatigue - be imaginative about seeking feedback - e.g. ask people in 6 months' time whether your intervention made a differenceBRAN - the 'Benefits, the Risks, the Alternatives and the do Nothing' methodology is powerful “If I still can’t do my gardening, then why would I want that knee operation?”- a classic example of 'What Matters To You?' #WMTYSeek to identify and overcome the barriers to shared decision-makingMost people just want to know that things will be different; they don’t necessarily want to complainLet’s keep things simple; not over-complicate!Always remember - behind the statistics, there are human beingsPatient stories should have equal weight with medical stories (Miles Sibley)The Patients’ Association works closely with the NHS - help them!Digital solutions sometimes exacerbate health inequalities - be inclusive and imaginativeBring things to people and making them accessible - Nailsea is a good exampleThe cost-of-living crisis is widening inequalitiesThe Patients’ Association has lots of practical resources to help people access health care and feel empowered, including a HelplineOur key message for Amanda Pritchard, CEO of the NHS – patient partnership is the way forward!Links and resourcesThe Patients' AssociationMiles Sibley, Founder of Patient Experience LibraryYvonne Newbold - Founder of Newbold HopeWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

So today I am fulfilling a pledge. If you look at the Purple Rainbow website, you can make pledges #SomethingForSeth, as part of the legacy for Seth Goodburn, who sadly died of pancreatic cancer in 2014.  My pledge was to invite his wife Lesley to share the story on the podcast, and I am delighted to do so today! Lesley has done extraordinary work to raise awareness of this cruel disease and help so many other families going through the same experience.This is my first ever one-to-one conversation with Lesley – I hope you enjoy it!This is a story of love and humanity, fundraising, connections, supporting improvement through narrative, including storytelling, and also making a play and a film. As you can hear already, So much synergy with my Whose Shoes work.Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋 Hopes and dreams are shattered by a terminal diagnosis. Human beings are involved.The prognosis for pancreatic cancer has hardly improved in 50 yearsPancreatic cancer is hard to diagnose - don’t ignore symptoms, get checked outA breakthrough is near – but it costs money to make progress!Let’s close the gap between the theory and the practice. If you ask patients and family carers to say what matters to them … make sure you are listeningIn patient experience, often the effect is cumulative,. You need to listen from the start.People affected by adverse outcomes are PHENOMENAL in reshaping their lives and goals to help othersThe Hope Network (Heads of Patient Experience) are a fantastic network for quality improvementWe all need hope. Adversity helps us discover what we are capable of – fundraising, advocacy, taking part in research and moreHomeward Bound – creative methods such as making a play or a film can be powerfulPeople can feel guilty surviving when others don’tPeer support - using your lived experience to help othersLet’s connect …Yvonne Newbold …Sarah Land - also helping others through their lived experience! Storytelling! And a shoutout to Miles Sibley, founder of the Patient Experience LibraryAnd Cath Crock and the Hush Foundation! And Nicola Enoch, founder of Positive about Down SyndromeListen to what is important to someone. It might be as simple as a cup of tea – but would you want it cold and milky when you have always liked it hot and strong?!Links and resourcesPurple Rainbow website - listen to podcasts exploring pancreatic cancerMake a pledge: #Something4SethYvonne Newbold - Founder of Newbold HopeSarah Land - Founder of Peeps HIE charityMiles Sibley, Founder of Patient Experience LibraryWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

My 1st international guest - Prof. Cath Crock, founder of  Hush Foundation, Melbourne. Using music to bring kindness into health care.Cath’s work is 100% in tune 🎹 with  Whose Shoes, bringing creativity and humanity into health care. I met Cath through Bob Klaber’s monthly kindness sessions. Cath and Nicki Macklin from NZ are regular contributors, joining in the early hours!Social movements for kindness in health care are growing internationally.The Gathering of Kindness is an amazing line-up of international speakers, demonstrating  how kindness makes a difference. Get involved!Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋 We can get through these tough times if we’re kind to each other Music makes health services more human! The Hush Foundation in Melbourne sets a wonderful example! If you feel uncomfortable with current practice, be brave to use imagination and creativity to find alternativesCulture change can be difficult if people feel you  challenge 'the way we’ve always done things'Coproduction is key. Parent-carers notice areas for improvement that staff may not seeDifficult problems are solved when people come together!Bring people with you, not confront themTreat people as equals! #NoHierarchyJustPeopleListening can improve patient safetyThe big challenge in patient safety is how staff treat each – organisational cultureIf staff don’t feel looked after, they don’t have capacity to go above and beyond or embrace anything newPeople are generous with their time and skills when they feel they’re contributing to something meaningful. The benefit is reciprocal!Respect patients’ time - not keep them waiting when they could do something more enjoyableEncourage empathy. People feel differently realising these could be their own childrenPlays help us understand patients can get substandard care if teams don’t work robustly together Different art forms – plays, poetry - reach people in a different way to change practice People can recognise themselves and vow to change their practice If you change one person at a time, it’s like a ripple going forwards The pandemic has brought new opportunities It’s hard to be a lone voice for kindness. You become worn down by the system (structural unkindness) We are making strong connections – globally! You need a thick skin to ride the storm when creative, more human approaches come head-to-head with ‘old power’ 😬Storytelling helps inspire others – lots shared in this podcast!Start your own Gathering of Kindness! - join a ‘watch party’ to help you get started!Shoutout to Cath’s wonderful parents. What a legacy! Kindness and music!It‘s hard to say ‘no’ to things that bring you joy! 😉 Links and resourcesHush FoundationGathering of KindnessThe Obs Pod: Reading the We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

This week, I was delighted to be invited to kick off the ‘Art of the Possible’ festival, hosted by Fab NHS Stuff.It’s been a lively programme focused on making good stuff happen - five days packed full of short webinars and other goodies, offering practical tips and resources to help people turn their quality improvement pledges into reality. I always enjoy getting involved in simple stuff that makes things happen, and NHS Fab Stuff is up there with the best! I was chatting with Terri Porritt and Rachel Jury about meaningful coproduction, and we were answering questions from our live audience. A wonderful mix of professional experience and lived experience. I thought I could give the ‘Art of the Possible’ festival a boost by sharing the audio from our conversation as this week’s podcast. Please leave feedback or a review telling us what you think.Videos of all the sessions are available free of charge on catch up – a whole box set of little videos with passionate people contributing their nuggets of brilliance ranging from trauma-informed support for your colleagues to reconditioning games.Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋:(I have yet to squeeze them - to be updated!) Links and resources: Art Of The PossibleAll the videos and top tips can be found here Video of our 'meaningful coproduction' sessionGill’s Digital Postcard:  Top Tips for meaningful co-production Our Whose Shoes Fab Collection: https://fabnhsstuff.net/fab-collections/matexp Both Terri Porrett and Rachel Jury have been previous podcast guests.We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Today I’m talking to Sarah Land, another wonderful person who is using her own lived experience to help others.Until a short time ago, I hadn’t heard about Sarah, who is the founder of the Peeps H.I.E. Charity.Now I seem to be hearing about her everywhere I go. Such is the nature of networking. And, very rewarding in the context of my strong belief that these inspirational stories need a much wider audience!Thank you, Rachel Crook, (Episode 34) for introducing me to Sarah and to everyone driving positive change for young families.Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋Sarah Land’s lived experience made her HIGHLY qualified to set up the Peeps H.I.E charityHIE - Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy- what is it?Lived experience needs to be properly valuedHealthcare professionals and parents need to work TOGETHER (the new professional panel will build on the successful parent panelPeer support is very importantEach family’s experience is different - care needs to be personalisedSome parents will be desperate to go home after a stay in neonatal unit; others will be terrifiedGoing home with a new baby is tough at the test of timesParents can contact the charity when the time is right for themWe need to ensure good work that relies strongly on individuals is sustainableNetworking is strong – there are strong links to our Whose Shoes #FICare projectThe power of Twitter! Connect and join forces with other people with similar passionsGetting the balance right - Family Integrated Care is the goal but make sure there is always proper supportPrepare for going home, feeling empowered rather than under pressureThink differently – focus on improving lives rather than just measuring 'bed days' and financial outcomesWhose Shoes thinking - bring in more humanity!People need to feel free to laugh and enjoy life, even when things are difficultListen to people and see them as individualsLet’s raise awareness of H.I.E! Links and resourcesFind out more about: Peeps H.I.E charity Episode 13: Yvonne Newbold MBE – founder of Newbold HopeEpisode 34: Rachel Crook: caring for little ones, as a mum and a nurse!We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Today I am speaking with Daisy Mackey, a young woman in the final stages of the prestigious NHS Graduate Management Trainee SchemeDaisy will make a great leader in the NHS – watch this space!I found Daisy’s story truly inspirational - I am thrilled to have the chance to share some of it with you today.Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋The power of connections! – thank you Lisa Rodrigues for connecting us.Some people with mental health conditions/ invisible disabilities have a choice as to when/ whether they reveal them – not those in a wheelchair! Unless you are online …Don’t make assumptions and judgements about what people with a disability can do How would YOU react if you discover  that someone you thought you knew well through online conversations, is a wheelchair user? What would you learn about yourself, about them? Get to know the person, not just see the conditionLet’s build on Rob Webster‘s campaign – bring your whole self to workLiving with a disability gives a lot of transferable skillsCombat the stigma!The NHS is not so accessible for disabled staff as it is for patients 😬We all need relatable role models and trailblazers – ‘people like me’The power of connections – bolder togetherYou can’t possibly  know everyone’s accessibility needs – you have to listen!People with learning disabilities have very different accessibility needs - and each person is differentExperiential learning is key - grab the opportunitiesNHS Leadership programmes are important Allyship - stand up for your colleagues (and for anyone!)  when you see inequalities Being a healthcare professional AND a patient is a very rich perspective Great to see the themes weaving between the various podcast episodesDaisy’s story is incredible. Professional ballet dancer to upcoming NHS leader!NHS innovative treatments can be truly life changing - eg  dorsal root ganglion stimulationIt is courageous to share personal storiesCascades and ripples! Whose Shoes would add to GMTS experiential learningDon’t let people put you in boxes!Talk about the difficult topics. Challenge perceptions. End taboo.Some of the other podcast episode/guests referred to:Episode 23: Angela CornwallEpisode 33: Aishah FarooqEpisode 34: Rachel CrookWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

 70 years of continuityHow often does that happen in the modern age?Or ever really? You don’t need me to tell you it has been the most extraordinary week, so I wanted to take a bit of time to put a marker in the sand, before it too slips away. Going off piste from my normal theme of healthcare improvement, to share a few thoughts about the death of the Queen, my Mum, the war, and how it has all affected me personally.I hope it resonates with you – I would love to hear what your own thoughts and experiences have been, particularly perhaps how these might be different for people of different age groups. Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋Rest in peace, Your Majesty. You have done more than anyone could have expected of youI will raise a glass of Prosecco to you and my Mum – you both deserve it!I hope Mum and the Queen are raising a glass of Prosecco together now -  #NoHierarchyJustPeopleIt's important to learn about our past so that we don't keep repeating the same mistakesValue older people and all the wisdom and experience they have to shareLook out for the delayed social media coverage of our #MatExp Whose Shoes workshop in OxfordKeep calm and carry on – and think how we can each follow the Queen's extraordinary exampleLinksEpisode 24 - ‘Mum’s 100th birthday’In the shoes of Gill's MumA life well lived#FreeGillsMumWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

One of our major #MatExp #WhoseShoes projects is called ‘Nobody’s Patient’. This included exploring the interface between maternity and neonatal care, and how families experience this.Our podcast guests today are from Lincolnshire, who were the FIRST in the country to set up a joint ‘Matarnity and Neonatal Voices Partnership’ – these LMNS groups have since spread across the country.How did they do it? What did they learn? How disd it lead to the first MILITARY Voices Partnership.In a lovely blend of lived and learned experience, Claire Gartland, Amanda Pike (and Sue Jarvis in absentia) tell us more.Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋#PutLincolnshireOnTheMap It is vital to join things up better between maternity and neonatal care Lincolnshire were the FIRST to have a joint LMNS - Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership Watch this space - the new Whose Shoes project around Family Integrated Care A positive outcome can be really healing, after a traumatic birth experience Listening clinics in children’s centres – a great way to listen to parents! True coproduction – you need a good structure to take forward concerns and make things happen Keep recruiting new ‘neonatal voices’, championing issues they are passionate about and bringing new experiences Use social media imaginatively to engage with families – even when they are abroad! Military families face a lot of unique challenges when accessing maternity careMilitary Voices Partnership and a military care navigator important! Better support for military families was a key theme of the Whose Shoes #MindNBody perinatal mental health project When you have a great idea, get your local university to help collect evidence Coproduction works! A new neonatal surgical unit is being built in Liverpool – following Whose Shoes conversations! Let’s link up with the work around military communities in the South-West Let’s share this good work far and wide! Links and resources Lincolnshire Maternity Voices PartnershipLincolnshire's Maternity & Neonatal Military Care ProgrammeLincolnshire listens - our 'neonatal parent voice'We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Today we  continue the theme around support for children and families.My guest is Rachel Crook, who is a mummy to 2 young girls AND a paediatric nurse. I met Rachel when she spoke at a recent Whose Shoes event in the Midlands, focusing on early years’ care. I was thrilled  she agreed to talk to me on the podcast and give us an insight into her ‘both sides of the fence’ experiences.The combination of having both lived and learnt experience can sometimes be the most powerful of all … Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋Being a parent, worried about your child(ren) and trying to get answers, is HARDIt takes a LONG time to diagnose some chronic conditions; a holistic approach is essentialPatients and family carers do NOT make this stuff up – BELIEVE them!Look at the WHOLE child. And then the child within the family, including mental health needsWe NEED to join the dots. Will the new Integrated Care Boards deliver?Appointment delays have a huge effectBIG responsibility to get the most out of those brief healthcare appointmentsLoads of impacts when only one parent allowed to attend a healthcare appointment HCPs: how it feels to move to ‘the other side of the fence’Why does it feel like a fence, a battleground - let's work together!In Whose Shoes, we try to explore solutions that work for both ‘sides’.Listen! Never have preconceived ideas about the outcome Reach out! If you don’t know there is a problem, you can’t fix itHow about recording difficult conversations?The last appointment of the day - can be detrimentalShould parents be allowed to communicate with individual NHS HCPs?It is hard for children with food allergies, excluding favourite foods. Dippy eggs!Difficult balancing act between playing down concerns for the child, but having an open  conversation with the HCPPlay therapists enable parents to speak openly and get the most out of consultationsFind imaginative workarounds to give children with nutritional needs the same educational and social experience as their peersSchool! Give plenty of notice! Parents can’t rustle up a gluten-free, soya free, dairy free gingerbread man at no noticeChronic conditions are expensive AND you need to be good at maths and science!It helps to know what to expect. How long will it take? What is involved? Preparing a child is so important!Involve parents in writing letters - the right info and … language matters!Different perspectives: something that is an admin issue to you might be HUGE to meAcknowledge parents as experts, and the amount of care they are deliveringCommissioning systems are affecting the quality of care that can be providedPositive changes do not have to be huge. They have to be doableThere is an amazing global network around kindness!Happiness is infectious!Self-care and wellness are essential for professionals!Work together! Join-the-buzzwords – integration,  what matters to you #WMTY, personalised care and more!Let’s help Rachel’We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Today, we are  talking about health care and support for children and young people, so of course it is vital to hear from that age group. I‘m delighted to welcome Aishah Farooq, a young person who is using her lived experience of healthcare services to bring change at national level.Aishah talks about her journey to become a national advocate for children and young people, and why this matters.Aishah is also a student at the  University of Bristol  … where I studied many years ago!I spotted Aishah and connected with her through the fabulous work she is doing, working with the NHS in many capacities around listening to children and young people and finding out what matters to them.Aishah was recently appointed as a board member on the children and young people transformation programme at NHS England.Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋If we are talking about services for children and young people, we need to hear from children and young people! Coproduction matters!There are tools to help - eg The 15 steps challenge … and Whose Shoes!Young people’s needs are differentDon’t be tokenistic. Listen to children and young people’s ideas and suggestions first - before you open the floor to othersEngaging with children and young people in a meaningful way, like everyone else, shapes how they feel about staying involved. Children and young people find it very rewarding to see their suggestions for healthcare improvements being valued and implemented and to feel that they are helping young people of the futureIt is powerful to hear directly from young people -  you feel you  want to change things  -eg health inequalitiesIt is exciting to work alongside passionate people. They inspire you to believe that your contribution is valuable and to get more involvedIt is very fortunate to meet inspirational people early in your career! They listen, believe in you, and inspire you to take the next stepsChildren and young people make up one third of the population – their voices should not be ‘seldom heard. They bring a different perspective.When clinicians say, “I never considered that before” …that is a proper lemon lightbulb moment. It will change their practice!Truly listen to children and young people. Even if you can’t have a bouncy castle in every outpatient department, they will have ideas and suggestions you have never thought of!Many examples of personalising care for children. are very simple and just take imagination, rather than money.Good to see the key themes and ideas of the podcast series weaving together.The National Asthma Care Bundle. What it is and why it will make a difference.Schools need good training to support children with asthma.and other long-term conditions ResourcesNICE  guideline - babies, children and young peopleNational bundle of care for children and young people with asthmaGood luck in We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Today, I‘m talking to Bob Klaber - a charismatic London paediatrician, building a global movement for kindness.Like ‘Whose Shoes’, Bob is exploring a topic that could be seen as ‘soft and fluffy’, and bringing it centre stage. Bob’s kindness movement was featured at the Quality and Safety Forum in Gothenburg. I was delighted to contribute to one of the crowdsourced videos.Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋Important to contextualise healthcare in people’s lives - find out what matters to themShare the power. Use healthcare appointments to codesign ways to maximise quality of lifeSee things from children’s perspective, including language!Life aspirations are typically far more pressing than short-term medical considerationsAs a hospital consultant, find ways to make yourself accessible, not aloof!Everyday sexism is rife! Find ways to counter it#NoHierarchyJustPeople - sparking real conversations, breaking down  barriersStorytelling –  put something of yourself out there, show some vulnerability, let people know what you really care aboutLet’s act. Let’s move. This is urgent!Can you measure kindness? Should you  try? 🤷🏼‍♀️Think beyond the processes. Be clear what you want to achieve. Don’t just measure things because you can!Exploring feelings and experiences is deep and energising … and  hard workThe tide has turned. There’s no place for leadership through bullying and shouting at peopleThe most downloaded podcast episodes aren’t necessarily the  most influential!Kindness, #WMTY, patient stories - coming together as a big movementNHS must look outwards – patients, local residents, the wider communityCoproduce the things that will make the biggest impactSee things from different perspectives, recognise and acknowledge the tensions - can help us  move forwardBe curious! Challenge yourself to be open-minded rather than thinking “Oh well, that’s how it is”Be like children.The ‘5 Why’s’ ? 🤷🏼‍♀️ Children ask 19 whys in a row!The human side of care: people join the monthly kindness sessions from Australia and New Zealand in the middle of the night!There are people from 30 different countries - a sense of collective power, collective learning, collective curiosity, give people a sense of hope and communityInformal connections - the ripples are powerfulThere is value in feeling and experiencing the impact, rather than  having to measure everything It ‘s important to reflect – but it doesn’t always need to be through formal channels. It could be on Bob‘s bike!Find the balance between reflection - and doing things!Find the things that matter most, that will have the biggest impact. Be deliberateShoutout to Dr Mary Salama! #IntentionalCoffee ☕️☕️Relational meetings - find out what people are thinking – as opposed to transactional meetingsKindness goes beyond the individual  leader – build it into the organisation, into the  systemLinks and resourcesProf. Marshall Ganz: The story of self, us, now: We LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

