CORMETIS CONSULTING
Insight to Move People and Organisations from Understanding to Action
“We are the sum total of our experiences. Be they positive or negative, they make us who we are, at any given point in our lives. And like a flowing river, the experiences gone and those yet to come, continue to influence and reshape the person we are, and who we become. None of us are the same as we were yesterday, nor will be tomorrow.”
B.J. Neblett
In 1991 my sister Alison took her own life. She was 25. An inpatient of NHS mental health services when she died, Alison had been groomed and abused by an NHS nurse three years earlier. As a result she endured a crisis pregnancy and an abortion. Her abuser arranged the abortion with help from colleagues at the hospital. Details of these events were hidden, omitted from hospital records.
Two decades later, in an unrelated incident, I lost my job as a manager in the NHS after raising concerns and whistleblowing.
I recognise the forces at work that lead people to turn a blind eye to things they feel unable to address. I understand the damage poor cultures cause to patients and staff. I also understand we are all only human, and capable of dropping the ball - I believe it's what we do next that defines us.
There is no substitute for experience and the journey I have been on has given me insights and knowledge which I use positively, to great effect. I apply my lived, learned and professional expertise to help leaders at all levels develop wilfully aware cultures. Cultures in which potential issues can be surfaced, understood, and addressed, before they occur.
As well as a regular speaker at the Annual Patient Safety Congress I've contributed to various national consultations. These include the UK National Action Plan for Open Government. A 2020 report by the charity JUSTICE (justice.org.uk) entitled When Things Go Wrong. In 2018 I was invited to contribute to The Kark Review into standards for NHS directors. In 2024 I was invited to submit evidence to a parliamentary inquiry into NHS leadership, performance and patient safety.
I have extensive diverse international networks. I've initiated and led local, regional, and nationally significant projects. Often in partnership with public, private and third sector bodies. These include a national technology project for Primary Care. The first cross-sector rural health forum in England. The first regional online directory of secondary care and third sector services. A ground-breaking countywide recruitment programme. And the introduction of Telehealth to Cumbria in a unique partnership with NHS Scotland.
I have an MBA, an MSc, a PgCert in Digital Health and various diplomas. You can find a fully updated CV on LinkedIn. I'm always looking out for connections and new knowledge, especially from those with different views and experiences. You can contact me using the form on this website, or connect with me on Twitter and LinkedIn...
"As the true method of knowledge is experiment, the true faculty of knowing must be the faculty which experiences. This faculty I treat of." - William Blake (or as we might say in the present day, experience is the best school, but the fees are high)