Frank Hester OBE

Having quoted me accurately saying “I abhor racism” @guardian newspaper has just asked me to confirm that I made these following remarks at the same meeting 5 years ago that they reported on yesterday. They claim that I told staff: “For me, racism is a hatred and a fear of the other. For me, it is exactly the same as homophobia - it's not limited to the colour of your skin, it is not limited to religion, it can just be the country next door. It can be northerners and southerners, which we have here." I can confirm that this is an accurate reflection of my view that hatred of others based on race, religion, gender, sexuality or geography is odious and disgusting and that racism - in particular - is a poison that has no place in public life. The UK benefits immensely from the rich diversity of people - like my parents - who had roots in another land, religion and culture. We should celebrate those differences which have made us the world’s most successful multi-ethnic, multi-faith democracy. And we should have the confidence to discuss our differences openly and even playfully without seeking to cause offence.

Statement regarding recent media reports: Frank Hester accepts that he was rude about Diane Abbot in a private meeting several years ago but his criticism had nothing to do with her gender nor colour of skin. The Guardian is right when it quotes Frank saying he abhors racism, not least because he experienced it as the child of Irish immigrants in the 1970’s. He rang Diane Abbott twice today to try to apologise directly for the hurt he has caused her, and is deeply sorry for his remarks. He wishes to make it clear that he regards racism as a poison which has no place in public life.

Wishing everyone a happy and blessed Ramadan. Ramadan Mubarak 🌙 #Ramadan #RamadanMubarak #RamadanKareem

My mum was the eldest of four sisters, born into an Irish family struggling to make ends meet. Family finances were so tight that they couldn’t even afford to buy her school uniform. At 16 years old she left Ireland – on her own – to find work in England.   She met my father in Leeds. He had been building hay sheds on farms in Ireland but had also had to emigrate to find work. They got married and raised a family in Armley – a no-nonsense, inner-city suburb of the city. Together, they started a plastering business, where my mum had to do all of the payroll.   It was mum who inspired me to write code. I watched her work tirelessly on the books for two whole days at the end of each week. The software I wrote for my mum let her finish this in less than 10 minutes. It removed a bottleneck and the business grew from half a dozen to more than a hundred employees.   That was back in 1987. Ultimately, of course, I made my career as a software architect - but not immediately. Before going to university to study computer science, I trained to be a priest. This made mum very proud – she brought us up in a strongly religious household.   Looking back, Mum taught me more about ethics than any text could. She consistently told me and my four siblings that no one was better than anyone else. So firm was her belief in equality that she was furious on one trip back to Ireland to discover that there was a first-class category on the boat. She boycotted the ferry company from then on. Even when the plastering business grew to a million-pound business, that didn’t change.   It was mum who taught me that if you don’t look down on anyone, you instinctively don’t look up at anyone either. She made me appreciate that everyone is as good as everyone else, where it matters.   Mum forgave me for leaving the seminary! She was immensely proud of my work in healthcare around the world. Taking her with me to receive an OBE for services to the health service was a wonderful moment. She always loved the NHS. She brought us up to appreciate how lucky we were to have free education and healthcare in the UK. I am immensely proud of my roots in County Mayo, but one of the most striking tributes to my mum, a proud Irish woman, is that she made me so extremely proud to be English.

International Women’s Day #IWD marks a perfect opportunity to reflect on one of the most extraordinary people of all time, the world’s first computer programmer.  Two centuries ago, Ada Lovelace saw the immense potential of what we now call computer software. Her dad, Lord Byron, may have written fantastic poetry - but, as far as I’m concerned, Ada was even more pioneering. She created a language that would fundamentally change the entire world. Her work remains inspirational to anyone who works in software – we even have a huge painting of her when you enter our headquarters in Leeds! However, I think it’s fair to say that her work doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves. If this is new to you, please look her up or listen to the great tribute below. Then join me in raising a glass to a brilliant individual, on this special day. bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b0…

