LSEC students and staff treated to ‘virtual’ landmark lecture by Matthew Trainer – Chief Executive, Oxleas Trust

In the second of its kind and the first of this academic year, Matthew Trainer (@matthewtrainer), Chief Executive of the Oxleas Trust, (@OxleasNHS) delivered a superb ‘virtual’ landmark lecture this week.

Staff and students across London South East Colleges joined the event online. With a particular focus on leadership perspectives, managing change and leading through a crisis, the audience listened to Matthew’s experiences – particularly those of managing the Nightingale Hospital, constructed in record time at Excel London in March 2020 to cater for a potential surge in Covid-19 cases earlier in the year. Seconded to the post of Deputy Chief Executive for the Nightingale, Matthew’s expertise were called upon for a three-month period to lead teams of NHS staff, Army support and volunteers in what was considered a huge operation to provide care for patients requiring ventilator treatment and intensive care following the contracting of Covid-19.

Matthew told the audience of his unusual career journey from domestic cleaner, factory worker, bar tender, office administrator, shop manager, music journalist, civil servant; his transition to working in the NHS and his rise to becoming Managing Director of the Princess Royal University Hospital in Bromley. More recently Matthew has been busy in his current role at Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust.

You can watch the full lecture here…

Matthew said:

 “My career has certainly been varied but each role from my life as journalist onwards has involved me working to try to help people affected by unfair circumstances; trying hard to make a difference to their lives. Arriving at my work with the NHS was a natural progression and it has brought out the best in me.

“Joining the leadership team at the Nightingale Hospital was as difficult as you’d expect – not just for me but for everybody involved. The brilliant staff ranged from clinicians to military to people who’d never worked in a hospital before and they had to work together at huge pace to provide a  hospital ready to take patients suffering from a dangerous infectious disease. For me it meant having to make decisions quickly, provide leadership in challenging circumstances, and ensure the health, safety and mental wellbeing of our staff.

“The people I worked with at the Nightingale were amazing – their professionalism and their dedication was truly inspiring. When I returned to Oxleas after my secondment it was wonderful to hear about how people in my own Trust and across South East London’s NHS had risen to the challenge. I hope some of the students listening today will become part of our NHS workforce in the years ahead.”

Matthew went on to give his insights in many different areas of management and leadership including seeking the help of others, valuing the wellbeing of staff over productivity, taking care of your own mental and physical health, learning by your mistakes, creating opportunities for others, and above all avoid giving people reasons to distrust you.

The lecture was then followed by a Q&A session where students and staff asked about opportunities within the NHS, what Matthew would change about his work with the Nightingale and what was the most important lesson he took with him from the experience.

“Let’s face it,” he said, “it’s been a horrible year and a tragedy for so many people and their families. I have learnt to focus on the good things in life. I’ve learnt to turn off my phone at the weekend sometimes and spend far less of my time worrying about what appears on social media – my advice to myself and to others is be kind to yourself, and focus on spending time with the people you love.”

College Principal and Group CEO Dr Sam Parrett OBE summed up the lecture by saying: “As always with our landmark lectures, I come away knowing I’ve learnt something new. As Matthew said in his talk – ‘listen to those who know you and don’t avoid difficult questions. Leadership is a big challenge to everybody who chooses it as part of their career and good leaders aren’t born’.

“We have lots of students here who will be looking to follow Matthew into careers in the NHS and other caring and clinical bodies over the next decade. London South East Colleges has recently declared its commitment to a new collaborative initiative set out by the NHS and colleges in England entitled ‘Creating the Workforce of the Future’. I would like to thank Matthew on behalf of everybody who took part today and for so many words of wisdom.

This was the latest in a series of landmark lectures given to London South East Colleges’ students by some of the most senior figures from the public services, business and charity sectors. Previous speakers have included former CEO of Lloyds of London, Dame Inga Beale, Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton, Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, Police Commander Dr David Musker, Ofsted Chair Professor Julius Weinberg, Business Entrepreneur David Gold and many more.