"What matters to you?"‘What matters to you?’ is a brilliant global movement, whereby healthcare professionals ask patients what matters to them, in terms of personalising healthcare.It is about listening and hopefully understanding what matters to the patient in the larger context of their life. This will vary greatly between individuals – people’s priorities are different. Their circumstances, their values, their attitudes are unique. What matters toeach of them will all be different.It is brilliant that this is being increasingly recognised as being important in health care, rather than people just being seen as medical problems to fix, in a 'one size fits all' type approach.Thursday 9 June was World What matters to you?’ day, so, as my contribution for 2022, I have made this podcast episode exploring this theme, some of my own thoughts and experiences, and bringing in lots of clips of people talking about what this really means to them. The power of audio - let's listen to the fantastic things people are already sharing, without constantly needing to re-invent the wheel and saying the same (often painful things) over and over again.I hope you find it thought-provoking and engaging.Lots of shoutouts to podcast contributors and listeners. We have listeners from all around the world! THANK YOU!! Please leave a review.Extracts taken from:Alison Wright - Episode 30 - personalising maternity careRachel Jury - Episode 17 - being believedFab NHS Stuff - setting up #MatExp #WhoseShoes campaign page - Terri Porrett Episode 12Pandemic poems - Episode 5Other links and resources mentioned in the podcast:#MatExp #WhoseShoes Fab NHS Stuff campaign pageFab NHS Stuff - 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' poetry 'event in a tent'  24/11/21Our  'What Matters to you? presentation  with Florence Wilcock for the RCOG (there will be an updated video after our 2022 @BICSocs presentation )Shoutouts include: Twitter IDs -  @AliWrightObGyn, @Rocking2Stomas,  @MountfordJames, @FabNHSStuff  @gbpto, @RoyLilley, @FWmaternity, @RCObsGyn, @BICSoc, @PosBirthMidwife, @BeckyMalby, @fhussain73, @Gaynora, @NatMatVoicesorg, @Ldn_Ambulance, @SunitaS2016 ... and all the contributors and listeners of the podcast so far! Find me on Twitter: @WhoseShoes and @WildCardWS.Dive into https://padlet.com/WhoseShoes/overview and nutshellcomms.co.uk  to find out more about the #WhoseShoes approach to coproduction.Artwork aided and abetted by Anna GeyWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Today I am talking to a ‘Fab Obs’. #FabObs is the hashtag  we use in our #MatExp social movement - an obstetrician who ‘gets it’. Listening to what matters to women. Finding ways to prioritise, obviously, the safety of mother and baby, but really listening to women – and indeed helping them tease out the choices and  birth options. And today that #FabObs is Alison Wright. Alison is the immediate past Vice-president of the RCOG  (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists) – a big advocate for the RCOG women’s network, embedding women’s voices into every aspect of the college‘s work. Forward-thinking and exciting. Alison has led the development of ‘I decide’ - a tool enabling women  to think through choices and decisions in labour.As well as being a  champion of maternity experience, Alison is also ‘just’ an everyday ‘Obs and gynae’ doctor.Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋LISTENING to women and families throughout their birth journeys and pregnancyProviding personalised care in maternity services, in times of staffing pressures and recruitment difficultiesPersonalised care means different things to different peopleTeasing out what matters to you -  #WMTYBeing honest with women, sharing  information about difficult topics eg anal sphincter tearsLargely, women want to know what might happen. Don’t assume  they don’tInformation is key! It gives  controllCreative methods useful for sharing information and breaking down barriers to engagementTim Draycott’s innovative work on the Odan device‘I decide’? -  a clever acronym - check it out! Nadine Montgomery ruling re informed consentShoutout for Florence Wilcock, champion of personalised care; co- founder of #MatExp Involving Maternity Voices Partnerships and NHS Resolution in teasing out the futureShould we be looking to solve problems in the short or  long term?The RCOG Women’s Network is influentialPerceived tensions between what women want and what clinicians want. Actually, we all want the same thing!Shadowing other healthcare professionals is really useful -  (mutual) shadowing an antenatal teacher#NoHierarchyJustPeople is a key #MatExp mantraBlue light - the Obs Pod Emergency!Family Integrated Care - new #WhoseShoes work 😀Let’s encourage all obstetricians to get involved! To have a seat at the table!Ask the obstetrician 🍋💡🍋Relationships matter. Form a relationship with your obstetricianPeople don’t like the unexpected - easier to deal with if you know what might happen“If you start being a patient advocate, you ’ll never have a career in medicine!