CEO Today UK Awards 2021

Our Future Wellbeing strategy is achieved: that a person’s chance of leading a healthy life should be the same wherever they live and whomever they are. Carolyn Gullery, Executive Director of Planning, Funding and Analytics for the Canterbury and West Coast Health Systems (New Zealand) 2007-2020, said: “ Len demonstrates something all leaders need: a curiosity, a desire to make health systems work better by integrating all of the learning from the best in the world. At Cardiff and Vale, he has established a long-term relationship with the Canterbury Health System in the form of a learning alliance that supports both health systems’ growth and advancement. I have been privileged to be part of that journey in Canterbury and now in Cardiff. “Public healthcare is facing unprecedented challenges in the years ahead. Many of us understand that the current systems are not sustainable in the long run, yet the necessary change is challenging to implement. Len has a fundamental understanding of these issues, the vision to see what changes need to occur and the determination to see the process through. He has the leadership skills to engage his clinical and non-clinical colleagues in this process. Above all, he leads from the front and understands the importance of supporting and empowering the workforce across the whole system .” Embracing innovation At the heart of Len’s leadership approach is the curiosity identified by Carolyn Gullery. This curiosity has led to the recent establishment of the ’14,000 Voices’ programme in which Len has made it his mission to find out more about the talent and expertise within Cardiff and Vale’s workforce and how that can be harnessed to drive innovation and change. During the last year, the Health Board has accelerated the use of technology to make it easier and safer for patients to access health services and to improve the care and support available. CAV 24/7 was introduced in 2020 as a new and innovative approach to how patients access urgent care within the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, including the Emergency Unit. Traditionally, patients have been able to access the emergency department by walking into their local Emergency Unit (EU) or A&E. The ‘phone first’ system replaced this for non-emergencies with patients being encouraged to phone ahead and, if required, get a booked timeslot, saving precious time and NHS resources, while ensuring that social distancing could be adhered to in previously crowded waiting room. Initially developed in response to COVID-19, CAV 24/7 has been able to successfully divert some patients who would normally wait in the Emergency Unit to alternative services and provide quicker routes of treatment. Another rapid adoption of innovation was the design and implementation of a video appointment programme so that patients could see their clinician online, from the comfort of their own home. Since its introduction in April 2020, over 25,000 patients have used the video consultation programme to receive secure, confidential appointments with clinicians without having to leave their home, relieving pressure on services and keeping them safe. This has also had the added bonus of saving over 8,500 hours of travel time for patients, equivalent to around 75 tonnes of CO2. Looking to the future, Len is leading an innovative partnership with industry to introduce a National Robotic-Assisted Surgical service for Wales. Wales will be the first nation in the world to create a comprehensive National Robotic- Assisted Surgical Programme through the establishment of four centres connected through a partnership with a robotic provider. The service will provide a national training programme, a national quality assurance programme, a national programme of deployment across the range of appropriate specialties, and a national approach to research and innovation. Ben Collins said: “ When Len became chief executive in 2017, Cardiff and Vale had thousands of people waiting more than 36 weeks for operations and an annual deficit of tens of millions of pounds. By the end of 2019, it had entirely eradicated the waiting lists and the deficit. The impact of these investments can also be seen in how staff in Cardiff and Vale responded to the COVID-19 pandemic: astonishing feats such as setting up a surge hospital in less than a month or establishing a new system for accessing urgent care in eleven weeks. “I have been struck by the language many staff used when describing Len’s leadership. One senior surgeon described Len’s impact after two decades working in the system: ‘Len was simply in another league, a bigger perspective and a genuine understanding of how to make things happen.’ A primary care leader said: ‘You just can’t overestimate what Len has done: his approach, the culture he is creating in the Health Board, the recognition he has given staff, and how he is bringing different parts of the system together. ’” Collaborating with the best Len recognises that any organisation needs strong partnerships to achieve its ambitions and has brought this collaborative approach to Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. The organisation is part of a wider health, care and learning system across Wales, the UK and beyond, collaborating to educate future clinicians, undertake ground-breaking research and deliver improvements in patient care. Leadership roles across the system have enabled Len to embed this partnership working in his day-to-day routine. He holds a broad remit of senior positions across Wales including: Advisor to the Board of the Life Science Hub, Council Member for Cardiff University, and Senior Responsible Officer in Wales for Innovation, National Pathology Network, Genomics Partnership Wales, and Advanced Therapies Wales. This “Any organisation needs strong partnerships to achieve its ambitions” Healthcare 28 CEO TODAY UNITED KINGDOM AWARDS 2021