Post by Emma Wilkins FCIPD

After nearly 22 years, it’s time for me to say au revoir to the NHS. While redundancy was never part of my plan 12 months ago, I do believe things have a way of leading us to new opportunities. I can’t pretend to feel comfortable with how some decisions have been made across the NHS over the past 12 months. I can see the impact on culture, the personal toll on colleagues, and the loss of significant talent and experience. I’ve also found myself reflecting on the robustness of decision-making, the financial implications of these changes, and most importantly what this means for patients and service users. I recognise that decisions are made in complex and challenging circumstances, and I truly feel for both those leading the changes and those affected by them. Many have led with kindness; others, perhaps, have found it harder to show the compassion such significant change demands. Despite this, it’s hard to capture in one post what the NHS has given me. I’ve spent almost my entire career working across the NHS, meeting, admiring, and learning from so many incredible people and leaders. Let’s be honest, not every experience was positive but those were often the moments I learned the most, and for that I’ll always be grateful. From my early days at HoBtPCT, to Sussex Partnership, East Lancashire, WWL, Birmingham Women’s & Children’s, and most recently SaTH, I’ve been given opportunities at every stage each one I embraced and gave my all to shaping my development and growth. I moved to SaTH in December 2020 my local Trust. It felt personal, and I really wanted to make a difference. I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved over the past five years, and especially pleased to see the Trust recently exit special measures. The improvements we have made together are significant and a testament to the dedication, resilience and commitment of so many people. In late 2025, I was delighted to have my potential recognised through an offer to join the Leaders 100 CPO talent pipeline an opportunity I felt incredibly proud of, although the timing did not align with the direction of my local Trust. I always say people are your greatest asset and they truly are at SaTH. The wider People team is an amazing, committed, talented and resilient group. Together, we’ve shared so many proud moments over the past five years. To every one of you, thank you for your support, your challenge, your resilience and your ambition to always be better, I will miss you. Outside of HR and People, I’ve worked with so many wonderful, professional and dedicated colleagues both clinical and non-clinical, I will truly miss our NHS family. I’m incredibly excited for my next chapter (coming soon). I remain deeply grateful to everyone who has influenced me, believed in me, developed me and supported me, even those who showed me the kind of leader I don’t want to be. Thank you. Always remember your “why” and stay true to your values. 💙 💙 💙