Local patient finalist in unsung heroes of the NHS award

Paul Mainwaring

A man who campaigns on behalf of Rochdale patients has reached the finals of a national awards ceremony recognising unsung heroes and heroines of the NHS.

Paul Mainwaring has been shortlisted for a gong in the Institute of Healthcare Management’s first ever unsung heroes and heroines awards, which recognise the ordinary men and women whose hard work and dedication ensures their local communities receive the highest standard of NHS care.

The recognition is for his work as Chairman of the Patients’ Council, a fiercely independent group that was set up in June 2005 to speak for patients affected by the Healthy Futures reorganisation of healthcare in Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton, Bury, Oldham and North Manchester.  It works with doctors, nurses, other healthcare professionals and NHS managers to ensure that health services are patient-focused and meet patients’ needs.  All the members have long-term health conditions that have lasted at least seven years and involve regular contact with both community-based and hospital-based NHS services in the area – a factor that makes it totally unlike any other patient involvement group in Greater Manchester.

Mr Mainwaring's passion for championing the patients’ cause stems from personal experience.  Despite suffering from lupus, an auto-immune disease that can be very debilitating, Paul had an extremely successful career as a company director.  His condition involved frequent tests and monitoring, both at his GP surgery and at hospital, because people with lupus are prone to blood clots which can be fatal.  Then, in 2002, the worst happened and Paul suffered a stroke which left him paralysed for 12 months and with permanently restricted sight that led to him being registered blind. 

The stroke put an end to his career in business, so he turned his energies instead to campaigning on behalf of patients for improvements in the NHS.  As Chair of the Patients’ Council, Mr Mainwaring played a huge role in raising public awareness of the Healthy Futures proposals, explaining their impact for patients in each part of the affected area and encouraging people to have their say in the consultation.  He organised an information bus that visited more than 70 locations (including Rochdale Infirmary, The Esplanade and Morrisons on Kingsway), personally attended hundreds of meetings, events and workshops, and met with local politicians, patient groups, carers and healthcare staff.

Mr Mainwaring’s passion for a patient-led NHS, providing convenient access to high-quality services, continues.  The Patients’ Council will be heavily involved in working with healthcare professionals and NHS managers to redesign clinical pathways – the journey a patient with a particular condition makes from their GP to tests/scans, hospital appointments and/or treatment – across the north east of Greater Manchester.  Members will be keen to make sure that patients from different towns receive similarly high standards of care and that there is no postcode lottery.

Mr Mainwaring is also playing a key role in ensuring efficient and effective transport networks are in place to get people to and from hospitals and other health-related sites.  He is a member of the Healthy Futures Transport Action Group, along with GMPTE, bus companies, community transport, the ambulance service, NHS trusts, local authorities and healthcare staff representatives.

Mr Mainwaring, who is married with two grown-up children, said: “I feel very honoured to have been shortlisted for this award on behalf of the Patients’ Council.  It’s a real team effort and all the members do a fantastic job, but our achievements are also down to the fact that local healthcare professionals and NHS managers have been so willing to engage with us and hear what patients wanted from their health service. 

“I joined the Patients’ Council because I wanted to give something back as thanks for the care and support I received while recovering from my stroke.  Doctors, managers, nurses and other healthcare staff in this area really do want to develop a patient-led NHS.  I believe that their enthusiasm about that, along with the efforts of Patients’ Council members, will result in a better NHS.”

He will find out whether he has won an award at the Institute of Healthcare Management’s Annual Awards Dinner on Wednesday 9 May at Harrogate International Centre.