“⏩ Huge shift in thinking! Bring together the patient experience and the clinician’s experience through coproductionImportant not to swing too far  ⏩ everyone has choice, do whatever you like! 😬No dumping! Healthcare professionals need to accept responsibility, to steer choice sensiblyInformed choice. But make it realistic. What would you do in my position?Clinicians have responsibility toWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Today is ODP Day - #ODPDay! So I was approached by Carrie Biddle,   regional Head of Allied Health Professionals  for the South-west region, to help raise awareness of this important profession and hopefully encourage some new people to think ‘this is for me!’ 🍋💡🍋But what is an ODP? 🤷🏼‍♀️An Operating Department Practitioner.Works in operating theatres  …Still none the wiser?Join us as Anitha Rego, a theatre nurse from Torbay, and Sue Robb, an ODP from Gloucestershire, discuss their respective roles and talk about their career paths and opportunities. Sue started out as a hospital porter!🍋💡🍋 Lemon lightbulbs:An ODP is a crucial member of the team in theatresLanguage can be unhelpful. ODP. “We do get confused with the outpatients department”!There was more flexibility during Covid and teamwork was strong. Multi professional teams – with the patient in the centre!The career path can be a bit unclear for students – more opportunities than you might think!The human side – smiling and being human, despite the masks and gownsIt’s harder to get feedback – because the patients are often asleep!See the whole person, not just the condition – people might be confused after the anaesthetic, not just because they have dementia!The human touch. Sometimes holding a hand says it allKindness mattersCreativity rocks - Kevin Duff – an ODP used creativity – a poem made into a video – to get people learning about his roleOne size does not fit all. Don’t ask an ODP why they don’t want to become a nurse?Nurse Terri Porrett was asked why she didn’t want to become a doctor!Recovering from the pandemic. Important project around waiting times by LSBUL Health systems innovation labDoing what was necessary for the situation. Mask fitting!Smiling with your eyes! Despite the face masksInnovation in the pandemic. A shout out for Rachel Grimaldi, founder of CardMedicThe theatre cap challenge! Humanising health care.Theatre teams are friendly and often have fun.Become an ODPAnd ( in one hours researching for this episode, I came across this amazing video poem produced by Kevin Duff, and ODP himself, for ODP awareness day 2021. I love it.Kevin Duff – if you get to read this – perhaps I could embed the poem, properly attributed of course, into the actual podcast. Anyway, here is the YouTube link as the video is fantastic too! https://youtu.be/lxYZ7bkodhUWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

Building on last week’s extremely popular episode with Rachel Tomlinson, this week I am chatting to Janina Vigurs, one of the parents I had the privilege of interviewing for the amazing Newbold Hope conference.Janina spoke from the heart about her experience of parenthood and her daughter who has been diagnosed with autism, and what she has learnt through the supportive Newbold Hope community. As I chatted to Janina and got to know her a little better, I found that we both share a love of storytelling, having fun and much more.I thought she would be an amazing guest for the podcast series and she didn’t disappoint!Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋There is a child within every adult. Come out to play!Inclusion matters and can be enhanced through storytellingFun is FUNdamental to building a change platform.Fun helps people relax and talk to each other as equals.Laughter can be a part of even the most serious and sensitive topicsClowns and laughter specialists can bring joy, even in the toughest times         Dr Bob Klaber’s kindness sessions are a joy!Being mindfully kind is good for youJanina WLTM Rachael Wong, children’s author and storyteller!Storytelling is a gift - help others to become storytellersPeople are compelled to tell their storiesA story told well, with passion and knowledge is pure goldMiles Sibley,  Patient Experience Library, is right – we need to give far more weight to ‘patient stories’Language matters. Words are very powerful.A diagnosis of autism allows access to the right tool boxThings have been really tough during the pandemic - don’t beat yourself up! Newbold Hope provides a phrase book to understand, interpret and respond to children’s violent and challenging behaviourWe love Yvonne Newbold!Prioritise support for children who have struggled during the pandemicLinks and shoutoutsJanina VigursFun is FUNdamental to building a change platformGrapevine, CoventryRachael Wong, children’s authorMiles Sibley, Patient Experience LibraryYvonne Newbold and Newbold HopeThe exhibition of Ukrainian stories in BirminghamThe World Storytelling Cafe onlineWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care. 

