Dr Hilary MacPherson Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist

About me

Hilary is a GenerationQ Fellow and Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at NHS Forth Valley.

She completed her medical degree at the University of Edinburgh in 1979 and went on to specialise in obstetrics and gynaecology, becoming a consultant in 1989. Before joining NHS Forth Valley in 2004, she was a consultant in Edinburgh where she also provided clinical leadership for maternity outpatient services.

She obtained an MBA in health care from the University of Stirling in 1998 and has been a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists since 2004.

In 2013 she undertook a six-month secondment to NHS Orkney to help with the transition from a midwife and GP maternity service to a consultant supported service.

Hilary says that GenerationQ showed her how relationships are fundamental to quality improvement. 'It focused my attention on how I interact with my team and colleagues across the organisation, and how I can support others to address concerns and achieve improvement. I used to take a fairly directive approach, but now I prefer to try to enable solutions to emerge from within the team.

'One idea that really struck a chord with me is that ‘just talking’ can inspire change and improvement. It might not be obvious at the time, but sharing your experiences of quality improvement with others can set a ripple effect in action.'

GenerationQ gave Hilary a chance to explore how more direct contact between GPs and consultants could improve patient care. 'I think GPs should be able to talk to a consultant when they need to. It can give a patient an immediate management plan for a problem, avoiding a clinic appointment. For urgent issues, same or next day consultations can be arranged to suit the patient.

'We tested a system where GPs could contact a duty gynaecology consultant through a direct dial number to their mobile phone. Previously there was just one duty consultant covering obstetrics and gynaecology, with obstetric care inevitably demanding most attention. 'The consultants, GPs and gynaecology staff loved it. It helped us to avoid referrals and admissions, and made sure the sickest patients were managed by the most experienced clinicians. We’re planning to run a longer-term pilot and I hope that it will become standard practice for the way we work in obstetrics and gynaecology.'