An interview with Ben Cattell, Account Director for MEDIO, powered by Involve.
In this blog post, North-East based Ben discusses one of his first training roles which almost led him into a career in nursing before a change of mind and career direction. He also reflects on the technology that exists in different NHS trusts and how it has the potential to massively improve or severely impact the quality of patient care.
Student days
“I live and breathe healthcare these days, supporting clients with all their audio-visual and healthcare technology, but in my much younger days I was a student nurse at one point. It was 1998 and I was training at the James Cook University Hospital (now part of South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust). I was only there a year before I decided I wanted a new direction of travel and ended up getting a job in telecoms.
“Even though my time as a student nurse was short, I have seen ‘the other side of the fence’ and it was quite a broad programme across physical and mental health care, and this experience has undoubtedly helped in the role I have today. It has given me useful insights into the work of the clinicians I’m speaking to.
Impact of technology
“Working in my current role in healthcare audio-visual, you see conferencing platforms and other technologies that are very old and have not been upgraded from the day they were installed. They end up slowing down or breaking completely and that impacts patient care because it cannot be carried out in an efficient and timely manner. Meetings are not as productive as they could be because the technology doesn’t work. Here, we ensure that clinical teams have the right technology and resources in order to carry out their roles and are able to deliver the best care possible.
Personal interest in improving care
“I’m passionate about improving multi-disciplinary team spaces in healthcare, particularly in cancer services, because a close relative had cancer and she went on a big journey with that. She’s OK now but if they hadn’t got the care right on that journey she might not be here. I say she’s OK, she lives with the aftermath of a lot of things and that never goes away but she’s generally healthy. We’re aware of course that things could have been very different. In all areas of care, the ability of clinicians to easily connect with each other and their patients is hugely important and it is critical in cancer care. Sometimes it can feel a little random as to which NHS trusts have invested in their technology and others which haven’t, and the implications for clinical care.
Job satisfaction
“One of the things I like about working here is the degree of autonomy, you can work in an agile way, if something needs changing, you can get it changed. There’s freedom to enhance the company with new ideas and if they have merit, they will be considered and taken on. The same approach applies to the clients we work with. I can provide an individualised service to everyone I work with. If we’re delivering a large project, and other needs are identified, we will always do our best to help. We are always very transparent about what we can and cannot do on a project but I know it’s not just about the work today, it’s seeing how we can work with and support an organisation for the next 20 years or so.
Away from work
“At home, living in a house with my wife and two teenage daughters brings its own challenges! I like keeping fit and keeping active, whether that’s walking on the beach with the dogs or climbing a mountain. If I can, I like to try to go skiing or snowboarding once a year but that is not always possible. I like sports and socialising and going to the gym, just enjoying keeping active.”
Get in touch with the MEDIO team at: hello@involve.vc
