54. Mary Salama - connecting across boundaries

Wild Card - Whose Shoes?

I’m so excited to be talking to my good friend Mary Salama, a wonderful consultant paediatrician in Birmingham.

Mary is one of my absolute faves - a lovely, warm person, who makes extraordinary things happen, rather than just talking about what needs to change.
And to do that for children and young people, has to be the very best thing!
Driven by frustration and a deep understanding of the need to improve healthcare systems, Mary focuses on human factors and connecting across boundaries.
Mary is leading the way with coproduction and empowering young people, including enabling them to present community research to clinicians at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Clinical Health.

Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋

• Be curious and furious about bringing real action
• Children with clinically complex needs need to go home rather than staying in hospital, if non-medical factors are holding them back – find a way to make it happen
• Listen deeply, learning the language and drivers people are using
• The Canal and Powering Up projects are EXCELLENT examples of coproduction - enabling young people to share their ideas about the future of health care
• Coproduction must be authentic, starting with relationship building and creating the conditions for people to feel safe to discuss difficult topics
• Learning from Excellence is powerful
• Networking leads to meaningful connections and potential solutions to share challenges
• Witnessing positive connections can give people hope and inspire ripples and action, way beyond the original conversations
• Use all platforms to amplify the best ideas within the NHS and save people from re-inventing the wheel
• Break out of tribal silos!
• Use creativity to make your voice heard - pink hats, lemons or whatever it takes! #JFDI and don’t forget to have fun!
• Lyse Edwards talks about a Harry Potter version of Whose Shoes; Mary talks of a Mary Poppins toolkit!
• Hold an #IntentionalCoffee with someone who inspires you ☕☕️

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Please recommend 'Wild Card - Whose Shoes' to others who enjoy hearing passionate people talk about their experiences of improving health care.