A COMMON theme as Lesley Lock outlines her vision for Nuffield Health’s Tees Hospital is helping people.

As hospital director, you would expect that.

However, when she elaborates on her plans for Nuffield’s base in Norton, near Stockton, that notion of support goes further, back to when Mrs Lock ran her own fairtrade business.

The company supplied things like tea, coffee and recycled pencils to firms across the UK, and helped those behind the items get their rewards.

But it did something else.

Mrs Lock, through her business, worked with Gateshead Council on an employment initiative, which aimed to get people, particularly those who were unemployed and lacking necessary skills, into work.

Three women got jobs from the scheme and thus a foothold on the career ladder.

Mrs Lock, a former NHS Newcastle worker, who specialised in haematology and blood transfusion, remembers the time with great fondness.

She said: “That relationship was really good.

“They learned different things when they were with me; things like stock management and how to do accounts.

“It helped my business, but it gave those women a real purpose and something to put on their CV.

“The company wasn’t about making big bucks, it was about doing something I really wanted to do.”

Mrs Lock’s venture into fairtrade came after she departed Nuffield, following a stint in its Newcastle Hospital as part of the senior management team in the late 1990s, in 2004.

However, after a spell away from the medical profession, the former biomedical scientist said the sector’s lure was too difficult to resist.

At Nuffield, where that theme of helping others continues, Mrs Lock’s remit is to ensure services and patient care remains of the highest order.

Intrinsic to that has been a £300,000 investment in cancer screening equipment, which included a £140,000 mammography machine.

After making the decision to return to Nuffield, following her fairtrade venture, Mrs Lock said she is excited by what the future holds.

She said: “I thought to myself, ‘what do I enjoy?’ and I kept coming back to Nuffield.

“I love the culture here, the fact we are a not-for-profit organisation and what that means, and the fact we are investing in facilities and staff.

“Nuffield was the only choice.

“The different aspects of the job are enjoyable; it’s challenging but it is rewarding at the same time.

“It was the same with the fairtrade business.

“When I left Nuffield the first time, I wanted to use my skills to do something I was passionate about.

“Fairtrade was not as mainstream back then, but it was a challenging and rewarding time because you were helping people get what they deserved.

“Healthcare is similar because you are providing services people need.

“We have a good hospital here and a fabulous team.

“When I came in, I got an amazing welcome from everyone.

“There is a stable and happy workforce and this is a good site, so it’s a great opportunity for me.

“I want to maintain that and look at opportunities where we can go on expanding and potentially investing.

“Over the next 12 months, the plan will be to look at what investment we need and start making that happen.”