Last week we featured the amazing turnaround in our complaints handling process.

Gerard Curran is one of the team and joined us a year ago after working for a legal firm - and he's now loving life in the NHS.

Here's more about him in the next of our "Hello My Name Is... " series

Hello my name is…Gerard Curran  

I’m from a small fishing village in Co. Down, N.Ireland, but I haven’t lived there since 2001, when I left to go University.  Since then I have had the Irish travelling spirit living in Dundee, Los Angeles, New York, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Ilkley where I have finally settled.

I currently live with my partner, Andrew, our Maine Coon cat, Jasper, and British giant rabbit (who lives in the apartment), Hugo.

What is your position?  

I am the Complaints and Patient Advice Manager for the Trust.

Tell us about your career background?
I come from a legal background and I am a qualified legal executive.  I studied Law at Dundee University and then went on to do my LPC and Master of Law at Liverpool John Moores University.  During my legal career I specialised in litigated credit hire and personal injury claims.   However, when the opportunity came up for me to move into medical negligence, I fancied the challenge and went for it, finding myself positioned in Pennine Acute whilst still working for Weightmans LLP.  When the opportunity came up in CHFT there were no second thoughts for me, I moved out of private practice into the NHS, and I have never looked back. 

What are the best bits about your job?
The best bits of my job are when I see change happen through the complaints process and I feel that I have made a different for both the Trust and its patients.  However, a close second is the people I work with both in the complaints department and Trust as a whole.

What is the highlight of your career so far?

I guess, reducing the backlog of complaints so significantly has to definitely be up there.

Sum up your role in three words?

Inspiring, Challenging and Analytical

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
An actor.

Who is your hero/heroine and why?
Me every weekend when I turn on my Xbox! On a more serious note I don’t think I have a hero or heroine; however, I find myself inspired by true stories of normal people who did the extraordinary and made a change or left an impact in the face of diversity.

When you are not at work how do you relax?
I love to play computer games and watch movies, a nice form of escapism.  I also find baking quite relaxing.

What is your favourite place?

My bed.

What would people be surprised to know about you?
I was invited to one of Sandra Bullock's parties. I didn't go though. I was going out with someone who worked for her production company and we were invited to her filming wrap party.