CIPHER Medical’s Head of Events, Caroline Wright, has the unique position of being the company’s very first employee, celebrating her five year CIPHER anniversary recently. Having seen the company grow from its beginnings, she has been an important part of the journey and the vision, sharing CEO Andy Thomas’ passion for delivering high standards of clinical care. As Andy recognised early on, Caroline is a consummate professional when it comes to seeing a job through from start to finish: she gets the job done with professionalism, expertise, and respect for the role as well as her colleagues. CEO Andy Thomas says, “Caroline has grown with the company and is very passionate about health care delivery in the unique and challenging events industry. She has an excellent way in dealing with clients and event organisers to ensure the safe delivery of small- and large-scale events.”
As Head of Events, Caroline must start the events journey with a detailed conversation with the client, identifying needs and matching to service provision. Good relationships with clients are all-important in this role, and communication is key, along with an eye for detail and precision. This is where Caroline’s level of expertise comes into its own: she understands clinical need and what each event requires. Her experience allows her to assess the nature of the event, numbers involved, site layout, public interaction and so on. Once all this is mapped out on paper and level of service is agreed, Caroline can then organise appropriately experienced crew and prepare resources in terms of potential injury, illness and general safety.
So, not as simple as just turning up with supplies!
Caroline takes this all in her stride and has been successfully leading the Events team for some time now. Enjoying this aspect of her role, she says, “I love being able to start a journey with a client, from providing a proposal to them, following all stages, through to the successful delivery of the event.”
A qualified paramedic, Caroline knows her way around the provision of emergency care to the public and the challenges that may arise. Naturally, there are the physical safety concerns that one would imagine in any clinical situation, but also, as Caroline points out, there can be emotional challenges too – the job is certainly varied, and crews have to be prepared for anything and everything! For Caroline managing provision at events, her ultimate goal is to ensure a good quality service for public and clients alike. This is especially challenging in the current economic climate where increasing costs can make the efficient use of resources and supplies an additional serious consideration – a fine balancing act that Caroline must manage in order to achieve the safety of visitors to events, positive outcomes for clients, and a satisfying provision of professionalism and quality service from CIPHER Medical’s perspective.
For Caroline, teamwork is key to overcoming challenges ‘in the field’ as well as in the office and she is very proud of all CIPHER Medical achieves. She notes one of her ‘highlights’ was last year, 19th July, which saw the hottest day on record in the UK and she and her team were in attendance at a stadium international cricket match. Having already assessed risk and put in additional measures to manage the potential effects of the heat, the actual temperatures on the day were unprecedented, seeing many spectators and stadium staff suffering from adverse effects as temperatures reached up to the mid-to-high 30s. This created quite a demand for Caroline’s team but, working together with her crews and the stadium staff, with efficiency and calm professionalism, immediate measures were implemented, including creating additional treatment areas that allowed protection and recovery areas for affected visitors. The swift actions delivered expertly on this day underlined what Caroline was already acutely aware of: CIPHER Medical’s #OneTeam approach is at its best when under pressure! Expertise, ability, and a belief in the highest level of care and dignity are cornerstones of CIPHER Medical’s philosophy and were certainly in abundance on that day!
A nerve-wracking royal encounter ensured another memorable day for Caroline last year. CIPHER Medical were providing medical cover for SAILGP 2022, an international sailing competition, with the British hosting in Plymouth. Caroline was the paramedic responsible for the Team GB crew should they encounter any serious incidents, which is all in a day’s work – usually. However, HRH Catherine, Princess of Wales happened to be a crew member for a little while, making the job a little bit more stressful! Her Royal Highness stepped on board Ben Ainslie’s catamaran for a friendly Commonwealth race against New Zealand. The presence of Her Royal Highness paid off for the British team, which soundly beat New Zealand, but caused a few heart-stopping moments for Caroline… “needless to say, I was relieved when she safely stepped ashore.”
Meeting challenges head-on to provide a successful service is what makes Caroline look forward to coming to work. She is motivated by “making a difference” and by being part of events that bring immense joy to the attending public; especially important to Caroline is seeing the positive impact these events have on people and their mental health following the isolation, loneliness and worries during COVID 19. A believer in the dignity of others, Caroline’s care about the mental, emotional, and physical health of others is evident in her own work ethic and commitment to her management and clinical roles – she believes that when doing a job and caring for other people “we must not become complacent.” She states that one of her long-term ambitions is to have a “positive impact on how mental health is managed, particularly in those who have suffered from PTSD.” However, in the near future Caroline has ambitions to make the CIPHER brand further afield with international contracts for the Events Team – watch this space!
Away from work, Caroline’s interests centre around her family and friends: “spending time with them is top of the list” when it comes to downtime and relaxation. She also enjoys motorbikes, but between family and work, has little time for indulging at the moment, though she does have plans to buy another bike in the future.
Serious, committed and focused, Caroline is an excellent colleague and team member, known for her high expectations of herself and her professionalism. She does, however, have another ‘quality’ that is well-known. “I often get teased at work for my ‘telephone voice’” she says. “It’s an automatic and an uncontrollable feature of me!” This ‘telephone voice’ also transfers to radio use – and for a team member who is frequently on the airwaves, this makes her instantly recognisable to colleagues, who ‘enjoy’ hearing her. “So, if anyone needs any voice-over work, you know where I am!” We’re sure the offers will start rolling in soon, Caroline!
