I finished my placement on Friday 28th August 2015 and had a lovely lunch with colleagues to celebrate my twelve months at the CCG!
Since leaving the CCG, I have been settling back into university life and working towards final year deadlines!
I can’t believe how quickly my twelve months on placement has gone! Deciding to do a placement as part of the third year of my Business Degree has been one of the best decisions I have made and I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to gain invaluable, practical experience and develop a range of skills while being an undergraduate!
Working at NHS Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group has been a great start to working life! I have gained an understanding of the complex structure of the NHS and the crucial role which CCGs play within the health economy.
I was predominately based in the Quality Team during my twelve months on placement. Quality improvement and Performance was something I had never come across prior to my placement, however my role as a Commissioning and Quality Officer enabled me to develop a range of new skills and knowledge about improving the quality of patient care across local Providers. I had the opportunity to assist with implementing quality incentive schemes and monitored the progress of the schemes which we set at the start of the financial year.
I was lucky enough to gain experience in a range of areas at the CCG in addition to Quality & Performance, including; Contracting, Finance, Clinical Project Management, Communications, Recruitment and Transformation.
Projects/achievements while on placement;
• Achieved Prince2 Foundation Qualification
• Implemented a number of Quality Incentive Schemes (CQUINs) and monitored the progress of each indicator
• Updated the Quality Schedules to be included in the 2015/16 Contracts
• Created new section on CCG's website to demonstrate our Performance against statutory NHS standards
• Produced the Contracts for Providers of the AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration) service
• Assisted the Finance Team with checking and coding invoices and also matching CHC/FNC invoices for payment
• Gained certificates from HFMA (Healthcare of Financial Management Association) for introduction to NHS Finance
• Created the application packs, including Job Descriptions & Person Specifications for a number of new posts at the CCG
• Conducted interviews along with colleagues for new posts at the CCG
• Produced a couple of Health Matters columns that were published in local newspapers
• Explored the viability of creating a mobile phone App to assist colleagues in health and social care working with MCA DoLS (Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards) and produced a Business Case for potential App
• Assisted the Transformation Team with writing a Business Case for the procurement of new Risk Stratification Tool
• Helped to produce the report from the ADHD & Autism workshop
• Took part in 'The Great CCG Bake Off'!!!
What really struck me whilst working for the NHS was that all colleagues I had the opportunity of working with, all had the same passion and dedication towards commissioning the highest quality of healthcare services for the local population.
Everyone I have worked with over the past twelve months has been extremely helpful and supportive and I can’t thank them enough!
I would just like to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone at Eastern Cheshire CCG for making it a year to remember and I hope to see you all again soon!
Thanks again!
Emma