In the words of Yvonne Newbold MBE: “Whatever you're doing, please stop and find 35 mins to listen to this fabulous conversation between 2 of my favourite people. Listening to Rachel talk about the simplicity of kindness and empathy in transforming schools to welcome, include and make every child feel safe blew me away”(Learn more  about Yvonne’s fantastic work at Newbold Hope in Episode 13)I always hoped  this podcast would be about bringing in new people in order to bring in fresh ideas and perspectives.Rachel Tomlinson is the head teacher of Barrowford school in Lancashire. I connected with her when she was a speaker at  Newbold Hope conference. Like Yvonne, I was blown away by the simplicity and humanity of Rachel‘s message. Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋 Learn to love. Love to learn!Inclusivity. Look through the lens of the child. including the Infant voiceFind out what matters to people #WMTYIf we tap into our shared humanity and connection, the systems and protocols fit around that; simple solutions followHealthcare professionals have lived experience too. Don’t put people in boxesNot even healthcare professionals find it easy to navigate healthcare pathways!“On the other side of the fence”, it feels so different.  And why is there a fence? 😢Some children find school very difficult. Work WITH them and make sure everyone has the best experienceA school with no punishments and no rewards - unusual!Restorative approach - for children and adults alike.  Learn from our mistakesGo back and unpick what went wrong, to avoid similar outcomes in the futureFocus on restoring the relationshipMake the school feel safe enough for children to be honest and talk about  problemsDon’t let the small stuff escalateTake the power imbalance awayLearn from lived experience – children and parentsTelling personal stories can be very painful - how can we get more people listening?Let’s learn  (as medics do) from serious incidents; prevent permanent exclusions from schoolMove away from the blame / shame culture. It breaks trust.Shaming parents and children has dire and lasting consequencesBelieve parents when they report problems and seek helpChildren (people!) behave differently in different situations – find out why rather than be smug!Don’t expect  parents to apologise for their childIf we contain the child in school in such a way that they erupt at home, we have work to do!Feelings of inadequacy run deep. Don’t judgeLife is fragile - we are all one step away from being ‘on the other side of the fence’Empathy increases when you become a parent yourselfIs what we provide good enough for our own children?Children are just learning ‘how to be’.  Help them get it right, just as you would do with long multiplication Advocate for children – particularly those with less resilienceDifferent ‘sectors’ must work together for the benefit of the child – leave the ego at the door. No ‘cookie cutWe LOVE it when you leave a review!If you enjoy my podcast and find these conversations usefulplease  share your thoughts by leaving a review (Spotify or Apple are easiest to leave a review - navigate via 3 dots) and comment on your favourite episodes.Connect with me - Gill Phillips - on LinkedIn, especially if you are interested in our brand new #CYPWhoseShoes resources or our well-established #MatExp (maternity experience) work.I tweet (not so much these days!) as @WhoseShoes  and am on Instagram as @WhoseShoesUK and @WildCardWS.Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care.