NHS Lanarkshire’s new Director of Service Transformation, Planning and Performance has said listening carefully to colleagues has been central to helping him set the foundations of his new role.
Ben Hannan joined NHS Lanarkshire from NHS Fife, where he served as Director of Strategic Planning and Transformation, leading major programmes focused on service reform, organisational performance and partnership working.
His portfolio within NHS Lanarkshire includes planning, performance, transformation and interface services.
Reflecting on his first weeks in post, Ben said he has been encouraged by both the honesty of colleagues and the ambition already visible across Lanarkshire.
“Over the last couple of weeks, I have been out and about meeting teams, visiting services and starting to understand more about Lanarkshire, its people and its ambitions,” said Ben.
“I have been struck by the enthusiasm, commitment and honesty of colleagues. People have been open about the challenges, but also proud of the work already under way and clear about the opportunities ahead.”
Ben said an important focus moving forward would be strengthening connections between teams and helping colleagues better understand how their work contributes to wider organisational priorities.
“There is already a great deal of good work happening across our teams. The opportunity now is to build on that and make it easier for our work to connect.
“That means making sure the people who plan services, support improvement, manage information, help teams with day-to-day organisation and work directly on interface services continue to be better connected and clearer about how our work fits together.”
He said some of the work ahead will include supporting the refresh of the Our Health Together strategy and helping shape how NHS Lanarkshire plans for the future.
While acknowledging the scale of work ahead, Ben stressed that his immediate priority is understanding the organisation, listening to staff and learning from the expertise already in place.
“I want to be clear that I am not coming in with a fixed set of answers or a predetermined plan.
“My priority is to listen, learn and understand. Over the coming weeks and months, I will be spending time with our staff to hear more about their work, what is going well, where there are barriers – and what would help us work more effectively together.”
Ben also thanked colleagues for the welcome he has already received and said he looks forward to continuing to meet staff across the organisation over the coming months.
Earlier in his career, Ben held senior professional leadership roles within pharmacy and is a Fellow of both the Royal College of Pharmacy and the Institute of Leadership and Management.