Today’s a special day for many of us. Some are celebrating Valentine’s. Others may be conscious that it’s Ash Wednesday. But it also marks the anniversary of a significant milestone in the critical battle against Covid-19. It was on this day, three years ago, that the UK government was able to announce that the NHS had met its ambitious target to vaccinate 15 million of our most vulnerable citizens against the virus. The pandemic pushed the NHS to its limits. It also required the many organisations and companies that support the NHS to rapidly shift priorities and play their role in the pandemic response. That was certainly true at TPP. From day one we realised that the team had to be together, on site, to meet the challenge. Working from home wasn’t an option – it wouldn’t let us work as efficiently as we needed to. Our open plan office layout was exploited, markers laid down, and stringent processes put in place that went beyond the general Covid rules. We were given key worker status. Looking back, I remember vividly the large doors and windows in the office, which face in every direction, being fully opened throughout. Such was the flow of cold northern air through the office that many of the team turned up in thermals and ski gear every day. I’m proud of all of them - and grateful. Their commitment proved invaluable. Right at the beginning we built what is still the world’s largest platform for Covid research, providing critical support to the scientists at Oxford University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, all in a six week period. They were able to identify who was most at risk from Covid, who needed protection the most, and who should be prioritised for a shot into their upper arm. We wrote new code so that vaccinations could be instantly recorded on a patient’s record, whether they were jabbed at their GP, pharmacy, football stadium or mosque. We enhanced the software further to provide real time information to the government to support them in this massive logistical exercise. As the vaccination programme progressed, the research platform helped to identify gaps in the uptake - spotting the low response from some minority ethnic groups, people with learning difficulties or severe mental health issues. It tracked how the vaccines were working in the real world, to help determine how effective they were and spot any potential harmful side-effects. This helped to reassure decision makers about vaccine safety. As time moved on, researchers could see when protection was waning and who should be first in line for a booster. Covid was - of course - a painful and tragic episode for everyone but it also highlighted some of those qualities that we all love about our country – hard work, determination and compassion. And I’m determined - on this Valentine’s Day, at the start of Lent - to reflect on that.

As we enter the Year of the Dragon, we wish you a very happy Chinese New Year. 新年快乐！🐲🧧 #CNY #ChineseNewYear #YearOfTheDragon 🎥: youtu.be/30di9lMBwK8

Happy Friday! At TPP that means bacon sandwiches for breakfast and a free bar early evening at the local pub. But my real secret for great teamwork is that shared sense of purpose. I started small. I taught myself to code so I could design software to ease the burden of red tape on my parents’ business. It brought immediate benefits but there was always more to do because every improvement highlighted another opportunity to make life easier, save money and do more plastering. After that, I built a system that did the same for my wife - a GP. Little was I to know it was going to transform my life and transform her GP practice. When anything went wrong - and every programme has bugs and glitches that it’s essential to stay on top of - there was only me to fix it. I had no-one else to blame or pass the buck to. That discipline was priceless. The software became better, more resilient and dynamic.  Creating that same ethos when there’s eighty of you isn’t easy, but that’s the clear ambition at TPP. We pay the best salaries to attract the best graduates. And we take care of all of our staff to keep them with us and keep them motivated. I’ve spent the last few weeks on extended off-sites with different groups that cover virtually the entire company. It’s bonding. It’s fun. And it will ensure we stay as sharp as we can be. Our headquarters in Leeds are massively open plan. I’m always involved and I’m available. Team meetings are free flowing and the newest employee is as able to challenge the experienced staff. Our system handles 1.5 billion transactions a day - more than Visa, AMEX and Mastercard combined. Mistakes are to be expected. So raising the alarm when there’s a potential flaw is critical, and taking ownership of issues is vital to solving them. We’ve seen elsewhere the catastrophic consequences of ignoring the flaws and denying the facts - sobering enough to make me thirsty for that end of week team drink, very shortly!

