It was hard to get everyone in the shot - there were so many people!

 

 

In one of the best turnouts we’ve seen at CHFT, more than 50 colleagues came along to wish Data Quality Manager Peter Bates well as he retired on 31 October.

 

Assistant Director of Information, Julian Bates who led the farewell speeches, said he met Peter around 18 years ago when Huddersfield and Calderdale were still separate organisations. Julian told the throng of people who came to say goodbye:  “I first met Peter around 18 years ago at a meeting at St Luke’s in Bradford.

 

“When he spoke, I just thought… this guy knows his stuff".

 

Julian added “He may not be the first to speak but when he does we all listen”.

 

“Peter has been instrumental in many of our successes. In 2006 the in house developed Patient Administration System from Halifax was successfully deployed in Huddersfield as well and it has moved forward greatly over that time.”

 

Whilst at CHFT Peter has successfully been involved in the implementation of numerous new systems including:

  • Child Protection Information Sharing system
  • Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS)
  • Follow Up appointment Partial booking resulting in reduced Did Not Attend rates and Hospital Cancellation rates
  • 18 week RTT (Referral to treatment) – this early deployment was recognised by the Department of Health

And for the past 18 months or so Peter’s focus has been making sure our data quality for EPR is as accurate as possible so that we can transfer the data across accurately onto the new Cerner system.

 

Interim Director of Health Informatics, Mandy Griffin, said: “I’ve not had the pleasure of working with Peter for as long as some of you, but I’ll tell you this…. Peter just has an overall passion for delivering on his job. We certainly wouldn’t be in the place we are with our data without that passion”.

 

Peter told colleagues “I started my career 43 years ago in Croydon and soon moved to Halifax. I wanted to join the NHS because in my gap year I worked as a residential assistant in a care home.

 

“It’s been a long journey with more highs than lows. The key has been what the team has achieved for me. I’m lucky to have been surrounded by wonderful colleagues with a strong sense of comradeship.

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