Dr Malcolm Birch retires after over 40 years of service
Dr Malcolm Birch, Director of Clinical Physics at Barts Health, is retiring today after over 40 years of service. Recently, Malcolm led the clinical engineering team nominated for a 2020 Advancing Healthcare Award.
NHS England said Malcolm's team played a critical role in London's response to Covid-19. Through great dedication and tireless efforts, the team received thousands of new medical devices over a span of a few weeks, then commissioned the devices, providing technical support and clinical training to ensure patient safety. The equipment included a huge variety of new devices which were never used before.
We spoke with Malcolm about his time at the trust, his proudest achievements, the year of Covid-19, and what he looks forward to in the future.
On the highlight of his time at the trust
"My highlight is seeing the growth from one to four hospitals and helping to overcome some of the problems of integrating services across the four sites. That's ongoing, but it's substantially better than it was – there's been considerable improvement. Particularly for staff within the physics and engineering world, we have benefitted substantially from that merger. Staff can move more easily, and they have opportunities for wider experience. I've seen a lot of people grow in their professional domain."
On his proudest achievements
"My PhD was on cleft palates and cleft palate re-repair; I worked on developing an instrument to test the speech of those with cleft palates. That work was supported by CLEFT and it has continued to this day.
I worked with colleagues to launch the Clinical Engineering Apprenticeship Programme, and I'm very proud to have mentored apprentices who have come through the system.
It has been really satisfying to see youngsters entering the profession with A levels and then move through the apprenticeship levels up to achieving an engineering degree.
And I'm proud to have worked with all our Divisions’ teams, across roles and responsibilities, to put patients at the centre. Physics, vascular, and engineering staff often think of themselves as 'behind the scenes', but I've seen how a culture of putting patients first has helped create a common purpose across teams."
On the past 12 months during the Covid-19 pandemic
"Helping to set up the NHS Nightingale London at short notice was remarkable. In the end, it became a facility that thankfully wasn't required, but that doesn't take away from the effort of getting things done quickly and effectively. On the first day, it really was like entering an empty warehouse. Working with the army, disparate NHS medical staff and volunteer health care scientists, seeing the way that we could rapidly problem-solve, was something that I think will have a lasting positive effect on our staff."
On his next steps after retirement and thanking colleagues
"I'm looking forward to spending more time flying gliders; I'm a gliding instructor. More time playing golf. And of course, more time with my family. Finally, I'd like to thank all my colleagues at Barts Health. My work has only been possible through our work together as a team."