Spotlight on …

Mark Westhorpe, Quality Systems Officer

Prior to joining SCL, I worked for a chemical manufacturing company based in Middlesbrough. Starting in 1995, I held several roles over the years, all in a laboratory environment.  Around 2017, I was promoted to Quality Manager for the site and shortly after I was promoted to Regional Quality Manager with responsibility for quality control, quality assurance, and management of the quality management systems for all three sites in the UK, plus sites in Belgium and India.  A company restructure resulted in regional roles becoming redundant.  After taking some time away from quality management, I realised that’s where I belong and my journey led me to SCL in 2023.  During my time in industry, I quickly learnt that the customer is always right and that’s no different in Healthcare.  Our patients are our ultimate customers and they are always at the forefront of our decisions.

My role with SCL is to support our teams to review, develop, implement, and refine systems, policies, and processes to ensure we continue to provide high quality, efficient, and professional estates, facilities, and procurement services to support CDDFT, other organisations, and our external customers.  I carry out regular audits of our departments to ensure we are complying with the relevant standards and our own procedures, and help identify ways in which we can improve the way we work.

Understanding how all the different functions within SCL interlink with each other can be a challenge. But that’s also the best part of my job too – I love to see how the Trust’s clinical services work and to understand how I can apply my skills, knowledge and expertise to this role.