Dr Paul Jarvis Consultant in Emergency Medicine

About me

Paul is a GenerationQ Fellow and Consultant in Emergency Medicine at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust.

He works across two emergency departments. He is the trust's clinical lead for innovation.

Paul obtained his medical degree from the University of Leeds in 1997, having already completed a degree in pathological sciences, and stayed in Yorkshire for his clinical training.

He became a consultant in Emergency Medicine in 2007 and took up his current post the following year. Paul chaired Calderdale and Huddersfield’s emergency paediatric forum from 2009-13. He has been a member of the Royal College of Physicians since 2000 and a fellow of the College of Emergency Medicine since 2006.

Paul is an honorary senior lecturer at the University of Leeds and a clinical associate of the Lean Enterprise Academy. He completed a diploma in medical education in 2010.

Going into the GenerationQ fellowship, Paul knew that he’d develop his knowledge of quality improvement and learn new skills to help him lead change projects. But he says he didn’t realise how much he’d learn about himself. 'The greatest impact of the programme has been on my self-awareness. It’s given me a much deeper insight into how I operate and helped me to develop my emotional intelligence. One thing I realised is that my enthusiasm can sometimes be intimidating to other people, so I’ve learnt to recognise that and moderate my behaviour.'

He adds that he’s become more confident about communicating what’s important to him. 'My focus is always on improving patient care and I think that colleagues know that when they work with me, that’s where our priorities will lie.'

An innovation hub One idea that Paul is exploring during GenerationQ is how to create a culture of continuous improvement across the trust. 'At the first leadership forum I had an idea for a collaborative ‘innovation hub’ with a remit to find new ways to improve patient services. I’m now putting this into practice, with support from the acute trust, acute mental health trust and two clinical commissioning groups. Our first project is focusing on improving complex care services for elderly patients.

'In time, I’d like to see the innovation hub become a key part of the way we work at the trust, by sharing lessons learnt and facilitating teams to lead their own improvements.'