Becoming the new boy again is always a nerve wracking event isn’t it? Remember the first day at school, new faces, new places and new ways of working? I am in week three of being the new boy in Leeds and I have never joined anywhere that worked so hard to make you feel welcome and part of the team as much as Leeds does; and at a pace that is quite extraordinary.

Induction would send the fear of dread into many a health IT person. Fire safety, manual handling, corporate values and orientation… ’Just let me get to the job,’ most of us would be screaming inside, after all we came here to do this job, we don’t need persuading anymore. But not one single new staff member can start within the organisation without attending, therefore induction it is.

So the Monday morning comes around and just like the first day at school I have my best new tie, my new note book, my new pen and I am ready for anything. Coming back to what you know, Leeds, the city, means that one of my best friends is there to meet me for a coffee before the induction begins. But straight away it feels different. New colleagues come up to say hello and welcome, before the (what I thought would be scripted) induction even begins and straight away it made me, the new inductee, realise, hang on, this isn’t a scripted event, this is real people with real values, and actually, OMG, everyone really does care!

Entering a room with around 50 other new starters immediately creates something of a new collegiate group of professionals. We are in this together and in time to come we will remember starting on the same day. No matter what our role, the people in the room are connected to one new thing, the care of patients at Leeds and The Leeds Way.

A lesson in Leeds is the first part of induction: what is there to be proud of? Firstly you are already blown away by the sheer size of the hospital, and this is one of several sites. Then it turns out parts are over 250 years old. Remember the amazing work of Kate Granger. Personalising and making human the interaction with people who work in healthcare is also part of induction. Every one of the people on induction are using the ‘hello my name is…’ introduction line, instilling straight away the human nature of Leeds as an organisation.

The culture of the organisation is impressed upon a new person on day one. The brand of ‘#TheLeedsWay’ is distilled down to the key vision statements, not simply posters for all to see but real values that you quickly realise permeates everything that the team is here to do.

Leeds hospitals needs this team work, as the next realisation is just how busy the hospitals are. That week there had been between 550 to 600 discharges a day. If you didn’t realise before induction then it comes home quickly how important it is to every part of the organisation to be at the frontline of healthcare in the NHS, as Leeds is the centre for so many care initiatives, transplant scenarios and specialist care. As a new person working here you get the importance quickly of The Leeds Way and the Leeds Improvement Method in place across every job. Every ‘asset’ the trust has is asked to understand how to make the care journey of a patient a better experience.

Delivering care costs money, around £3m a day, and with over 1.5 million patients every year, you begin to build your own scale for the size and complexity of my new organisation.

Every induction group meets the CEO and gets to hear first-hand the vision for the future and understand how he believes every hand in the room is involved in building the Leeds Way. The leaders in the room also get to meet the Exec Team, truly making sure that the Exec Team is asked by every member of staff to model the values of the organisation.

I have worked in a number of health organisations over the last 20 years, yet never have I felt part of the team as quickly as I have at Leeds. The Leeds way of delivering induction means that I am a team member quickly and can help deliver the goals of the organisation as quickly as I possibly can.

Joining Leeds really does feel like joining a new way, #TheLeedsWay