Fiona looks back at 40 years of NHS service

IN 1982, 17-year-old Fiona Taylor joined the NHS as a trainee nurse. Today she is chief officer at NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS Southport and Formby CCG.

When she started her career, she was one of the youngest trainees in her cohort and has spent her entire adult life working to improve healthcare for patients across the north of England.

Fiona encourages others to consider a career in the service.

She said: “It was important to me that I helped to make sure the voices of nurses were heard. Their contribution to the NHS is vital and they all deserve a seat at the table.

“I have consistently been a champion of patient voices and will always advocate for them. We enter people’s lives at their greatest times of need, when they are most vulnerable, it is so important to listen and respond to what they need.”

Fiona has had a varied NHS career, beginning in Salford with a number of clinical roles in nursing, midwifery and health visiting, before stepping into management roles from 1992 onwards showing that joining the NHS at a junior level can lead to such a senior position over time.

In 2013 Fiona was appointed as chief officer of NHS South Sefton CCG and NHS Southport and Formby CCG, a role she holds alongside a position as trustee of St Ann’s Hospice in Manchester and as board member at the Advancing Quality Alliance (Aqua).

Reflecting on a successful and rewarding career to date, Fiona hopes to inspire others to join the NHS, whether in patient care, pharmacy, finance or the many other teams that make up such a large and complex organisation.

Fiona said: “Ultimately an NHS role is about giving back to your community and to our country. It’s a good solid career where you can make a real difference to people’s lives, which is so rewarding.

“There is a real variety of opportunities to be found in the NHS, meaning that many skills people have gained from working in other sectors are transferable. Because of advances in technology there are now even more exciting roles available that did not exist even five years ago.”

Fiona is clearly dedicated to her role and was nominated by her team to win the Inspirational Leader of the Year award at the NHS North West Leadership Academy Awards in 2014.

Looking back on her long career, the chief officer notes that her current role has been her most challenging position so far, especially over the past two years navigating a team of over 130 staff through the coronavirus pandemic.

In recognition of her work during this demanding period, in 2021 she was shortlisted for a Parliamentary Award for her leadership in fostering innovative and patient-centred work around medicines management.

She concluded: “I am very grateful and very privileged to be a part of this organisation and I have always done my best for our patients.

“I know if I had my time over, I would not hesitate to do it all again.”

It’s a feast for all local sports men and women with sixty-four pages jam-packed with pictures down the decades from our local leagues. You’re almost certain to spot someone you know among the line-ups! Don’t miss it.

‘We enter people’s lives at their greatest times of need, when they are most vulnerable, it is so important to listen and respond to what they need’ FIONA TAYLOR