Frank's 2023 year in review

I’m not quite sure what happened to my year review of 2022, as looking back on the Frank blogs it didn’t happen. The year was certainly eventful as well, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, our three prime ministers in just two months and losing the world’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. 

As I now write and reflect on 2023, I’m thinking about what has changed in the last couple of years for us at Frank and the healthcare clients we take such pride in supporting. Three key areas come to mind and I wanted to share;

Firstly, the pressure on the healthcare system continues to build, staff vacancies, more demand on services, the system (we read in the press) is near breaking point. We do feel this pressure sometimes from our NHS clients with the increasing number of priorities and commitments they need to manage. Having staff at Frank that have worked both at the NHS and with the NHS for the last 15 years, we have built the experience and expertise to help guide clients through this very challenging period. This may be through new projects,  or responding to changing requirements and urgent issues they face. The way the team at Frank respond to these challenges and help our clients is something I’m always so proud of, we genuinely do care about our clients and go above and beyond. Thank you to all our clients who have sent messages about our staff or our work, we do love hearing this feedback and sharing within the team.

Secondly is the fundamental change in our day to day working environment over the last couple of years.  We’ve been based in Didsbury, Manchester with a hybrid working model firmly in place for the last 2 years. It has been a huge change for all of us and we’d all probably admit something we are all still getting our heads round. The gym classes put on by our serviced office provider at lunch time have been a real success and the pop-up food stalls are delicious, especially the tacos! Most importantly I find getting together, chatting with each other and laughter are all the best medicine when working in an environment where you are seeking to deliver an exceptional service and product. Additionally we’ve tried to get the team together as regularly as we can, through team nights out, our annual Greater Manchester 10k run and CSR events, such as the one Declan ran at Fletcher Moss Gardens.
 
Finally the last area, would be the way the team at Frank have come together with our clients to listen to patients’ needs and to design and develop a platform that makes a patient’s healthcare journey online simpler, quicker and more accessible. Features such as patient leaflet libraries, consultant finders and automated the presentation of key service information in the back end, ensure a digital first approach. Innovation and an entrepreneurial approach is encouraged at Frank and at the heart of what we do. 

We have a separate working group on Artificial Intelligence both looking at our own processes and potential to enhance our offering which is providing some fascinating insights which we look forward to sharing with you. I presented at a national Healthier Together conference in September attended by NHS clinicians, commissioners and GPs on how AI can improve health and care for parents, carers and young people. I can see from my research how opinion is divided, if it is all hype or is going to change the way we work and live. With the technology changes we have gone through previously, healthcare has embraced the new, be it personal computing, the internet and mobile phones.  So it’s difficult to see why AI would potentially be any different. However, ethical considerations will need to be addressed to give confidence to patients, carers and healthcare professionals.

As you can see there have been some fundamental developments in the last couple of years, but what doesn’t change is a team who are fully committed to providing an exceptional service to our clients.

Lastly I wanted to send my best wishes and a Merry Christmas to all of our staff, clients and partners as we look forward to a new year and a happy 2024!

Jamie Wise

Managing Director

Frank