All your medical details - from birth to death, easily accessible by your GP, pharmacist, nursing team, and hospital consultant. The benefits to patient care and safety are immense. It’s an idea I have been championing for over 25 years. “One patient, one record” is a strapline I coined many years ago. One of the findings in today’s Times Health Commission report is that over 80% of the public back this idea. I very much welcome this. I’d argue that this percentage would be much higher if people knew the full potential of shared medical records. I know because it’s what we have built at TPP. We host the NHS electronic health records of over 50 million people. These records document a patient’s medical history - their diagnoses, procedures, medications, immunisations, symptoms and allergies. There’s barely a week that goes by without me hearing from doctors, patients or their families about how important this is. It’s vital information that every clinician and patient needs; information that saves lives. Allowing different practitioners to access the same record saves time and money, reducing paperwork, freeing up precious clinical resource. I’m not surprised that the expert witnesses to the Times Healthcare Commission were enthusiastic. The potential is immense. Though the idea is simple, delivering on “one patient, one record” is complex. Our system operates at a massive scale, across billions and billions of data items. We run the largest healthcare database in the world. It is highly secure. It includes strict privacy protocols. It delivers all the information clinicians require in a matter of milliseconds. The technology is here – built by TPP in Leeds. The report highlights the absolute need for NHS organisations to share data. With your permission, of course, a doctor in the Emergency Department should be able to see your GP record. Your current medication should be available to any clinician looking after you. As a patient, you should always be able to access your own medical record. When organisations share data, there are huge improvements to patient care. The idea of “one patient, one record” has now taken a foothold across the world. It’s the reason we are being asked to deploy our system in many different countries - Jamaica, China, and Malaysia, for example. Just as in the UK, their health ministries are determined to harness patient data to deliver better care. So, I welcome this aspect of the Times report. Data is key to the future of healthcare delivery and to making sure our NHS delivers world-class care for us all. thetimes.co.uk/article/nhs-da….

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year ✨ Wishing you and your family a great festive period 🎄 #Christmas #HappyNewYear2024

I am so proud that May Pen Hospital in #Jamaica have successfully implemented #SystmOne. This marks a significant milestone in the digitalisation of healthcare and starts a new chapter for clinicians and patients in Jamaica 🇯🇲 - delivering equal, efficient, and high-quality healthcare services. We are so proud to be supporting you 🏥💻 #golive @themohwgovjm

I was delighted to witness the brilliant AI discussion between @RishiSunak and @elonmusk. Really interesting views and insights. Was great to chat with Elon after the conference too. Exciting times ahead in the world of #AI. #ArtificialIntelligence #AIDiscussion #FutureTech

May Pen Hospital in #Jamaica is going live with #SystmOne next month 🇯🇲. It is a great opportunity to deliver healthcare digitalisation to the #Caribbean and beyond. We are thrilled our support team have already passed on their know-how to the doctors and nurses to ensure smoother and more efficient workflows and practices. @themohwgovjm #HealthcareInnovation #DigitalHealthcare

Wheels up! Here we go! Come on England! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 ⚽️ 🛫 @GB_DeafFootball #SeeUsRoar 🦁

Thank you @GB_DeafFootball for the lovely pictures and the signed shirts. Malaysia, here we come!

Very pleased to welcome @DrManaouda, Minister of Public Health for @MinsanteCMR to TPP HQ. We share the same passion for improving healthcare and I look forward to continuing our journey to digitisation for the people of Cameroon 🇨🇲 .

Delighted to hear that we’re improving workflows around the world. It is our pleasure to be supporting you in China 🇨🇳

I was thrilled to meet our 2023 scholarship winners and also catch up with the current scholarship students. Great to chat with you all and wishing you every success! #Scholarships

I am so proud to be supporting you at the World Cup. Hope you enjoy the experience. Looking forward to going to Malaysia 🇲🇾 and cheering you on! Come on England! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 ⚽️🏆 @GB_DeafFootball #SeeUsRoar

Can someone please explain the policy of #EMRconvergence of hospital systems - it will only help Epic and Cerner and cost a fortune?