Colleagues in Trust HQ said congrats with flowers to mark Jo Middleton completing a senior NHS leadership programme.

Jo, associate director of nursing in surgery, has completed the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Masters programme through the NHS Leadership Academy. (Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, born in 1836, was an English physician and suffragist, the first woman to qualify in Britain as a physician and surgeon.)

She said she was pleased to have achieved it at the same time as surviving a CQC inspection and EPR implementation. And she looks forward to regaining a dining table.

Jo said: "It’s a great programme which really focuses on the importance of leadership in ensuring that we deliver patient centred services working with patients, carers and other key partners to achieve this.

"During the course I moved from community into my current role, survived a CQC inspection and of course EPR implementation so its been a challenge to say the least ! From a personal perspective its shown me that even when things are difficult, if you work hard and believe in yourself you can get there in the end."

She thanked the Trust for its' support and added: " I'm so grateful to have had this opportunity."

And laughed: "Im looking forward to putting what Ive learned into practice as well as reading trashy books..... and finally being able to eat at a dining table that isn’t covered in books and papers!!"

CHFT's Chief Nurse, Brendan Brown, said: "Jo has hidden her light under a bushel. We should be celebrating a tremendous achievement".

Programme director, Helen Ashman, said: "I was delighted to meet Joanne at the awards presentation dinner for cohort 6.2 of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme in May at the NHS Leadership Academy HQ in Leeds. Joanne’s poster reflecting on her Anderson journey was very insightful about the ways she and her team have developed. Joanne has well and truly earned her Leadership Academy award in Senior Healthcare Leadership!"

The  programme is aimed at senior nurses to prepare them for the challenges of senior leadership. It includes area such as:

• Gain a deeper understanding of the patient experience
• Strengthen your existing leadership practice through cutting edge theory and evidence
• Work more strategically with greater collaboration across large and complex programmes, departments, services and systems of care
• Bring immediate positive and productive changes to your team(s), organisations, services and patients in areas such as increasing staff morale, improving patient experience, effective service redesign, and providing financial benefits
• Improve your personal impact to help drive progress in your team(s) and inspire your organisation to build a culture of inclusive, patient centred care
• Build a powerful, regional and national support network of like-minded, influential leaders
• Increase your resilience to meet the demands of senior leadership within the challenging, transforming environment of the NHS
• Graduate with a highly sought after leadership development qualification, improving your career and promotion prospects across the NHS