8 March 2022
Today is International Women’s Day and here at SaTH we are celebrating the achievements of all women within our organisation. Here, we put the spotlight on two colleagues – Emma-Jane Beattie, Emergency Planning Officer, and Jenni Rowlands, Acting Deputy Medical Director.
Emma-Jane Beattie, Emergency Planning Manager
“As an NHS organisation we are required by law to have plans and arrangements in place to deal with emergencies and critical incidents, including COVID-19,” she said.
“Every day is different – it’s busy, busy, busy. We are still dealing with the COVID response and there are critical incidents and the flood risk to name just a few.”
One of the main issues at the moment is ensuring that people are aware of cyber threats and doing all they can to protect themselves personally and professionally. Emma-Jane says we all have a responsibility to build up resilience to the threat.
She also spoke of the recent flooding to hit the county: “People assume because both hospital sites are on a hill that it wouldn’t affect us, but we have to ensure that staff can get into work and we can get supplies. The flooding did impact us and we have a plethora of risks – it is our job to ensure that we have plans in place to deal with those,” she said.
Emma-Jane started her career in Harrogate as an entry level Emergency Planning Assistant after completing an Emergency and Disaster Management degree at Coventry University. She later joined the Emergency Planning Department at Shropshire Council after originally volunteering in her holidays.
She then switched to teaching at Shropshire schools after gaining a Post-graduate Certificate in Education in Geography before lecturing in Emergency and Disaster Management at Wolverhampton University.
Emma-Jane joined SaTH just as the first COVID-19 lockdown was imposed so she was immediately immersed into emergency planning and response at a level never seen before.
“I really wanted to be involved in the practical side again and helping people. Here I am back in practice and loving it. It is really nice to align teaching and learning skills to the job that we do today,” she said.
“I enjoy my role because it is so varied – we work with multi-agency partners. It’s not that we are just working inwardly. We work with police, fire, WMAS colleagues, local authorities and others.
“We will be doing a live exercise this year so we bring all our colleagues together to make sure that we are as ready and resilient as we can be for the unforeseeable really. There is a camaraderie – we are all in it together. We rely on our system and multi-agency partners to deal with a major incident.”
One of the key issues Emma-Jane feels passionate about is training and career progression because their role in Emergency Planning is so specialised.
Combining her practical and teaching skills, she is now the Chair of an Emergency Planning Trailblazer group which is in the process of developing an Emergency Planning Degree Apprenticeship with representatives from a range of both public and private sector organisations from across the UK such as airports, nuclear sector, the military and the Emergency Planning Society, to name just a few. It is hoped that the first cohort will start in September 2023.
“It is a real passion of mine that we have those young people who think of Emergency Planning as a career of choice. We are a finite resource, there are new and emerging risks we are likely to face in the future, for example climate change is a big concern for future generations, along with other cascading events” said Emma-Jane.
What advice would Emma-Jane give to women thinking of Emergency Planning as a career?
“I would suggest to women that they look at building up their networks – there is a Women in Resilience network. Another way is joining professional organisations such as the Emergency Planning Society which is a more informal way to meet women in resilience would be a good thing to do.”
Jenni Rowlands, Acting Deputy Medical Director
Jenni Rowlands is Acting Deputy Medical Director at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) and she talks about taking every opportunity that comes your way as we celebrate International Women’s Day.
In her role as Acute Deputy Medical Director, Jenni is involved with ‘absolutely everything’ including clinical standards, clinical strategy and working with doctors and partners in the Integrated Care System (ICS). She is also Clinical Lead with the COVID Medicines Delivery Unit.
Before taking up her present role, she was Director of Medical Education where she worked with external partners, mainly Health Education England (HEE). Her work involved receiving doctors from their first day right up to the day they became consultants. She ensured they had a good education, pastoral support and interesting opportunities as well as widening their experience and enthusiasm for things like leadership and simulation activities.
“There were lots of different partnerships. Some of the projects I have been involved in included the simulation centre at the Copthorne Building (Royal Shrewsbury Hospital) and the rebuilding and refurbishment of the doctors’ accommodation at Princess Royal Hospital,” said Jenni.
“The delight with all my roles is it is really interesting who you get involved with, how you get involved and what you can do to improve things. My aim is to improve patient care, the training experience and the environment. The opportunities that have been afforded to me have given me the chance to work on plenty of projects and with different groups of people.”
Jenni’s career started with medical school at St George’s London before junior doctor postings in London and then surgical rotation in Swindon. She later went on to do radiology in Bristol.
The mother of two went on to run a playgroup for two years before joining SaTh as a Radiology Consultant in 2012 – she has just celebrated her 10th anniversary.
“I came here as it was a really friendly place and I didn’t want to live in a city. As a Radiology Consultant, I sometimes supervised foundation doctors. I enjoyed that interaction, offering support and seeing the doctors grow,” she said.
Jenni became Foundation Lead and then Director of Medical Education and specialist training.
Her advice to women is: “Take every opportunity as you never know where it is going to lead. If you had asked me 10 years ago when I arrived in Shropshire where did I see my career going I wouldn’t have said any of these things. Each one of my roles has been fascinating, supportive and I have met fantastic people across the Trust, and in wider roles across Midlands and UK.
“Do put yourself forward for things, it might be tough but you will reap the rewards and there will be loads of opportunities.”
“International Women’s Day is about breaking the bias and I think we are fortunate here at SaTH that we are working in a fair organisation. You should never underestimate your own worth.”