Twelve members of staff at our Trust have started the “expectation-shattering” experience of our innovative Shadow Exec, after a special lunch to mark the end of our first cohort and the beginning of the second.

The Shadow Exec is made up of staff from across the Trust who provide a fresh perspective on the decisions made by our Executive team, and an understanding of how these decisions impact on colleagues.

Caesar Sanchez, pictured below and a pre-assessment nurse in endoscopy, was one of the original members. He said: “It shattered expectations for me. This was my first experience of sitting and speaking with the executives and it was very eye-opening. They are so approachable and open.”

Manpreet Sahemey, a consultant in emergency medicine and fellow original member, added: “We’ve been made aware of things that we wouldn’t ordinarily be exposed to in our normal roles, and it’s given me a much better understanding of what happens outside of my department.

“It was really nice to have time with Matthew (Trainer, our Chief Executive) to talk about some of the issues. A lot of our meetings were quite informal and he was very interested to know what our thoughts were about the issues we were discussing.”

Caesar echoed this, saying: “It’s really easy to talk to Matthew and Janine (La Rosa, Chief People Officer) and the other execs. Matthew really takes on board a lot of what we say and shows us how our comments feed into conversations between the Execs. I felt very heard, which is really nice.”

Caesar is one of more than 700 Filipino staff at our Trust and has worked with us since 2017.

“We’re a multicultural, very diverse organisation, and that representation is valuable and beneficial to the Trust,” he said. “Everyone in the first cohort brought in different lenses of perspective that the Exec wouldn’t have otherwise had.”

One of the many positives of the scheme is how it has fostered a sense of belonging among our staff and brought staff from different levels closer together.

Manpreet, pictured below, said: “It’s really important in any organisation, particularly the NHS, that leadership is present and visible, and the Shadow Exec helped lessen that divide between those of us who work on the shop floor treating patients and the Trust Exec team.”

Matthew Trainer said: “Our first Shadow Executive brought fresh ideas to our decision making and their thoughts and feedback will continue to impact our strategy beyond the end of their tenure.

“It’s been brilliant to work with them, I’m really grateful for their time and I look forward to the second cohort starting in July.”