EoE Academy Board Blog: Zoe Pietrzak
My name is Zoe Pietrzak (pronounced P-et-shark) and I am the NHS England Regional Director of Finance for the East of England. I have a huge passion for training and development and for diversity and inclusion and want to ensure that every member of the finance community in the East of England is able to fulfil their career ambitions.
Today I’m bringing you the first of a series of blogs from members of the East of England One NHS Finance Academy Board. I have the privileged position of being Chair of the Board and so have volunteered to write first.
I’m proud of our finance community in the East of England which is already vibrant and highly regarded by senior leaders as key to supporting the delivery of high quality health and care services in our region; with the addition of the Finance Academy dedicated to your development it will only become more so. The Academy Board met for the first time in December 2022 and agreed aims and priorities, we have also agreed to send you a summary of each meeting – the latest one describes our aims and priorities, and it would be great to know if you agree with them.
Members of the Board bring with them not only experience and motivation, but they also represent you. There is a member from each system, members who sit on national groups and members from our inclusion and diversity networks. Whilst not every member of our East of England finance community can sit on the Board, I do want each of you to be and feel connected to the Board, to know who to talk to about your views and ideas and most importantly to give us feedback on how we are doing.
As Chair of the Board I have asked each member to write a blog, to tell you a bit about themselves, why they are on the Board and what they want to see happen or change through the Finance Academy …..…….so, what’s my motivation? What do I want to see change?
I’ve worked in NHS Finance for just over 20 years. I started my NHS career as a Management Accountant in Great Yarmouth Primary Care Trust (as it was then) and through sponsorship, championship and lots of training and development (along with a good dose of aspiration, determination and hard work) I took my first Chief Financial Officer role at Great Yarmouth and Waveney CCG 11 years ago. None of it was easy but it’s been a great journey so far, and I’ve still got a few years left of my career so it’s not over yet!
I am committed to making sure that everyone has the opportunities that I’ve had, and that every one of you is supported to achieve your goals – whatever organisation you work for, whatever system you work in, whatever the colour of your skin and whatever gender you identify with. I want to hear your voice and make sure that as a Board we put the right infrastructure in place across the region to enable you to develop in the way you want to and to ensure everyone is included.
That’s my aspiration but I know that I can’t do it alone, I know that I need every member of the Board to help me, and I know that I need you to engage with us so that we are representing you.
The NHS celebrates being 75 this year and we are all part of what makes it an amazing organisation serving our patients day in and day out. I hope that through reading this and the blogs to follow we can start to see how by working together we can make sure that NHS finance in the East of England is the best place to work, that as a community we are inclusive and accessible, and that we represent not just our population but all within the NHS.
Our next Board meeting is being held on 22 May so you will hear more about our progress shortly after that meeting, and in the meantime please reach out to me or any member of the Board if you would like to know more about our priorities or you would like to tell us yours.
