My involvement with HMI extends back to just over a single decade, a small fraction of the time that the institute has existed, writes Tony Canavan, Regional Executive Officer HSE West and North West and former President, HMI.
Like many Members of HMI, I was introduced to it by a more senior healthcare manager colleague. While I wasn’t sure at the start, it quickly became clear to me, how the HMI could play a very valuable role in supporting Managers in the Health Services and in this way support the delivery of care to patients.
Over my ten years, I have been involved at both Regional and National Council levels with the HMI and was privileged to be elected President at a very particular time in the history of the organisation and in the history of the health services. My term as President coincided with the arrival of COVID-19, which required the health services to adapt rapidly to meet this new and deadly challenge.
Similarly, HMI also had to adapt its approach at this time. Up to this point one of the strengths of the HMI was that it brought people together. It was a kind of a magnet that supported and promoted networking among healthcare managers, which in itself helped to enhance the standards of healthcare management. It wasn’t possible to meet in person during Covid, so HMI adapted, in conjunction with SHRC, moving learning and the Annual Conference to online formats. In this way, HMI continued to reach out to health managers, to provide them with support and to fulfill its mission.
As with any organisation, the secret to survival is this ability to adapt. All around us, we see how the HSE services are changing in a race to meet the demands of a growing and aging population. Modern healthcare is evolving rapidly of necessity and so too must the HMI.
The second key learning for me from the last ten years has been the importance of diversity. Over that time, we have seen how HMI has broadened its membership base, recognising that healthcare is delivered and managed not just within the statutory sector, but, also across the private and voluntary sectors. HMI has members from across the country, across all care settings and organisations. This type of diversity creates a rich learning environment where different experiences and expertise can be shared. One where we learn from each other. One where we teach each other.
I am deeply grateful to HMI, both the Regional Committee in the West and indeed the National Council, for the welcome I received many years ago and all that it has given and continues to give me. I look forward to working within HMI over the coming years to give back some of the support that I have experienced.
