People still do a double take when I tell them that I am now working in Children’s Commissioning. This is the third time my career has taken an unexpected turn, but this change I guess is not what I or others might have expected. There is an expectation, even now, in the 21st century that you should stay in the same kind of job for pretty much ever and that if you change to something completely different then you must be in some way mad. Perhaps I am but I am not sorry that I have made this change.

The best way to learn about the way things are run is to go out and see them for yourself, and yesterday I spent much of the day visiting the women’s and children’s services of one of our local trusts. If they find my lack of experience in this area strange then they certainly aren’t saying so, and I am keen to learn and to find out the issues they face. I was struck by the committment of all of the staff from the senior sisters to the people cleaning the floor to the work they are doing. I was struck also by the way the managers of the services have had to make changes to those services without any additional funding and how much learning and development goes on despite the shortages of staff. I was struck by the team working that goes on, by the way people from all disciplines work together for the good of mothers, babies and children. Ok so I was a visitor, people should make you welcome, but the way they speak to each other, the smiles, the atmosphere can’t be faked.

The important thing I have learnt about commissioning so far, particularly women’s and children’s commissioning, is that it is a job that cannot be done in an office, it involves interacting with real people doing real work. It involves working through issues affecting patients and their families and if you are a manager working in the health service today you are wise to take note of that.