Leadership Conversations: Meet Bren - Gloucestershire resident, volunteer and citizen leader!
In the fourth of our leadership conversations we hosted an online chat with Bren McInerney – a well-known Gloucestershire resident, volunteer and citizen leader!
Bren has a varied background – having spent time in the Royal Navy, gained a Science degree in Science and Master’s Degree in Exercise and Health Sciences, and been a member of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Public Health Advisory Committee. He has also Co-Chaired the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) eQuality Voices group; is presently the Public Member of the CQC’s Experts by Experience Programme Board and has worked with the NHS Leadership Academy on hearing the community and neighbourhood voice.
If that’s not enough he leads a national pilot on how national bodies across health and social care better engage with local community and neighbourhood groups around what matters to them. In addition, he has just been invited to chair a sub group of the NHS England/NHS Improvement Community Nursing Plan bringing the people and community’s voice into the discussions and shaping of this plan for the next 5 years.
Find what matters to you
Which brings us to Bren’s first piece of advice, to find “What matters to you?”. For Bren it was “giving to the community”. During his time in the Royal Navy Bren himself with shore leave and a limited appetite for seeing the sights. Instead, he found himself drawn to community projects wherever he was based. His passion is community work so he sought it out wherever he was posted.
Since returning to Gloucester Bren has spent the last 24 years supporting a number of local health and well-being activities at community level. During this time he also cared for his mother with chronic illness, and volunteered as an informal advocate with and for people and communities.
Don’t just listen but really listen
Bren’s area of focus has always been on really listening, involving and taking action for those who may otherwise feel they are not heard or understood. As he says “You need to listen to the real stories in grassroots communities” and to be conscious of the “voices and conversations that we’re not having”.
Bren brings this real experience to a number of local and national connectivity initiatives (and vice versa) across health and social care. He is a member of his local GP Patient Participation Group and chairs a local social housing charity in the heart of an area of huge diversity with greater need, and provides strategic support for Walk In My Shoes (WIMS) a community led mentoring programme with the local and regional NHS. Based in Barton and Tredworth he sees it as a privilege to work where there are over 50 languages spoken in one square mile.
Keep on keeping on
“To make community change it takes patience - chip away as the issues are so large”
Bren talks about being supportive as well as challenging and how important this is if you want to see real change. It’s hard to ‘challenge a system’ but with persistent and constructive questioning you can bring the focus round to what is right for people and communities. “Sometimes you just need to ask the question in a different way” to unlock a way forward. “Be tenacious” as issues don’t get solved overnight.
A key thought for Bren is “people may forget what you have said, people may forget what you have done, but people will never forget how you have made them feel”.
This compassion has served Bren well. In June 2019 Bren was recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours with a British Empire Medal for his services to volunteering, public services and the community. Well done Bren, Gloucestershire could do with a few more like you!
Follow Bren on Twitter to find out more about the projects he is involved with.
In our next leadership conversations, we will be hearing from Louise Emerson who works with organisations to develop their strategies, develop business opportunities & teams and adapt in the face of change.
Find out more about catalyst and see all the Leadership Conversations here